Image: Adam Hinks and James Kriszyk
By Lara Shingles
Issue 22, January 2017
Morris dancing has long been regarded as the preserve of elderly bearded men loudly banging sticks outside country pubs. But the image of Morris dancing is undergoing a radical change, with an influx of female sides transforming its traditionally male membership. Among them is Boss Morris, an all-female contemporary Morris dancing side based in Stroud.
Boss Morris sprung out of the five valleys of Stroud in September 2015. Its members all met through their day jobs as artists and crafters. Their feisty attitude and playful choreography sheds a new light on the wonderful world of Morris. The group dances Cotswold Morris, an age-old regional version of the Morris, but its repertoire also includes a local broom dance and a 16th century fighting dance.
“The possibilities of what we can do with Morris and where we can take it are endless,” says Boss Morris member Rhia Davenport. “The thing we enjoy the most is the variation, adding our own twists and participating in different events.”
The group’s creativity shines through not only in its choreography but also in its costumes. Gold two pieces with embroidered logos, tennis ball cloth ponchos, bright blue socks, flower crowns (and the list goes on) – Boss Morris’ dazzling attire compliments its members’ vibrant personalities and adds yet another twist on the tradition. Rhia says the group’s costumes are definitely a collaboration: “We have a very skilled seamstress who has been generous enough with her time to knock up our wonderful kit. Everyone else pitches in when they can to embellish and slap a bit of glitz about.” With their signature gold costumes, she reveals the group drew on Stroud’s cloth making and dying history by using a simple printed symbol of the red sheets that were laid out to dry on the hills of the valleys.
Since the group’s inception, it has continued to jingle up and down the country. Last year, they charmed audiences at Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall and Christie’s Lates Festival of Folk in London. They also performed on stage at the Royal Albert Hall alongside the likes of critically acclaimed Glaswegian band Belle and Sebastian and psych folk phenomenon Trembling Bells. Working with Trembling Bells was especially fun for Boss Morris, adds Rhia: “They supported us from really early on in the development of our side. Performing with them, particularly making up our own dance specifically designed to work with one of their songs, was ace.” Boss Morris has made a handful of appearances at local events over the last year-and-a-bit too, including the Stroud Summer Solstice and Stroud Goodwill Evening. “We really enjoy the local gigs in and around Stroud just as much as the higher profile gigs,” . In fact, in 2017, Stroudies could be seeing a lot more of the troupe as it wants to do more community based performances. They are also hoping to expand in the year-ahead by recruiting new female members with a similarly feisty attitude, creative flare and passion for Morris, and to continue giving Morris men a run for their money! Rhia says the group have plans to start playing around with its music and to design some new hopping tracks. It would also like to start up some of its own modern traditions.
If you’d like to watch Boss Morris in action, their next performance will be at Stroud Wassail Festival, which will return on Friday 13th and Saturday 14th of this month. “We’re all really excited about the Wassail. It’ll be the first dance out for some of our new girls and it’s great to see so many other sides performing together,” says Rhia. “It’s also exciting due to our new kit ideas currently taking shape….”
Billed as a ‘celebration of winter folk traditions’, this year’s festival boasts a fun-filled line-up featuring games, plays and performances by local Morris dancers and mummers as well as two family-friendly workshops on the art of rag coats and wassail songs.
The festivities will begin with mummers and wassailing at the Prince Albert on Friday 13th. On Saturday 14th, a great gathering of mummers and Morris dancers, including Boss Morris, Clocs Canton, Fox’s Morris and the Chippenham Morris Men, will be singing and dancing in the streets of Stroud from 10am. There will also be a procession at 12pm, followed by traditional wassailing at Museum in the Park and 12th Night revels in the evening.
A medieval cabaret party of sorts, the 12th Night revels will be presided over by The Chancellor and the Lord of Misrule. The evening will include the election of King Bean and Queen Pea, the Wassail Bowl, The Boars Head Carol and ceilidh dancing for all, among other entertainment.
Guests are encouraged to come in costume, disguise and masks. There will be prizes for the best dressed so if you have a suitable party piece, bring it!
For further info or to get in touch with Boss Morris go to bossmorris.com and visit stroudwassail.com and the music listings for news about this year’s Stroud Wassail festival.
Lara Shingles is a freelance writer with a keen interest in art, lifestyle and culture. Since graduating with a BA Hons in Magazine Journalism, she has written for SoGlos, Inkygoodness and a collection of popular blogs. She also works part-time as an editorial assistant for Stroud-based creative solutions company Carmar Media @larashingles
UPDATE! On Monday 13th April we will be screening Rites - a Boss Morris short film directed by Rhia Davenport with sound by Ed Davenport over on our YouTube channel. Click here to see the live premiere at 8pm.
Still from Rites
As well as our recent project (Good On Paper TV) following Good On Paper’s current hiatus over the next few month’s we will be putting up articles from our archives for our readers to easily access and share…Community and culture can carry on in different ways. For now….