Dancing secrets once allegedly buried beneath the waters of Langsett Reservoir have resurfaced
Dancing secrets once allegedly buried beneath the waters of Langsett Reservoir have resurfaced and been revived by a team of enthusiasts.
Sheffield City Morris team, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year, has devoted countless hours to reviving a set of traditional songs.
They were discovered in an old chest, hidden within Langsett Reservoir, and only came to light when a drought in the 1970s took its waters away.
Now new dances are added to the troupe’s repertoire each year, for a set of six or eight performers each time.
To mark 50 years since teams were founded in 1975 by Bob Hazelwood, the club is sharing its story once more.
Member Dominic Rice said this was a celebration, a chance for the dancers to shine and to celebrate in their own way.
“We’ve been going for 50 years now, when a lot of teams have disappeared,” he said. “This is a way of celebrating.
“And hopefully we can carry it on for the future. It is actually a very good exercise.”
Morris dancing is a traditional English folk dance, although its origins are also lost in time.
One theory is that Morris comes from the word ‘moorish’, or it could come from the French dance ‘mauresque’, which may have a link, said Mr Rice.
“There are records of it going back to the 1400s, and people think of it now as quintessentially English,” he said. “It certainly goes back a long time.”
This team, founded as Sheffield City Morris Men, dropped the ‘men’ a few years ago when its first women’s troupe was formed.
Now they dance Cotswold style, with handkerchiefs and sticks. The aim, originally, was to make urban Morris a more entertaining spectacle.
They dance mainly in Medup style, named for the village of Midhopestones. It is these dances that were discovered in the oak chest at the bottom of the reservoir.
With further practice in Bampton tradition, and some in Upton, their repertoire is growing.
And this anniversary year is proving a busy one. In the summer teams performed at Warwick Folk Festival and Sidmouth Folk Week. There’s been the Lincoln Day of Dance, and Crookes Street market. In November they will teach a Cub Scout group how to dance.
Rehearsals are weekly, with a special New Year’s Day dance outside Sheffield Cathedral.
There is a chorus, to a clash of sticks, and hankie waving in a certain way. The team’s colours are blue and green, representing Sheffield’s rivers and its hills. And they are known, in particular, for the style of green trousers, in contradiction to traditional breaches or cords.
“Sheffield does seem to have more teams than other towns and cities of its size, it is quite strong here,” said Mr Rice.
“There was a bit of a folk revival in the 60s and 70s, a lot of teams were founded around this time.
“Ours has just kept going. It’s something a little bit different.”
To find out more about the team or take part in training visit sheffieldcitymorris.org.uk