The Morris Federation is one of the three existing umbrella organisations for

morris dancing Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may ...

sides in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It was officially founded as the Women's Morris Federation in 1975 as a direct response to the long-existing

Morris Ring The Morris Ring is one of three umbrella groups for Morris dance sides. It was founded in 1934 by 6 sides: Greensleeves, Cambridge, East Surrey, Letchworth, Oxford and Thaxted. Members may meet several times a year, each Ring Meeting being hoste ...

which did not allow all-female or mixed sides to join. It was, as the name suggests, originally limited to all-female teams, with an inaugural meeting held at the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

in October 1975. In 1980, the Morris Federation opened its doors to mixed teams, and two years later adopted a policy of allowing any team to join, regardless of gender. It was at about this point that the third umbrella group was founded, the

Open Morris Open Morris is one of the three umbrella groups for morris dance sides in the United Kingdom. It was formed primarily by members of Fenstanton Morris (an early mixed sex dance side operating near Huntingdon) and other dancers located in East Angl ...

, which adopted this policy from the start. The Morris Federation's aims are to: * Encourage and promote morris and related activities, for anyone who wants to participate or to spectate * Provide a channel of communication between member sides * Encourage the improvement of standards of dancing and related activities among its members *Encourage an environment for morris and related activities where all feel safe, welcomed and respected. The Morris Federation is principally for practising UK-based morris teams, but membership categories exist for interested individuals and overseas teams as well.

References

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External links

Morris Federation website
Dance in England Clubs and societies in England Morris dance