Monday 11 June 2012

Gog Magog Molly Dances Forth

Who are this strange bunch of people making their way beneath last week's Jubilee bunting towards St Neots Market Square to join the Morris dancing teams that I showed you in yesterday's post.......?


GOG MAGOG MOLLY DANCERS......that's who!


Prancing and dancing....jumping and stomping....leaping and laughing...and generally having a good time...


....a more colourful spectacle is hard to imagine. "Like an explosion in a tie-dye factory!" and with their own eccentric band of musicians too...


The tunes sound traditional but surely that dancing can not be anything to do with the gentle English countryside....


Think again. When Morris dancing first became known to folklorists and musical historians at the beginning of the twentieth century - somehow it had been going on under their  cultured noses for centuries without being noticed - they also mentioned other traditions such as Border Morris and Molly Dancing.


However it appeared wild and primitive to their rather refined taste and they dismissed it as "a rather degenerate and worthless form of dancing". All the attention centred on the Cotswold Morris.

A few people remembered the old Molly dancers. Men, outlandishly dressed and with blacked-up faces, went from house to house on Plough Monday in early January, begging for money and, if none was given, ploughing up the land in front of the house.


Remnants of the tradition survived in the Fens and in villages near Cambridge and dances were collected from old men who remembered the steps and patterns.


The style of dancing is energetic and almost violent with raised knees, clenched fists and heavy stepping. The picture above gives some idea of the action involved. The Gog Magog Molly emphasise the stomping nature of the dances by wearing colourful workboots...


But surely those outfits they are wearing are not traditional...


Well, no, but the general idea was to appear outlandish and odd. Sides from different villages developed their own fashions and it seems appropriate the this side, composed of mainly young people, should dress in this way.


The dances, however, are genuine enough though because of the paucity of information they've been interpreted and added to out of necessity - and sheer enthusiasm! Some dances end like this....


....and with a loud shout! Everyone, both the general public and the dancers from elsewhere seemed to thoroughly enjoy the lively, extrovert performance. Catch them if you can. They're nice people!



Here's a link to a YouTube video where you can enjoy a fine performance from this year's Whitby Festival.

Take care.

20 comments:

  1. Well I was waiting on the what comes next post from you John.. Thanks for the history lesson behind your post and how unique the dancing demonstration! Colourful and playful.

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  2. This is my traditional dance since I'm of English descent.COOL! Love all the colour and silly dancing.

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  3. Fantastic, John! How do we get in touch with the Gog Magog Molly dancers?

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  4. Fantastic, John! How do we get in touch with the Gog Magog Molly dancers?

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  5. So joyful! It's wonderful that those traditions are being passed on-- and the group is composed of so many young people! I love street dancing--it's what I love about New Orleans--street music, second line dancing and the passing on of the local musical heritage.

    I would love to see the them and the dancers in your previous post.

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  6. Now that is a dance I might be able to do as it doesn't involve any fancy footwork. But getting the routine down may take me a bit of time. Best I start on my outfit right away. Fun post, thanks.

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  7. A very colourful and energetic post John and I thoroughly enjoyed the previous one too. We have a lot of Morris Dancing in these parts, I have cousins who belong to (or used to) a local group.

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  8. Loved the video and your images John, fantastic post, it does have that traditional feel to me.

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  9. Very colourful and enthusiastic! Not a post suitable for monochrome ...

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  10. Wonderful, John - just what the world needs now in place of soccer violence!!

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  11. fabulous! I love to see this sort of thing. That's a dance even I could do, hehe! I even own some clothing the same as one or two people pictured are wearing!

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  12. This is the most splendid set of photographs John - worthy of publication. So colourful. Never heard of them before.

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  13. Hi John! Another fantastic post, full of fascination and insight. This crowd looks like a fun one to belong to. Here's to outlandish! Sorry for being out of touch for so long... Becky and I just returned from a 3 week road trip to western parts of the US. I want to thank you for your visits in our absence. It is much appreciated :^)

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  14. Fantastic! I would absolutely love to see this in person. The colors are brilliant and the smiles are genuine. Thanks for including the Youtube link. Some year I want to be there with you for this festival.

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  15. I'd love to see this, it looks so vibrant and full of life.

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  16. Thank you for the link to u=tube. What energetic dancing!Listening to the music and seeing all the fun was a great way to start my day. :)

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  17. Who cares whether it's traditional or not, it looks such fun. (Not a dance for the arthritics among us though!) I was watching a bit of some West End show on TV called 'Stomp' - not so colourful but somewhat related I guess.

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  18. I spent a thoroughly enjoyably couple of days watching morris in Chippenham a few years ago. It's comes in for a lot of stick (could be all the sticks) and perhaps it's easy to see why, but there's definately no doubt that it's worth preserving.
    I seem to the remember the Chippenham morris team had a Scotsman in it - this one will continue to watch from the sidelines though.
    Hurray for Morris!!

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  19. Gog Magog Molly18 June 2012 at 20:10

    Hello everyone! This is Gog Magog Molly. Thank you for all your lovely comments, and to John for the great posts and photos. If you want to know more about us and what we're up to, you can "Like" us at https://www.facebook.com/GogMagogMolly. If you are in the UK, we will be dancing at Ely Folk Festival (14 July) and Warwick Folk Festival (27-29 July) amongst other places. Come and say hello sometime!

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  20. I just want to shout, "Yay!!"

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