I'm nearly famous

[Mikefule]

Originally Posted by Naomi

I guess it is the missing full stop after 'oss' that has thrown me. ;-)

Such attention to detail deserves a proper answer.

Nutting Girl is a traditional tune, and a traditional song. There is a jig to the tune.

In the Morris, a jig is a solo dance, or sometimes a dance in which two dancers take it in turns to perform, competing with each other to dance higher and better.

The Nutting Girl tune is fairly simple, consisting of three sections each in 2:4 or 4:4 time - i.e. a fairly typical folk tune.

The dance consists of the following:

A once to yourself (OY) in which the musician plays once through the opening section of music, and the dancer steps in and jumps to start the dance on the next pass through the music.

A Foot Up (FU) in which the dancer performs a short and very simple sequence of steps taking eight bars of music (about 8 - 12 seconds).

A chorus (Ch) in which the dancer performs a series of more sophisticated steps such as sidesteps (oss or css - simply different sorts) and forries/forrie capers (FC: leaps into the air in time with the music). This takes about twice as long as the foot up.

Slows in which the music is played at half speed, and the dancer does a series of clever slow steps before finishing with a set of steps similar to the Foot Up.

Another chorus.

A different set of slows.

Another chorus, ending on four big energetic steps called "Capers" or "Plain Capers" (PC).

The whole dance takes oh, I dunno, a couple of minutes max.

The complex post was me being cheeky. It was a fairly simple short hand for the sequence of steps for one version of the dance.

Imagine a solo dancer in white trousers and shirt, bells on the shins, and a decorated straw hat. The dancer has a large handkerchief in each hand to emphasise the movement of the hands. The music is played by a solo fiddler or squeeze box player. It's all done very energetically, fairly seriously, but not without a dash of irony.

Does that clarify?

[Naomi]

Originally Posted by Mikefule

Such attention to detail deserves a proper answer.

Nutting Girl is a traditional tune, and a traditional song. There is a jig to the tune.

The complex post was me being cheeky. It was a fairly simple short hand for the sequence of steps for one version of the dance.

Thanks for that Mike, my own post was a little on the cheeky side too. It was more that I was astonished to find that a written notation existed for Morris Dancing, in much the same way as I was surprised that there were notations for juggling patterns.

Now siteswap (sheet music for juggling?), only defines the throws of a juggling pattern, and not the whole trick. I suspect that your notation also leaves a lot of scope for interpretation over and above the prescribed written steps. Hence the comment about you on the web site?
"Ask to see his Nutting-Girl jig and you will see a solo performance in the true sense or the word!"

Now you must not see this as a plea for me to join in, but are all Morrismen men? I can't remember ever seeing a female dancer.

It would perhaps be interesting to see Nutting Girl as an act in the Nottingham Juggling Convention (which I HOPE to be able to attend). There will probably be a whole bunch of unicyclists there. Jugglers enjoy eccentricity of all types, and occasionally have acts from other disciplines in their shows. Discipline was probably a very bad choice of word there.

[cathwood]

Mikefule,
Since morrisdancing seems to be an even more minority passtime than unicycling, and I am extremely nosey, I would be interested to know how you first got into it.

Cathy

[GILD]

Originally Posted by Mikefule

For my own team's website, try: http://www.dolphin-morris.co.uk/

You have a guy called Dave Walters in your Morris Team!?!

[Mikefule]

Originally Posted by Naomi

"Ask to see his Nutting-Girl jig and you will see a solo performance in the true sense or the word!"

Ah, that quote on the site. Sorry, I missed the reference. My Nutting Girl jig is unique (to the best of my knowledge). I do a version of the jig from the tradition that originated (and continues) in Bampton in the Bush in Oxfordshire. The difference is that I play my own music as I do it. I play a harmonica, but with both hands free, and thus do all the hand and foot movements that a conventional dancer would do.

I know others who dance jigs playing meodeon, concertina or even fiddle, but never harmonica.

Originally Posted by Naomi

Now you must not see this as a plea for me to join in, but are all Morrismen men? I can't remember ever seeing a female dancer.

There are probably more female dancers than male, these days. The Morris Ring is an all malke organisation (for historical reasons); the Morris Federation started as the Women's Morris Federation (more or less as a reaction to the all male culture of the Ring), but is now open to males and females; the Open Morris is and always has been open to male, femal and mixed sex teams.

My team happens to be all male, but this is for historical reasons. Many of us have danced in mixed teams, some still do, and we regularly mix with female and mixed teams. Gone are the days when it was a big gender-politix issue. Nevertheless, just as many girls like a girls' night out, many boys like a boys' night out, and I cherish that aspect of my own team.

[Mikefule]

Originally Posted by GILD

You have a guy called Dave Walters in your Morris Team!?!

Yes, why?

[Mikefule]

Originally Posted by cathwood

Mikefule,
Since morrisdancing seems to be an even more minority passtime than unicycling, and I am extremely nosey, I would be interested to know how you first got into it.

An estimated 15 000 Morris dancers in Britain, and many teams worldwide. Three "governing bodies" comprising a few hundred teams. People are largely oblivious to it because we only tend to appear at certain places - mainly quiet country pubs.

Not the most interesting history: a school teacher who was a dancer with another local team encouraged me. My fiancée, later wife, now ex, played flute with a ceilidh (barn dance) band. Several members of the band danced with local teams. I started going to a folk club on a whim because I had Friday evenings free, and the Morris team was at that time affiliated to the club. The inevitable happened.

I joined in Sept 1983 and have danced almost every week since, with the only "closed season" in August. It has taken me to Romania, the Netherlands, France, the Channel Islands and over much of Britain, and has introduced me to some great people (and some complete a**eholes, of course). It was Morris dancing that got me into unicycling.

[phil]

Originally Posted by GILD

You have a guy called Dave Walters in your Morris Team!?!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to seek out as many other Dave Walters as you can and email them all.

That could be quite... kewl?

Phil

[cathwood]

Originally Posted by Mikefule

An estimated 15 000 Morris dancers in Britain, and many teams worldwide. Three "governing bodies" comprising a few hundred teams. People are largely oblivious to it because we only tend to appear at certain places - mainly quiet country pubs.

Not the most interesting history: a school teacher who was a dancer with another local team encouraged me. My fiancée, later wife, now ex, played flute with a ceilidh (barn dance) band. Several members of the band danced with local teams. I started going to a folk club on a whim because I had Friday evenings free, and the Morris team was at that time affiliated to the club. The inevitable happened.

I joined in Sept 1983 and have danced almost every week since, with the only "closed season" in August. It has taken me to Romania, the Netherlands, France, the Channel Islands and over much of Britain, and has introduced me to some great people (and some complete a**eholes, of course). It was Morris dancing that got me into unicycling.

Cool. Thanks.
Yeah, quiety country pubs (or any pubs come to that) are not places I have been since having Sam. If we get let out for good behaviour and actually get a baby sitter, it's straight round to the best eating place withing walking (or staggering home) range. Country pubs are therefore out.

Cathy

[GILD]

Originally Posted by Mikefule

Yes, why?

Cause that's my name.