May 1st

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Morris in Leicester

The Morris has been danced in Leicestershire for at least four centuries. The records show that in 1599 Morris dancers were summoned before the magistrates for dancing near the maypoles - obviously a heinous crime in those days. However they clearly did not learn their lesson, as they did the same thing in 1603, and were duly summoned to appear once more.

The Morris dropped out of sight locally for a while, and the next recorded mention is in the last decade of the 19th-century, when dances with sticks were seen in Market Bosworth and other parts of west Leicestershire.

In the 1920s a side of dancers was performing Cotswold Morris in Leicester, and the current side were in touch with one of them, Eric swift, until his death a few years ago. Fortunately he was very encouraging, though it was a humbling in feeling to be watched by a man who was dancing before most of us were born.

The present Leicester Morris men were formed in 1953, and the initially met just to learn the dances, with an occasional demonstration. In 1957 Steve George organized the first summer season of "dancing out", and the side has never looked back. We claim to have danced in every town and village in Leicestershire (and many other places besides) and hope to give as much pleasure to audiences as we derive ourselves from keeping the Morris alive. New recruits are welcome, and should fit in easily: our youngest dancer is 15, our oldest is 75 years old!