Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival is proud to have some of the country's top Morris sides at the 2005 Festival, offering a chance to see some of the different regional styles of traditional English dance.

Dance Times:

Saturday starts with a procession down Wheelock Street at 11.00 am, followed by displays at the main festival. Teams will then dance at the Kings Lock and various locations around the town, returning to the Festival site for a display at 3.00 pm.

Sunday starts at 11.30 with a Dance Showcase in the Civic Hall, and then moves to the Kings Lock and the main Festival site. Please note that all outdoor performances are dependent on the weather.

Here is a taster of a few of the Morris teams that will be appearing over the Festival Weekend:

Whip the Cat
“Itinerant tailors… excessive drinkers… Monday shirkers… whatever the real linguistic meaning, for these dancers Whip the Cat spells endless discussions about fur fabric kit and feline chic. Based in Nottingham, Whip the Cat are a women’s rapper team formed in 1999 by a mix of experienced and novice dancers. The common aim of great dancing has led them on an exciting journey of snapping swords, evolving dance wear, musicians in every town and the search for the perfect lock. Enjoy the dance – if you’ve never seen them before, look for the cat print and listen for the laughter”

Glorishears of Brummagem
Glorishears of Brummagem is a women’s Morris dancing team, based in Birmingham. The side has just celebrated 25 years of dancing out, mainly performing dances in the Cotswold tradition, but sometimes also appearing as Brummiegems molly team in the winter. Regular Morris dance followers used to easily recognise Glorishears’ dancers with their brown and orange kit, but since 2003, the side now wears blue, green and white. Glorishears look forward to the next 25 years with their usual enthusiasm!

Ouse Washes Molly
Formed in Norfolk in 1981, the Ouse Washes Molly Dancers are one of the longest established Molly sides in the country - and are still considered the brightest, freshest and most original The Ouse Washes Molly Dancers are a throw back to those halcyon days where the dance glorified the local heroes and reflected the uniquely freezing, windy wilderness where Morris dancers dared not tread with their little tinkling bells and handkerchiefs. The Ouse Washes dance kit is itself indescribable but is said to be based on what the traditional dancers would have worn had they had access to today’s local charity shop, in other words colourful stuff.

Sheffield City Morris
Sheffield City Morris was formed in 1975 with the aim of making Morris dancing an entertaining spectacle in an urban environment. We have strong vocal and instrumental expertise to provide full and varied displays. The dances are mainly from the “Medup” tradition, shorthand for “made up by ourselves”. We have danced extensively throughout the British Isles, Europe and Ecuador. Last year we performed at the 3rd CIOFF World Folkloriada in Hungary (pictured in Budapest).

Leominster Morris Men
The Leominster Morris was revived in 1983 after a break of about 70 years. We dance mainly Welsh Border, including newly 'discovered' dances in the local style, and our main season is midwinter, when we perform The Wassail, blessing the apple-trees with a traditional fire ceremony and mummers' play. We see ourselves as keepers of Herefordshire tradition and, as such, we make our own cider, and, as part of our performance, (or afterwards in sessions) we include local tunes, songs and stories.

Earl of Stamford Morris
They are a mixed Cotswold style side who this year are concentrating on dances from Badby, Adderbury, Fieldtown, and Lichfield. They have an excellent line up of experienced, improvers and novice musicians playing accordion, concertina, melodeon and pipe and tabor. Their kit consists of white shirt, trousers and shoes, black and gold baldrics, arm bands and bell pads. They also have a thriving junior side of dancers under 14.

Fiddlers Fancy Women’s Morris
(Saturday only) the original Fidlers side was formed in the 1880s by a Stockport fish merchant, to provide recreation and collect for charities. Today’s Fidlers Fancy was founded in 1977 and performs North West style Morris dances from Cheshire and Lancashire. They are a much travelled side who have danced in both Russia and America. They wear a straw hat, blue clogs and a dress in red white & blue.

Kickin’ Alice
.. is a team of Appalachian style step dancers from Shropshire and Herefordshire who perform all over the UK at a variety of venues. They provide a dynamic visual and sonic performance incorporating the percussive 'root' styles from the UK and Europe as well as the more modern American clogging with their our own individual touch. Their costume features a patchwork design and they are accompanied by the ‘Old Time String Band’