The Border Morris dancing side
from the Orangeville area north-west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
otherwise known as
The Greater City of Orangeville, Peel, Dufferin and Simcoe County,
Anti-Temperance League, Light Orchestra,
Caroling & Choral Society, Mummering Troupe,
and Border Morris Dance Side
What is Morris Dancing?
Morris is an old English folk dance performance form that includes several types of dance from various regions: including Cotswold, Northwest, Border, Molly, Longsword, Rapper, and Clog.
We do Border Morris originally from the English border counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Shropshire, adding in our own inventions, plus those we have gleaned from others. High spirits and high energy — “a rude vigour” — typify our Border Morris dancing.
We create lots of interest when we dance at local events and festivals. We also sing and play traditional English music, including old Christmas carols mainly from the South Yorkshire area; and we perform traditional English mummering plays. Mostly, we have a lot of fun together!
We practice Thursday evenings in Orangeville, starting at the “Morris time” of 7:30 P.M., either inside in cold or wet weather, or outside in more pleasant conditions. Contact our Squire for up-to-date information.
“A chance to perform in the street, to show off, to be loud or silly or raucous, to violate normal standards of behavior and not only get away with it but be applauded for it.”
from Rich Holmes
Orange Peel wassailing at Spirit Tree, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WnxR3hyohs
Orange Peel Morris wassailing the apple orchard at Spirit Tree Cidery on 2022 February 21. Thanks to Spirit Tree Cidery for their continued hosting of this fine event each winter. Thanks to Bob Houghton and Yvonne Aburrow for the major portion of the video shooting. Thanks also to the others who contributed material. Production by Mark Whitcombe.
May Day 2022 at Island Lake, Orangeville
Orange Peel Morris held our first local May Day all by ourselves during this pandemic. We went up to a small hill overlooking Island Lake outside of Orangeville and danced the Sun up on a rather windy and cold morning as you’ll hear.
(For more than two decades, we’ve been dancing the Sun up on May Day an hour away in downtown Toronto in High Park with other Morris sides from Southern Ontario and more. Not these last couple of years, however … So we did our own this year!)
Dancing and teaching at Mariposa Folk Festival, Orillia, 2019
A video produced by a vendor at Mariposa Folk Festival, Orillia, in 2019, showing a ‘street’ performance and a teaching opportunity in the Festival grounds.