These traditions are what makes us a unique country, proud to be British.

Keeping English culture alive. Morris dancing has experienced a resurgence in the 10 years since this performance. This troupe has the traditional Morris Men outfits I remember from the 1970s.

Well danced and defo well played - oh, and I love "hankies up" 😄😄😄

I don't know whether it's because us British are naturally self-deprecating that we are so disparaging about Morris Dancing - and so other nationalities follow suit, but if Morris dancers were Spanish or Swiz or from another country, I think they would not be the object of such ridicule. Personally, I love the old British traditions - Morris Dancing, Maypole dancing, Mummers plays, wassailing e.t.c. ........ Long may they live.

Great dancing and music, many thanks for the upload!) I'm very glad to see that traditional dancing lives on where you live. As for all the haters - try to understand that this is traditional dancing, not professional, theatrical or commercial dancing like Riverdance or that Scottish/Spanish/Russian/Georgian flavoured choreography you come to see on stage or at a festival. I assure you as a person who has studied сultural history and learned to dance both under a professional ballet dancer and a cossac oldtimer from a Siberian village - most of professional folk dancing has almost nothing to do with real traditional dancing as done in the village. It only has a flavour added to it, no more than that - most of the moves they perform and the composition of the dance are a creation of professional choreographers, who were a) assuming that the dancer is a PROFESSIONAL b) aiming to make it look fascinating and fancy FOR THE VIEWER. With traditional dancing, be it recreational or ritual, nine times out of ten you would come to DANCE YOURSELF, not to look at other people do it. It is you and your neighbor that are dancing in your free time to have some fun or to perform a ritual - so all the moves are easy to do, something that everyone can pull off. No crazy leg splits in the air, no stage acrobatics - just a combination of steps and jumps, waving your hands and the like. Don't get me wrong, professional dancing has existed for eons, but most dances were recreational, and this one is one of them. In the village most of dancing was not a show, it was just like a modern day disco or prom - boys hitting up on girls, socializing etc. So to truly embrace traditional dancing - just try and dance for yourself! And if you have to be a spectator - don't compare it to Riverdance and don't expect anything fancy or athletic, look out for guys and girls who are smiling and having a good time - they are the most fun to watch) Peace! Best regards from Russia)

That something as seemingly innocent as this could actually make someone hostile is bewildering. Looked this up after I saw it mentioned and QI and now I'm quite glad I learned of it. Thanks for the upload!

Absolutely loved this … great dancing ❤

Fantastic. From a Scotland.

Well done, gents! I love your dedication and enthusiasm. I wonder... if an alien culture were to arrive, they may think this the way we dry our dish towels.

Arnold J Rimmer’s favorite pastime 😂

I miss you already England. (Just moved to the USA)

I think the comments that ridicule this dance are due to misunderstanding of the tradition behind it. Its origins are in a very old war dance that was adopted from Daco-Romanians almost two thousand years ago. To see it closer to what it should be search for "Calusul Oltenesc" and its slower form "Calusul Transilvan", both Romanian traditional dances. The "Calusarii" is part of the UNESCO world heritage. Likely it was transferred from Dacia during the Roman occupation.

Heard a joke on "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me": Why do Morris dancers wear bells? Answer: So they can annoy blind people as well. To be fair, it's commendable that they keep a tradition alive.

This must have been shot with a very good HD video camera. I have a MacBook Pro with Retina display and this video is a treat for the eye. The red and white costumes really popped against the greenery in the background. It's so crisp I could see the individual leaves, as well as the insects swarming in the air. Wish I could've been there in person, but this was the next best thing. Thanks for posting it.

And thangs for posting 👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🎼🪗🎻✔💯

This is great. I liked it

Looks a bit similar to an ancient romanian dance called Călușari (look for it on youtube): the colors, the hats, the bats are common points.

This makes me want a cider

I dare say these gentlemen like a drink afterwards. Probably before as well.

We have Jedi in the Cotswolds. Behold.

If I could find a reason, or place to do this here in NW Ohio, USA I would. I'm 45, male, and enjoy a good time.

You should try seaching for "Calusarii", that is how this dance should be

+mattibold arc you have dealt with the hater and stuff really well mate, being a young Morris dancer myself (14) I find it utterly brilliant that you have stoop up to the tradition. P.S lassington oak is better 😉

Nice

I come from Norfolk and am pretty used to hearing accents but I just can't decipher what these men are saying lol.

that's me sat to the right of the Fool...

The costumes are eerily close to the Romanian dance Călușari. There are a few similar dances in Spain and Portugal too.

it looks like the chievaliers dance from Romania looks for Calusarii

Are the accordions what's keeping time here? The drum seems way off

Calusarii or The Sacred Dance The tradition of the Calusari comes from the ancient times of Dacia and even today still keeps it's pagan core. Once upon a time, Calusarii were priests of a solar cult. Lead by a great priest, their dances were much more then an initiation, were an exorcism. The great priest was the one that was asking the god for help while leading the army of the Calusari in their war with the evil spirits that took over the villages. More so, they used to take a vow of silence, the only one being allowed to talk being the leader who at varied times was requesting them to release certain war calls. Xenophon ( Anabasis, VI,I 5-6) describes the ancient Thracian dance of the swords as such: "The Thracians started to dance, weapons in hand, on the sound of panpipes, while jumping in the air waving their daggers. At the end, after one of them overpowered another and all thought that the fallen one was dead: he fell with a great art". The great priest of the solar cult shared his knowledge with only one man who took his place. With the expansion of Christianity, pagan cults slowly dissipated, while the traditions remained rooted in the world of the Romanian villages. In this way, the Calusari remained a dance understood by less and less people. And yet, people still believe that watching the Calusarii dance brings good luck over the entire year. The Calusarii bring with them joy and protection against illness. The tradition says that each group of Calusarii gives life to the ritual dance and takes suffering away. The Calusari are described as groups of odd numbered men, sworn to stay together in celibacy and ritual dancing for a period of nine years. Their secrets are to be never known. They are feared warriors who fight the “iele” (“them,” magical dancing maiden fairies). According to the Romanian historian of religions, Mircea Eliade, the Calusari were known for “their ability to create the impression of flying in the air” which he believed represented both the galloping of a horse and the dancing of the fairies. Indeed, the group’s patron was the “Queen of the Fairies”, who was also known as Irodiada and Arada, and who Eliade connected with the folkloric figure Diana. The origins of the Calusari are unknown, although the first written attestations are from the 17th century. Eliade noted that “Although the oath taken is made in the name of God, the mythic-ritual scenario enacted by the Calusari has nothing in common with Christianity". The Calusarii have to stay together for the sworn period to remain invulnerable and invested with the supernatural powers and if they break away from the group they would fall prey to the iele. But together, they can heal those possessed by evil spirits by performing their dancing and rituals around them. The costumes worn by the Calusari are white, decorated with colorful sticks, hand made hankies, while the hats have beads and colored ribbons. The most important instrument is the flag, a four-five meters long stick on top of which are tied plants as garlic and wormwood, salt and white and red ribbons, sacred colors in the Dacian vision who connect the dance to the ancient rituals of Zamolxe. The dance of the Calusari seems to be one of the oldest and most complex of the folk dances of Romania. The men who wished to enter the group of the Calusari came together outside the village, on the shore of a water, where, in a ritual, sworn to respect the rules of the group, including sexual abstinence. For ten days they live in a sacred time and space. During the entire period they wear a specific costume with bells on the legs, a stick, and sleep under churches to be protected by attacks from the Iele. The ceremony included magical practices and invocations, dances and ritual acts executed by the strictly organized group of men. After the ceremonial dances are finished at the end of the ten days, the men meet in the village, greet each other like after a long absence and life goes back to normal. The dance of the Calusari, in the popular tradition, meets different functions including the magical transfer of the divine fertility through spells during the dance over salt for animals and a bowl with seeds for sowing in the fields. Other benefits were of speeding up the marriage and fertility of the young women who were admitted into the end dance, healing of the sick and the sending away of the Iele (malefic fairies) through the practice of warrior acts and the used of magical plants during the dance. The Calusari dance is considered one of the fastest and most spectacular dances in the world and was included by UNESCO on the list of non material masterpieces of the universal culture.

is that Tesco Express in the background ?

Kinda reminds me of the Romanian Căluşari dance. I wonder if they're related

❤❤❤

why are they doing so much jumping

The original dance: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qa-dpr17nMm8YKM.html Was probably brought in the migrational periods or during the roman period from dacians/thracians in the Balkan and into the isles.

hang on guys let me get my accordion out

Whoever filmed this was IMHO a little to obsessed with the musicians as opposed to the dancers. I mean, there's some guy wearing a horse head, and we only get a brief glimpse of him at about 6:30 and again around 7:30. I mean, come on, the fool is half the spectical of morris dancing! Or maybe that's just me... I have to agree about the quality though! Very crisp, nice colors!

I was very surprised the first time I watched Morris Men, because they are quite reminiscent of the Portuguese "Pauliteiros". Here's an example or two: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/meCfZcWcqbGzmJ8.html , kzfaq.info/get/bejne/etWBqLyWta6qYJc.html .

bought a pork pie on Friday and a beer , right a tiled roof , left a plastic and steel !

And that’s how you conquer 1/4 of the world.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. From Scotland.

Watch the original in HQ : kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qa-dpr17nMm8YKM.html

The original was probably brought to Britannia by Dacian auxiliaries from the Roman army guarding Hadrian's wall . And the "calusari dancers" ( "cal" means horse ) , equivalent of your morris dancers are not at all depreciated today , on the contrary . kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ishjitt4mOCnm4E.html

PRIMAE AELIA DACORUM LEGACY !

How the fuck did they get an empire? Oh right... They had a flag.

This is a similar tradition to the Maori haka in New zealand, the English seem a little more civil though .

Very funny video

Morroccan Roll

Dear Molly, I'm unsure what you are hoping to achieve by dismissing this ancient tradition with a singular misspelled, ill-informed, and homophobically- connotated word? Please elucidate!

Option 2

Hehehehehehe

Зрителей надо побольше!

8/10: Would Cane Again.

There should be bell chiming with discipline.

What are they thinking? It's got to be the funniest thing since Monty Python. Love those Brits.

@ Bert T: I think that you're England's real shame, for making such an ill informed and homophobic comment!

Someone tell me what the fuck is this dancing about like this all about please

to project such sexual innuendo onto such a traditional British event and entertainment is a mere projection of repression and to undermine Britain's individual , historical and unique social gathering is narrow minded and subversive ! Foreigners have such a blinkered outlook , perhaps it's not a badger cull we need on here .

true brits though ! eh

O ,M, G, I thought it was boy scouts and train spotters let us down as English ,

ISLAM : WOW A DANCE FROM MY MOORISH BLOOD LINE KEEP IT UP BOYS!

This should be England Rugby's equivalent to the New Zealand HAKA...

It's good to see homosexuality being celebrated openly by the gay men of England and in this case Gloucester.