A night at the ballet

I was lucky enough to be treated by a friend to a night at the ballet, just after the New Year. We went to see Northern Ballet's 'Cinderella' at the Grand Theatre in Leeds - and it was wonderful. All the city's Christmas lights were still lit, so it was lovely walking through the city centre from the rail station to the theatre.

The theatre itself is full of history, built in 1878 in an elaborate mix of styles: gothic, Romanesque and Scottish baronial. The traditional Victorian interior has tiers - the Stalls, Dress Circle, Upper Circle, Balcony (Gallery) and Upper Balcony, carefully organised to maintain the separation of rank for the class-conscious Victorians. There are still some boxes at the sides too. (One of my abiding childhood memories is the thrill of our family having a box at a performance in a theatre in Nottingham. I can't even recall what we saw, but I remember the box, vividly!) The Grand has, of course, been upgraded many times during its life and is now a comfortable venue with enough elegance to make you feel rather special.

We had excellent seats near the front in the Stalls, close enough to the stage to be able to see the expressions on the faces of the dancers, and with a glimpse down into the orchestra pit in front of and below the stage. Such anticipation waiting for that red curtain to draw back and reveal the performance...

These are all snaps taken on my phone, and I had to wait until the end when the theatre had emptied a bit. They do, however, give a glimpse of the theatre's breath-taking decoration. That's a massive chandelier at the centre of the ceiling rose, though my phone couldn't really deal with its brightness.

I couldn't of course, take any pictures during the ballet, so you'll have to believe me when I say it was absolutely gorgeous. I love that Northern Ballet performs with a live orchestra, the Sinfonia, and the costumes and staging were phenomenal. There are some photos on their website HERE. The company has existed since 1969, building from a small dance troupe of just 11 dancers to become one of the world's greatest ballet companies. In particular it benefitted hugely from the leadership, as Artistic Director, of the renowned Christopher Gable, from 1987 until his death in 1998.  The company now operates from a huge, brand new purpose-built studio and theatre space in Leeds, now under the direction of David Nixon.

Day of Dance

Saltaire Festival 2019
Mid September in Saltaire means it's the annual Saltaire Festival. The first Saturday dawned fair and warm, delightful for the crowds who gathered. Teams of Morris dancers were dancing at various places throughout the village. There were at least six teams, including the border morris side from Otley, Wayzgoose (above), with their colourful traditional costumes. They make a lot of noise with their sticks, all rather exciting. Our local Rainbow Morris were dancing too, and Four Hundred Roses, the ladies who dance an interesting fusion of folk and belly dancing.

I didn't take many photos as I had my two granddaughters for the day. My focus had to be on them, making sure hats and toy dogs didn't get lost and drinks and snacks were constantly available. (Toy dog nearly did get lost!) When there are crowds, I get anxious about losing sight of them. It's a bit like keeping an eye on two fireworks! The girls are not really old enough or familiar enough with the village to find their own way home. All was well, however and we had a super day. They were enthralled by the dancing.

'I laugh in the face of drizzle'

'I laugh in the face of drizzle. I put on a cagoule, have a beer, check the electrics are working and dance to the music' was written on the Facebook page for 'Yardfest', the mini music festival in someone's back yard in Saltaire as part of Saltaire Festival. Well, they did need a jacket and a smile, as the drizzle was fairly relentless for much of the weekend. But it didn't stop people having fun. There was food from Edward Street Bakery, beer from the Cap and Collar and good music from a line-up of local bands and DJs. I caught a set from a duo I think were called 'Gurgles'. 

To be honest, the jazzier style of the buskers in the Wash House garden was more my cup of tea. 

As always, there was dancing too, from the local clog team 'Rainbow Morris', the belly/morris fusion dancers '400 Roses' and another side from Sheffield called Lizzie Dripping.

May Day in Otley part 2

For dancing, you need music and the Otley May Day maypole dancers (see yesterday's post) were accompanied by the musicians that play for the Buttercross Belles and the Wharfedale Wayzgoose morris side.

The Wayzgoose are a border morris side and have very ornate and traditional costumes, with lots of bells, ribbons and feathers.

The Otley Bellman (Terry Ford) also had a hand in the proceedings. He is Otley's Town Crier, an ancient role that involves delivering messages and proclamations to the townspeople.

May Day madness

When I was a child, my parents used to take me every year to the May Festival in Wellow, Nottinghamshire, near where we lived. I used to adore it, watching children dancing around the maypole, the procession and crowning of the May Queen and all the sideshows and stalls associated with the fair. I always remember it being sunny and warm too! (I'm sure it wasn't always.)

It was with some delight therefore that I discovered that the market town of Otley, some ten miles from Saltaire, was having maypole dancing on May 1st.  It has been a tradition in this country for many hundreds of years to celebrate the pagan festival of Beltane, a farewell to winter and a celebration of things coming to life again in spring. Many towns and villages used to have maypoles and some remain, whilst others are reviving the tradition. The Otley celebration was organised by the Buttercross Belles, a ladies North-West Morris Dancing side based in Otley.

It was all very good-natured, with children encouraged to join in. The end result of ribbons wrapped round the pole was not very precise! My childhood memories are of costumed and highly trained dancers making very neat patterns with the ribbons, the patterns varying depending on the steps of the dance. But who cared about neatness? It was fun.

Towards the end, the professionals did have a go and the result was a rather neater pattern, as you can see below. Of course, once the ribbons are plaited round the pole, the dancers have to do the same dance in reverse to unplait them again. That is even more difficult.

I found the occasion surprisingly moving; lots of memories came flooding back. The only thing that wasn't quite fitting was the weather. Although thankfully dry, it was absolutely freezing cold, with the temperature more akin to November than May Day!

Those Morris dancers again

It's always nice to see a Morris dance team adding some colour and music to the festivities. These were the oddly named 'Bunnies from Hell', dancing in Masham. They seemed not quite as traditional as some Morris sides, but energetic and entertaining nonetheless. And they had very good musicians.

Festival folk

Saltaire Festival 2017 
The Festival usually sees a number of folk dance teams dancing around the village.  Above: Four Hundred Roses, a local dance side that fuses traditional English folk dance with tribal belly dancing. They always make a colourful sight and seem to be going from strength to strength in terms of numbers.

Below: Makara Morris, in their green 'tatters', hail all the way from the East coast resort of Bridlington. They are a traditional Border Morris side and their name links them to ancient 'green man' legends.

Leeds Morris Men (below) are more locally based and dance in the Cotswold Morris style. As is traditional, their side includes a fool, extravagantly dressed, who communicates with the audience, joking and explaining what's happening. He dances around and through the dances, often fooling with an inflated pig's bladder (balloon) attached to a stick, that he uses to swipe at the dancers. It takes great skill to 'fool' effectively without detracting from the dances themselves. 

Where did you get that hat?

Dancers from the Crook Morris side were wearing colourful flower-bedecked hats - with the odd mouse hiding among the blooms!

The Flag Crackers wore a wide variety of wacky headgear, many decorated with pheasant feathers, badges and greenery.

The gentleman below had a top hat with a couple of sunloungers and a pool on top! Not to mention various miniature drinks bottles around the sides... all empty!

The lady below seems to have a tiger in her tank. (Oh dear, knowing that catchphrase rather dates me, doesn't it?) 

Dance sides

Including the Flag Crackers, the festival at The Airedale Heifer involved half a dozen different dance sides (teams), dancing a wide variety of different traditions.

The ladies above are Fiddle 'n' Feet, an Appalachian dance team based in nearby Shipley. Appalachian-style dances are energetic and involve high kicks and foot tapping on a hard surface.

Persephone Morris dance in the North West tradition of clog stepping and processionals that date back to the days when an annual ceremonial procession brought new rushes for the church floor.

The Buttercross Belles, another ladies North West Morris side, come from Otley. 

Crook Morris are based in Kendal. They have quite a repertoire, including Border Morris dances and Rapper Sword dances. At this festival they were dancing traditional Cotswold Morris dances, familiar to many as the archetypal English dances with waving handkerchiefs and jingling bells.

And finally, there was Saltaire's own Rainbow Morris, who also dance in the North West clog tradition, using garlands, sticks and handkerchiefs.

Flag Crackers

These colourful Morris men (and women) in their rag tunics are a side called Flag Crackers, based in Skipton. They dance Border Morris, relatively simple and raucous dances that originated on the border of England and Wales, in Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire. Their blacked-up faces are a means of disguise and have no racial undertones or implication. They traditionally wear clogs and use sticks in their dances.

Down at the pub

If you go down to the pub today, you may get a big surprise...
Pubs and Morris dance sides go together, of course, like bread and butter (or gin and tonic?)  So maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise to find these characters outside The Airedale Heifer in the nearby village of Sandbeds.
The pub was built in the 18th century as a farmhouse and attached barn. The curious slit windows were ventilation for the barn.

Dancing in the street

Saltaire Festival 2016 - Dancing in the street was happening all over Saltaire. The Four Hundred Roses belly dance group were hosting several other folk dance sides so there were many opportunities to watch them, at different sites around the village. It's interesting to see the different dance traditions. The ladies above are a Cotswold Morris group (hankies, bells and sticks) from Hebden Bridge called The Hill Millies. Their unusual dress of aprons, hair rollers, headscarves and orange dusters is not as traditional as their dances!

Our local, Saltaire-based Rainbow Morris team were also out and about, dancing in the North-West clog tradition that developed around the cotton and woollen mills in the Pennines.

Morris dances

Royal Preston Morris Dancers in action...
The costumes are traditional and each dance side has its own livery. They don't usually wear peaked caps (as far as I recall) and I wasn't sure about those!  Made them look rather incongruously like school boys. The dancing was good though. You should hear the sound of eight sets of clogs pounding on a wooden floor...

Morris men

The Barrowford festival celebrating the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal was only a small event - a few stalls and refreshments, some (very interesting) displays about the canal, a tombola. (Surprise, surprise - I won a box of posh teabags from the famous 'Bettys of Harrogate'). There were also a couple of Morris dance sides - the men's Royal Preston Morris Dancers and a team of female clog dancers (whose name I have sadly forgotten).

As always at such events, there was plenty of dancing but also lots of sitting around chatting - and the occasional glass of beer was consumed (not by me!)

I really enjoy watching the dancing, though it's a complex subject and I don't know a huge amount about it. It's interesting to note the variations between the sides and the types of dances. Northern Morris is quite different from what you see further south (Cotswold). The dancers often wear clogs and many of the dances use sticks rather than hankies. I love that these old traditions are kept alive but the average age of the dancers tends to be 'mature' and one wonders if it will die out eventually.

It's all too easy to poke fun at - but then, some of the jokes are quite amusing:

'Our local Morris group has a team of men, a team of women and a team of children too. They call them Morris Minors.'

'Did you hear about the bus load of Morris dancers that was hijacked? The hijackers threatened to release one every hour until their demands were met.'

And the old adage: 'You should make a point of trying everything once -  except incest and Morris dancing.'

Roses all the way

I've mentioned this dance team before on my blog. They are known as Four Hundred Roses and dance a beguiling fusion of traditional English folk dance with Tribal style bellydance. It's colourful, graceful and and fun to watch. The costumes are fantastic - lots of silk roses, of course, but mixed with lace, ribbons, lots of jewellery and colourful dreadlocks. I don't think I could shimmy my hips like they do, but I'd like to dress up in a costume.

There are videos on YouTube if you want to watch them dancing: search 'Four Hundred Roses'

Fiddle 'n' Feet

Fiddle 'n' Feet are an Appalachian dance group, based in Shipley. Their style of dancing originates in the American Appalachian mountains. It's different from morris, in some ways more akin to Irish or Scottish dance. It involves an energetic tap dancing style, on a board that allows the taps to be heard, accompanied by lively fiddle music. It seems to get everyone around tapping their feet too.

Let the music play

Morris dancers need music and there were a number of accordion players, drummers and other instrumentalists providing the music in the park - mostly costumed for the occasion too. (Love that hat! It has miniature windmills on it, as well as flowers and feathers.)

There is a tale in my family that my father used to have an accordion, which he reputedly sold in order to buy my mother an engagement ring!

Oakworth Morris

It seems that men's morris dance sides are dwindling in these parts. Oakworth Village Morris Men dance in the Cotswold Morris style, traditionally with six men but on this occasion they only had four dancers. They may be short of dancers but they were not lacking in enthusiasm and energy.