“In order to continue our policy of inclusion, we moved away from the Border Morris tradition of blacking our faces, and have been experimenting with ways to disguise ourselves.
Since September 2019 we have danced in a halfmask of black and red. Styx of Stroud is proud to be part of our diverse community, and is looking at ways to make sure that everyone can enjoy our performances - Squire says we may even learn the dances properly...”
Styx of Stroud is a mixed Border Morris side, launched in 2012 to perform traditional and contemporary dances in the Border style - so like the best cider, that’s from the borders of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and (just a little bit) Gloucestershire.
We wear tattercoats, black with flashes of red and green to reflect the felt-making heritage of our home town of Stroud in Gloucestershire. Where we still make the yellow stuff for all the tennis balls at Wimbledon and the green for snooker tables (fun facts).
We paint our faces with masks as a disguise, just like the old boys did back in the day with soot and fat. We don't have to use soot and fat, although some of us do like a bit of lard.
And our kit is a mix of tatters and lace, corsets, boots, a bit of steampunk, bells and black hats with feathers and flowers, with our hand-whittled sticks made of hazel.
Our aims are threefold:
– to keep Border dance alive
– to entertain our audiences
– to have fun *
(* that’s the main one, really)
During the summer months we regularly dance out in public, at festivals, outside pubs, weddings, days of dance, wherever we’re invited, really. And some where we’re not. We’ve even been (fleetingly) seen on the telly!
But from September through to the end of April we practise every week, on a Thursday, or on Wednesday if we get bumped out of our practice space by the Brownies, at various venues where they don’t mind shouting and big sticks.
Important information : The Joint Morris Organisations (JMO) wholly condemns and disassociates themselves from the sentiments expressed in an article recently published on a nationalist website. We hope the entire morris community would join us in rejecting the divisive narrative put forward by this article.
Morris is a unique cultural tradition of which we should be rightly proud. However, we will never support a divisive narrative which seeks to put our tradition beyond certain groups.
We want people from all races and backgrounds to share in this pride and not be made to feel unwelcome or uncomfortable by any element of a performance or the community.
“Squire says: we may not always know where we’re going, but sometimes we know where we’ve been”