37 years of superb dancing and still going
strong!
"PROBABLY THE BEST AND MOST NOTORIOUS MORRIS DANCERS IN ENGLAND !"
Trevor being Trevor on our 30th
Anniversary mini-Euro tour This one at Szeved Festival in Hungary
Sleaford in
Lincolnshire based Kesteven Morris are two teams in one; A men's team, dancing
mainly Cotswold and rapper and a Women's team dancing Cotswold, North West and
Molly.
Founded in 1976 by Trevor
Mayfield and Ray Worman, (ex. Albion Morris and the fool that danced the Bacca
Pipe Jig on Morris On).
Morris dancing is the ideal way to keep fit and enjoy aerobic exercise as well
as having great fun whilst keeping this important English tradition alive.
Kesteven Men
comprises of Twelve men; dancers and musicians playing melodeon &
accordion.
Traditions danced include Bampton, Bledington, Bucknell, Sherborne,
Fieldtown, Lichfield and Upton On Seven and of course the famous Sleaford dances.
Kesteven
Men dancing Teflon (Upton on Seven - Non stick dance!)
to see more of Kesteven dancing please click on any of
the following:
Kesteven Women comprises of ten women; eight dancers and two musicians playing
accordion and melodeon. Traditions danced include Kestevens own LincWold,
Headington, Brackley, Ilmington, Bidford, Stanton Harcourt plus North West,
Garland, and East Anglian Molly.
winter Molly costume
Kesteven Rapper is an
internationally recognised rapper sword team having taken part in the DERT
rapper tournament for a number of years and have received many awards
including gold and red ribbons for their dancing and music. Kesteven
rapper sword dances use the very best and most exciting rapper moves and
always includes one or two death defying tumbles.
Kesteven Rapper in Prague
Kesteven Rapper
performing at the Sidmouth Festival
Morris dancing is the most
widespread form of vital and exciting traditional English customs still
extant.
Sleaford
Morris Men circa 1906 (can you spot Trev's Granddad)?
Forcibly
disbanded by Sleaford Magistrates in 1906 for disorderly behaviour
Their
tradition bravely carried on by Kesteven Morris
Despite the efforts of the
early church to suppress pagan rituals; despite efforts by polite society to
turn the dance into a skipping game; despite wars wiping out generations who
performed it; despite modern English apathy; this ancient part of our heritage
continues.
Its existence in South
Lincolnshire is ensured by Kesteven Morris.
Anxious that the Morris
dance should be seen by as many people as possible, the group perform at a
wide variety of locations from vast stately homes to small garden fetes, from
country pubs to city centres, in fact anywhere where a crowd of people gather.
Kesteven Morris ensure
their high spirited performances are skilful, enthusiastic and entertaining
while taking care never to compromise the spirit of a unique and powerful
English Tradition.
Kesteven is one of the three old counties which now form the county of
Lincolnshire.
Kesteven Morris 2009 with our friend Janna
the team has
represented English Folk dance at many International Festivals including:
The World Folkdance Festival Munich 1985 (second place out
of seventy two international dance teams in the International Folk dance
competition),
The World Folkdance Festival, Majorca 1987,
The Doe Danse Festival Arnheim, Holland 1989,
The Doe Danse Festival Verhooten, Holland 1990,
The Issoire Folklore Festival 1994 Issiore, France,
hosted the Harlaxton Dance Festival at
Harlaxton Manor, Lincolnshire from 1990 to 1994.
The
Sidmouth International Festival, 1998
The
Issoire Folklore Festival 1999, Issoire, France
Dancing England Rapper Tournament, Greenwich 2000
The
Whitby International Folk Festival 2001
Marquete Lez Lille international Festival 2002, France
If
you live in Lincolnshire or the bordering counties and would like to try
Morris dancing we would be pleased to see you at one of our regular Tuesday
evening practices in Sleaford. We start at 8.30pm and work hard till 10pm.
Women at St. Botolphs Hall, Grantham Road, Sleaford, NG34 7NB, Men at The
Scout Hut, Reform Place, Off Westgate, Sleaford, NG34 7QR.
