Welcome to Snowbelt Morris
What is Morris Dancing?
Morris dancing is an athletic English tradition that involves
clashing sticks together, waving hankies around, and other such
organized mayhem. Snowbelt Morris is dedicated to
perpetuating and elaborating on the ancient forms of this
ritual dance, with the occasional break to burst into song
and have a bit of a drink.
The Bassett Street Hounds have a nice overview of the history of Morris Dancing available on their web site.
Snowbelt also dances Rapper
Rapper is similar to clogging and to Irish hard-shoe step-dancing.
It's fast, it's fun, and it scares passers-by! Rapper dancers are linked
together by spring-steel swords that bend, and make interesting patterns
during the dance.
For more information, check out this description and history.
We are looking for dancers and musicians!
Dancers:
Morris is a lot of fun to do--possibly moreso than it is to watch!
Dancing helps keep us in shape, and it also ties us in to a whole huge community of morris dancers and folk musicians.
All you need to participate in morris is a sense of rhythm. Just show up to our practice, or call us, or talk to us at a performance, and we'll be happy to strongly encourage you to join and learn how to dance with us!
It's not hard to learn, but the best time to show up is in the fall. Most people need one off-season of practice before they are ready for public performances.
Musicians:
We are looking for musicians to play with us at practices and public performances. Whatever instrument you play, if it's portable and has a beat we'll dance to it. We can provide the tunes that we currently dance to in several formats. Anything goes! As examples, we've danced to:
* accordion
* concertina
* penny whistle
* djembe, conga, and/or dumbek
* dust pan (hey, it sort of sounds like a drum. Kinda.)
Some travel is expected as a member of Snowbelt Morris. The amount of travel varies from year to year; nearly every year we perform in Rochester, Syracuse, Ithaca, and Boston.
Contact Us
If you are interested in joining Snowbelt Morris, or would like more information about us
or morris in general, please Contact Us
The best time to start learning is in the early fall, but we welcome new people whenever
they can make it!
Snowbelt Practice
Winter Practice is Monday at 7:30pm until 9:30pm at the Pittsford Recreational Center.
The Rec Center is at 35 Lincoln Ave in Pittsford, and we are on the second floor. You'll hear us, don't worry!
(Map)
In the late spring and summer we dance at the Gazebo in Fairport by the canal starting at 7pm. Drive down Main Street and you'll see it! It has a roof and a wooden floor--what more could you want?! (Map)
