Today in Buxton it is The Day of Dance. It's a bit like The Day of the Dead, but with morris dancers.
Packs of morris men and clog dancers are roaming the streets and have been known to grab a venue guerrilla style.
Kate W. Aimson often sneaked into the "restricted" section at The Folk Dance Society, where the more risqué dances were kept. There she viewed the full version of "Cuckolds All in a Row", and caused a scandal discussing it with gentlemen of the Society.
She caused even more of a scandal when she started an all-female sword-dancing side. Cecil Sharp reprimanded her, declaring it against tradition. Kate declared it was in accordance with her suffragette principles. Furthermore, she declared "Indeed, in the twentieth century, a woman can handle a fake sword as easily as a man".
She stated that mining areas had sword dancing traditions, and that in the nineteenth century women had been miners alongside men. She called her group The Patience Kershaw Rapper Women in honour of those women who toiled alongside the men in the coal industry, doing physical labour and proving women are as strong as men.
No comments:
Post a Comment