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It all began with John Dexter, MM '89, who started the
Binghamton Morris Men in 1973, said Ruth Slovik Mitchell '76.
Mitchell is co-founder and "squire" (or leader) of the B. F. Harridans,
formed in 1990, and also of an earlier women's Morris team, Hearts
of Oak, formed in 1976.
 "When
I came to SUNY-B, John Dexter was trying to start a men's Morris
team," recalled Mitchell, who works as a systems programmer at the
Cornell Theory Center. "John had been a Morris dancer in New York
City and was interested in taking dance out of idealistic situations,
such as folk-dance halls, and bringing it to the streets. He pulled
a team together, although they'd never seen Morris dancing." Dexter,
who is now a violist with the Manhattan String Quartet, is still
an active participant with the Binghamton Morris Men.
Watching
the Binghamton Morris Men inspired Mitchell -- who was interested
in early music, folk music and folk dance -- to start a women's
team, the Hearts of Oak. "John and others were very helpful," she
said. "And others agreed to come in to give us dance workshops."
That's
also when Mitchell became friends with Peter Klosky '73, who joined
the men's team in 1976. Klosky, director of exhibitions at Binghamton's
Roberson Museum and Science Center, is squire for the Binghamton
Morris Men and also musician for the B. F. Harridans. He plays button
accordion and Anglo concertina, both 19th-century instruments that
are often used for Morris dance and other English, Irish and Scottish
folk music.
Returning
the favor, Mitchell, a classical pianist, harpsichordist and student
of early Baroque music who earned an independent study degree in
American folklore and ethnomusicology, is the musician for the Binghamton
Morris Men. She plays the keyboard accordian for the men's team.
The
Hearts of Oak had more than 20 members at the outset, most of them
Binghamton students. Eventually, when that group became a mixed-gender
team, Mitchell bowed out. The controversy over the authenticity
or appropriateness of mixed-gender teams is a "very big, thorny
issue," as she put it. Enough said.
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What
is Morris Dance?
Traditionally associated with springtime,
Morris dancing may have its origins as a fertility dance --
but Ruth Mitchell doesn't really think people believed that
if Morris dancers danced on their fields in the spring, they'd
reap a good harvest in the fall. Nevertheless, she said, "It
was considered good luck for Morris dancers to come to your
village and dance."
Morris
dance dates back to pre-Christian times, and was -- and is
-- commonly performed at a host of village celebrations, such
as harvest and cider-pressing festivals. "Morris dancers will
typically be present at country fairs -- Shrovetide, Easter
and other Christian holidays, said Mitchell. Nowadays, in
England, they dance at fairs on the spring and summer bank
holidays."
Many
of the dances were collected by Cecil Sharp, who published
The Morris Book in 1899. Later, Lionel Bacon published
A Handbook of Morris Dances, considered "the bible
of Morris dance," as Mitchell put it. Bacon's book encompasses
Sharp's transcriptions and other collections as well.
"Cecil
Sharp went to old villages and found that Morris dancers were
all men -- common laborers, or, depending on the village,
farm workers," said Mitchell. "They would go out to dance
at certain festive events. I think the purpose was to have
a good time and, at the same time, get some pocket change
for beer."
Although
Morris dancing is a men's tradition, there is a historical
basis for women's teams. "During World War I, when men went
off to war, women wanted to carry on the tradition of Morris
dancing at festivals and key cultural events," said Mitchell.
"So a movement sprang up to teach women these dances."
In
many villages in England, Morris dance is not a continuous
tradition; it died out and was later reintroduced, Mitchell
said. Today, Morris dance teams abound throughout the northeastern
United States, where the tradition enjoyed a great revival
beginning in the mid-'70s. There are many teams on the West
Coast and in the Midwest, too.
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"Just
as good as bowling or baseball"
The
B. F. Harridans practice nearly every Thursday, year-'round, in
a studio in the Fine Arts Building on the Binghamton campus, and
perform several times a year at various fairs and festivals (check
their website -- http://www.tc.cornell.edu/~mitchell/harridans-intro.html
-- for details). Several of the 10 women who make up the team are
members of the Binghamton University community, including Jo
Malin, PhD '95, project director for the School of Education
and Human Development, and PhD candidate Amy Burtner. The team's
newest and youngest member is 19-year-old undergraduate Talitha
Philips '05. And, although she lives in Canton, four hours away,
Anne Mamary, MA '92, PhD '94 joins the group once a month
for practice.
"It's
a great group," said Mitchell. "We support each other in a lot of
different ways. It's just as good as bowling or baseball. It's similar
-- we dress up in funny clothes --but different. We're single-minded
-- we just want to dance well, as a team, as a unit. I think that's
what we've accomplished over the years." The team has its own listserv,
which is not unusual for Morris teams these days, according to Mitchell,
who also maintains the website.
"The
women's team is far more disciplined than the Binghamton Morris
Men," said Klosky, who added that his team practices "infrequently
and sporadically" in the carriage house at the Roberson -- "We practice
maybe once a month," he said. "Sometimes we go every other week.
It's very laid back." Each year since 1976, the men's team has spent
a week together at a gathering of Morris dancers called American
Travelling Morrice (the group uses the antiquated spelling for the
dance). This year, the event will be held in the Hudson Valley.
Klosky
estimates that the team has nine active members locally, including
Bob DeLuca '74, Jon Dember '80, John Dexter, MM '89 and Ken
Kearns '77. But it also boasts 50 to 60 members, all alumni
of the team, most of whom live outside the area, all of whom dance
on an occasional basis. These include the following Binghamton alumni
who are not local but who are fairly active: Peter Darvin '79;
Paul "Poncho" Goodman '74; Michael Gorin '80; Bob Greco, MS '79;
Jan Kaplan '72; Jonathan Lawrence '73; Nate Lord, MA '79, MAT '84;
Bruce "Duke" McLean '72; Steve Rushefsky '79; Matt Schwaller '75;
and Dave Pinals '77, MA '79.
Selma
Kaplan '78 and Maggie Donelian Ericson '76, both musicians,
also practice or perform with the Binghamton Morris Men when they
have the opportunity.
Although
interest in folk music and folk dance waned in the '80s, Mitchell
said, she's seeing a "new ground swell of interest" among young
adults today. "It's very exciting," she said. "They're like we were
when we were their age."
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