English Folk Dancing
Ritual or ceremonial dancing has been an important part of English culture for centuries. Although the origins of most types of folk dancing are now lost to history, the traditions have been passed from generation to generation so that many of the dances have remained consisted over their long history. England lays claim to three separate types of traditional folk dancing. The best known and most often performed is Morris dancing. The second is called hobby horse dancing and has only survived to the present in the West Country. The third is called the linked sword dance. It originated in the Northeast of England in places such as Northumbria and Yorkshire.
Linked Sword Dancing
Linked sword dancing got its name because of the metal or wooden swords wielded by the dancers. In most situations, teams of four, six, or eight men link the swords together in the middle of a circle and perform a series of twirling figures about the central point. The dances often end with all of the swords formed together into a ‘knot’ or ‘rose’ and held aloft by the team captain. Traditionally, linked swords dances are performed in the Christmas season, especially on Boxing Day, though some teams now perform year round.
Like almost all English folk dancers, linked sword dancers tend to wear striking and colourful outfits. These vary from baggy trousers and shirts to highly ornate military style uniforms. Often joining the dancers are a pair of associated characters known as a Tommy and a Betsey. (Both are played by males).
Another common feature of the linked sword dance is the ritual decapitation of the team leader. This move, which usually consists of the loss of the hat by the team leader is supposed to represent the sacrifice of a leader for the good of a community. The leader invariably regains his head and returns to life later in the dance. This tradition may have links to older myths such as the Green man, or Green Knight as seen in the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, who would have his head chopped off only to replace it on his head. It may relate to the death and rebirth of the natural world with the changing of the seasons.
Today, the most notable linked sword dance teams can be found in Grenoside, Handsworth, Loftus, Goathland, and High Spen.
Primary Information for this article obtained from Discovering English Folk Dance by Hugh Rippon, Shire Books, 2008.
