As a writer friend commented when she saw my book description, “What is a morris dancer?” Here Wikipedia comes up trumps with a really quite accurate page on all the different styles.
If you have a vague idea of a morris dancer, you’re probably thinking of Cotswold dancers, who all tend to look a bit like this:
In breaking news, Coton have recently gone mixed–allowing female dancers to join. I attended my first practice as a dancer last night.
But I’m also a member of Sutton Masque, who are a mixed Border morris side:
and Ely and Littleport Riot, who are a Women’s Border Morris side:
So as you can tell, the term “morris dancer” covers a multitude of sins 🙂