Morris men 'recruitment crisis'

By Mark McGregor
BBC News in West Yorkshire

Mark Ashton is desperate to recruit musicians and dancers

Every time Mark Ashton tries to find new people to take up his favourite pastime he faces the same problem.

He cannot avoid the sniggering, even with a simple request to put up a poster advertising his hobby.

Because the 32-year-old's passion is morris dancing and in his home town of Keighley, West Yorkshire, new recruits are hard to find.

"Throughout the country, Morris sides are struggling," said Mark, who is now attempting to reverse the trend.

"I started dancing 20 years ago and a lot of the sides I have met through the years have folded.

"A lot of morris sides haven't had new dancers for over 10 years."

There are more people dancing various styles of morris dancing than there has been for a long time Trefor Owen, Morris Federation

Mark joined the Oakworth Village Morris Men as a 12-year-old and has remained their youngest member ever since.

Formed in 1981 during a "boom time" for the traditional English dance, the group is approaching its 25th anniversary.

But a distinct lack of interest in donning the boots, bells and bows associated with the ancient pastime has left the group facing an uncertain future.

"It's very hard to get new dancers," said Mark, who is squire (leader) of the Oakworth morris men.

"We always try every year - maybe not as hard as we should do - but we are not sales people.

"One of the big problems is that people my age are not really interested. It is hard to get people my age into dance.

"The majority of morris dancers are in their 50s. And that's the same with our side."

The Oakworth side is in danger of folding, Mark says

But despite the gloomy picture in West Yorkshire, where there are a number of sides competing for members, the picture across the country is far more positive.

Trefor Owen, chairman of the Morris Federation, told the BBC that young people were taking up morris dancing in "phenomenal numbers".

"There are more people dancing various styles of morris dancing than there has been for a long time."

While the Oakworth side is struggling, Mr Owen said some teams in other parts of the country have waiting lists and are able to pick and choose members.

"It depends on where you are, what you are doing and how you are doing it.

"There is a team called Hammersmith that dances the same Cotswold style as the Oakworth lads - they have a nine-month waiting list."

Morris dancers say they have great fun

Mr Owen said the fact there are "about a dozen" teams within easy driving distance of Keighley might be behind Oakworth's problems.

Perhaps mindful of the competition, Mark is keen to emphasise the strength of his side.

"We always try and be aggressive. We're not - how can I put this? - a prancey side," he said.

"We were described as another side as 'morris dancing with balls'. I thought that was a great compliment."

Although he realises his hobby is not the most fashionable pursuit, Mark does think it suffers from an unfair portrayal.

"A lot of people have misconceptions about morris dancing. They don't know anything about it but choose to ridicule it.

"If they would give it a try, people would find out just how enjoyable it is - especially people who like real ale."

If the team does get some new blood at its beginners' night (taking place at Oakworth Methodist Church at 2000 GMT on 6 December), it will be a triumph for Mark's frustrating efforts to publicise the Oakworth dancers in the local area.

"I went to a leisure centre in Keighley to ask to put up poster and the receptionist said she would have to go and ask the manager," said Mark.

"She went off into the back room and all I could hear was her laughing," he added with a smirk.