New faces welcome as local Morris dancers celebrate 40 years
Local Morris dancing troupe Belles and Broomsticks is marking 40 years of dancing this year and are keen to see new members pick up the sticks.
The troupe’s squire – effectively its manager – John Gillson has been involved for more than 10 years, starting after his wife Judy became the group’s violin player.
‘I heard the jolly music and just got drawn in,’ he said.
‘You just need a base level of fitness to start, it’s like interval training with music and choreography. We are really promoting that fitness angle this year. We would love to see some new faces, it is all free for anyone to come along and give it a go.’
The group practises at Torteval Church Hall on a weekly basis and tries to perform whenever it can.
First up this year will be the Beltane Festival at the start of May, followed by Liberation Day.
The group has been practising its own dance ‘escarmouche’ – French for skirmish – commemorating the invasion of Guernsey by Ivan of Wales during the 100 Years War, with music and choreography arranged by members of the group.
‘We try and weave our own history into the dances and give them a Guernsey twist,’ explained Mr Gillson.
‘We have a repertoire of about 100 dances. For example we have another called Le Catioroc, which commemorates the witches who dance at the dolmen between Lihou and Perelle.
‘The roots of Morris dancing are lost in the mists of time, from the neolithic antler dances to the “moorish” dances of the 15th century. It all just emerged from local dances and we are building a tradition of our own.’
Sandy Lucas is one of the group’s original members, having started in her mid-twenties.
‘Our first official performance was May 1985.
‘We had been at the Jersey Folk Festival and we saw their local group competing against teams of dancers from England,’ she said.
‘We said we wanted to do that, and that’s basically how we got started.’
For more information contact John Gillson on 07781 406224 or Lucy Skelton on 07781 125171.
