Dance sides
There are many forms of Morris Dances and the styles vary from different parts of Britain. Enjoy watching and being impressed by them.
The basis for most dances is rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures performed by groups of dancers usually wielding handkerchiefs, sticks, swords, mollies, garlands and staves etc.
The Festival also encompasses traditional folk dances from Bulgaria, Slovak Czeck, Middle East, England and Ireland.
Click on any of the entries below to get more information. At the bottom of this page is a map of the festival locations.
These sessions are free to enjoy, although we welcome donations to cover our costs. The Festival is a non profit organisation run by volunteers, if we don’t cover our costs, they’ll be no more festivals! Please bring lots of change to donate on the day.
Bulgarian folk dance Zlaten Klas
Treacle eater clog
Knickerbocker Glory dancers
Knickerbocker Glory are a must see for fast colourful clog dancing. They're dressed in blue or black with brightly coloured waistcoats, dance in the Appalachian style and are based in Alton. The dances have set routines and have been choreographed by the team to...
Hook Eagle Morris
In 1991, Stuart Foster, Vicar of St John the Evangelist Church in Hook, held an auction of promises to raise money for the church at that year’s fete. He could never have imagined that 30 years later the Team, inspired by those plucky few who learnt just one dance for...
Isambard’s Gasket Rats
Raddon Hill Clog Morris
Raddon Hill Clog Morris are based in Kingsteignton, Newton Abbot, Devon and dance in the North West Style of dancing. Their dances reflect figures and patterns of the weaving process taken from the Mill towns in Lancashire and Cheshire and they still dance with wooden...
Wicket Brood
Wicket Brood are a Border side formed in 1994 who practice in the village of Bricket Wood, near St Albans in Hertfordshire. They are known for their flamboyant dancing and powerful music. They perform a wide range of border dances, some sourced from original notation...
Festus Derriman
Blackrock
Blackrock School of Irish Dance are traditional Irish dancers. They wear Traditional Irish dancing dresses, hand made by parents over 40 years ago, with incredibly detailed stich work (stop and have a look). Costumes are made from velvet with hand stitched designs....
Fleur de Lys Ladies’ Morris
Fleur De Lys are a Ladies’ dance side with both sex musicians, who occasionally dance out with Cup Hill Morris Men. Their emblem, the Fleur de Lys or Lily flower, is one possible origin for the name of our County town Guildford ‘The Golden Ford’ referring to the...
Sarum Morris
Sarum Morris was founded in 1982; they're a group of Morris dancers - both men and ladies - based in Salisbury, Wiltshire. They perform dances from the Cotswold villages of Bampton, Ilmington and Oddington. Sarum Morris dance in whites with blue and yellow belts and...
Taeppas Tump
Tæppa's Tump is a Ladies North West Morris side which was formed in 1981. It's a women's Morris side based in Maidenhead, Berkshire. The dancers wear clogs, burgundy skirts, white blouses, green aprons and decorated straw hats. The band (of men and women) wear...
Southern Star
In 1936, a group of miners in the village of Lingdale in Yorkshire were filmed by Lady Trevelyn, performing their traditional longsword dance. In 1948, Peter Kennedy wrote down all the moves of the dance, which had gained an extra two figures in the intervening...
Dorset Buttons
Dorset Buttons is a women's NW side wearing red & green dresses, white shirts and red clogs, with straw hats decorated with traditional Dorset buttons Dorset Buttons Morris first sprang out upon the World in 1978, originally there was the ladies’ team, who did the...
Bideford Phoenix Morris
Bideford Phoenix is a mixed Morris side, based in Bideford, North Devon. They dance a mix of Cotswold and Border Morris. They welcome anyone who would like to join us, whether you have experience of Morris dancing or are a complete beginner who isn’t sure if Morris...
Dr Turbevilles
Dr. Turberville's tend to go dressed as pirates when dancing in Swanage. Dr Turberville’s Morris is a mixed Morris "side" or team originally from Crewkerne in Somerset, UK, now can now be found at Somerton in Somerset. Their names is from the most famous son of...
Winkleigh Morris
Winkleigh Morris is an inclusive and entertaining side presenting new dances along with the traditional. They have somehow acquired a lively 'Oss who not only can dance but can demonstrate dressage and show jumping if presented with carrots or strong liquor. Their...
Basingclog Morris
Basingclog are clog side from Basingstoke who dance the North West style of clog, performing dances from the North of England originating some 300 years ago in and around the cotton mills. They are a mixed side and as well performing traditional dances have been known...
New Forest Meddlars
New Forest Meddlars were formed in 1990 and are a mixed Morris side dancing mainly in the Border and Cotswold traditions, with a few dances they have devised ourselves. They'll be performing in white trousers & shirt, purple waistcoat and purple/multi coloured...
Full Moon Morris
Full Moon Morris are a mixed Cotswold Morris dancing side loosely based around South Wales, UK, although members come from as far afield as the far west of Swansea, the Forest of Dean and even Devon and Norfolk! Full Moon Morris perform in Blue and yellow waistcoats...
Cry Havoc
Cry Havoc are a mixed side – mixed genders, ages, backgrounds, abilities; with a base of members who live in Botley, but others come from other parts of Oxford and surrounding towns and villages. They dance for fun, but also raise money for a local charity each year....
Ilfracombe Red Petticoats
The Ilfracombe Red Petticoats are a clog dancing group based, as the name suggests, in beautiful Ilfracombe, North Devon. This Morris dancing group performs North West style clog dances at a variety of venues in North Devon and several, popular Folk and Beer Festivals...
Madder Mill Molly
Madder Mill Molly is a mixed gender Molly team based in the Carshalton/Wallington area, who, after much research and preparation, finally got off the ground at the beginning February 2020. The Molly tradition has its origins in East Anglia/The Fens area and...
OBJ Morris
OBJ was formed in 1996 by a group of like-minded people who wanted to dance the flamboyant style of dancing known today as "Border Morris". Their kit is generally black, with Green, Black and White rag jackets, and we follow the Border Morris tradition of blacking our...
Magog ladies
Magog , from Horsham in Sussex, were formed in 1974 and will be celebrating 50 years in 2024. To begin with Magog danced mainly Cotswold but over the years have added Northwest, Stave, Garland and their own Horsham tradition. Besides travelling the length and breadth...
Anonymous Morris
Anonymous Morris are a mixed border Morris side from Poole with an energetic, free-flowing dance style. Their tatters are varying shades of purples as well as black, white and hologram. Dancers have longer tails at the back of their tatters though musicians do not....
Aurora
Aurora are an Appalachian step team, based in Exeter. They have been performing for 4 years at various festivals and fayres, with high energy dancing, both using traditional and flat footing styles. They like coming to Swanage yearly as they love the atmosphere....
Moonlight Morris
Moonlight Morris are a new small side of friends who formed to dance unusual and self-penned dances. Their tatters of blues and silvers reflect the moonlight in their name. Their dance style is Border with a passion and they dance with enthusiasm, energy and fun
Somerset Morris
Pump House Clog Morris
Pump House Clog Morris dance a north west style. The women dance in cream blouses with sash and brocade waistcoat, cream underskirt with purple overskirt, purple tights and decorated straw boaters. The men dance in white shirts with purple neckerchief, sash and...
Oyster Girls
No Mean Feet & the Shoestring band
No Mean Feet are an Appalachian folk dance team, and have been dancing for over 22yrs. They dance to folk music and acapella, and a few of the dancers choreographed the steps, past and present. They have three to four musicians who plays fiddle/violin, guitar, and...
Morena Slovak Dance Co
Hurst Morris People
Hobos Morris
Hobos Morris was formed in 1993. They're female border dancers with a great band, based in Poole, Dorset. Their first season coincided with the 50th anniversary of D-Day. They dance in red, black and mustard and their badge, the Raging Bull, is taken from the 79th...
Fishbourne Mill Morris
Enigma Border Morris
Dorset Button Rapper
Bourne River Morris Men
Baharah Dance
Baharah Dance are a Swanage based group of dancers, who respectfully share our love of Egyptian and middle eastern dance moves to traditional and contemporary music of those regions. The group was established in 2009 and some of them have been dancing together since...
Armaleggan
Armaleggan are performing at the 2022 Swanage Folk Festival, in Multi-coloured tatters, black and white faces, top hats with tall feathers.
Alton Morris
Alton Morris will be in their red and green tatter jackets and bowler hats at Swanage Folk Festival September 2022 Alton Morris is a mixed border Morris dance team based in the town of Alton, Hampshire. They dance in distinctive red woollen hats which were copied from...
Kvet and Kvitek
They all have traditional folklore costume including shoes from Czech and Slovak folk traditions. In Czech and Slovak school Okénko in London they also focus on the preservation of folklore and folk traditions from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In 2015, they...
Whitethorn
Horizon community college
Horizon are a secondary school from Barnsley in South Yorkshire. We mix together traditional folk style dance with styles like jazz and street dance! They also dance Border, Rapper and mixed modern styles alongside traditional folk. They dance themed pieces in full...
Sidmouth Steppers
Rockhopper Morris
Rockhopper Morris perform Cotswold dances from the modern tradition of Raglan, first developed by Bantam Cocks, which feature the unusual triple step. To those hankie dances they added their own stick dances which also use the triple step. They are mostly to be found...
Mr Wilkins Shilling
Mr Wilkins is a mixed gender North West Morris side based in Bath, England. They dance in Red and Black skirts, white blouse, red and black sashes. They dance mainly around the south west, but have danced in Finland, Hungary, Netherlands, France and America. They were...
Quayside Cloggies
Quayside Cloggies are a North West style Morris side who are appearing at the Swanage Folk Festival 2023. They wear colourful handmade costumes (Blue dresses and pink aprons) and clogs styled on traditional wear for the mill workers in the North of England during the...
Spank the Planks
Spank The Planks was formed in 1988 and is based in Bournemouth, Dorset. They specialise in Appalachian clog dancing which is a form of American folk dancing that originated in the Appalachian Mountains. The local people developed their own musical sound, playing...
Old Palace Clog
Old Palace Clog are a North West style Morris side who are appearing at the Swanage Folk Festival 2022. Their dance kit is white skirts and blouses, green waistcoat and tights and red clogs. Musicians' kit is black trousers, white shirts and green waistcoats. They are...
Steps In Time
Steps in Time perform several styles of English dance, including Step, Playford, Dorset dances. They all wear a Regency style costume; white high waisted dresses with coloured spencer jackets or black breeches, white shirt and waistcoat.
Cogs and Wheels Ladies Morris
Cogs and Wheels are a ladies side who perform in a Cotswold style. They'll be at the Swanage Folk Festival in their Dartmoor inspired colours - brown skirts and different coloured blouses in moorland hues. They formed in 1995 and take their inspiration from Finch...
Holly Copse Molly
Holly Copse Molly are a Morris side who perform Molly from the Fens. Their kit is Magenta, yellow and black and they'll be at the Swanage Folk Festival 2023
O’Leary Academy of Irish Dance
These sessions are free to enjoy, although we welcome donations to cover our costs. The Festival is a non profit organisation run by volunteers, if we don’t cover our costs, they’ll be no more festivals! So, please bring lots of change to donate on the day.