Why people "dance the Morris" has been the source of much speculation, firing the imaginations of both serious researches and fiction writers for years. About all that we know for certain is that it was danced as a form of entertainment. During the Whitsuntide Ales, held by the churches in England, Morris dancers were amoung the paid performers. Trade guilds in England each sponsored their own Morris sides which performed at various events including visiting royalty. Today, as they did centuries ago, Morris teams perform at festivals around the English speaking world. Sometimes the performances are for pay, other times the Morris teams rely on the generousity of their audience. We continue that tradition today, so if you see an open hat or music case, please help support us. (We'll may tell you it's for beer money, but in reality it helps pay the rent on our rehearsal space.)

On the other hand, what we may tell you is ...

We do it all day, we do it all night,
because it is, a fertility rite!
That and the beer.
And it helps preserve a very old tradition,
much like drinking beer.
And it embarrasses our offspring,
which we laugh about while drinking beer.
And it's more fun than aerobics,
which means we can drink more beer.
And it makes us attractive to the opposite sex,
so we can drink beer together.
And it's a social activity,
which includes drinking beer.

One More Thing You Should Know ...

The Maroon Bell Morris Dancers and Breathless in Berthoud Border Morris are the only Morris sides dancing the sun up for the Rocky Mountain Time Zone on May Day. You can thank us now!