Who we are..... and what we do!
Nancy Butterfly, are a group of Dancers and Musicians who are based around the areas of Redditch and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire.
We follow the North-West tradition of Morris Dancing and the version which is characterised by stepping and the wearing of clogs.
We usually practice during the Winter in Redditch. When the weather is reasonable we dance out at various events across the Midlands and sometimes further afield.
These can range from dancing at Inns or Pubs (criteria = decent ales!) to festivals such as the Upton Folk festival,
tours with other Morris sides, charitable and other special events. (See the calendar page)
This is a photo of some of the side at Blists Hill Victorian Town in Shropshire.
If you are interested in joining us as a dancer, or musician you are welcome to come along to one of our events and speak to a member of the side.
If you want to come to our practice night it's a good idea to contact us first in case we are appearing elsewhere.
If you are interested in booking us for events please get in touch - contact details are on the 'Contact' page.
OUR DANCES
There are several types of Morris Dancing. 'Cotswold' is the tradition that most people will be familiar with, but there are others such as 'Border', and 'North-West' the one we follow.
Our dances derive from the North-West Morris tradition based mainly around Lancashire and Cheshire. Some are traditional, some our own.
In those dances which we have developed ourselves, we have maintained the tradition of naming the dances after the places where they were performed.
(Many of them now locations for traffic jams on the M6! - Knutsford, Holmes Chapel etc...)
So 'Crabb's Cross', for instance originates in the area of Redditch in which we practiced for many years.
Morris dancers in the North-West used to accompany a 'Rush Cart' to the village church at the annual 'wakes week', processing through the streets.
The team danced along and stopped now and then to do a figure. Because of this, the 'chorus' in North-west dances is frequently called 'up streets'.
The dances performed tended to follow the same pattern but the figures, arm movements, etc. would vary.
OUR MUSIC
The music is based around several traditional tunes. Often, two tunes are used for a dance. Originally the music would have been provided by local brass bands. Nowadays it is usually played on melodeons, accordions, fiddles and guitars, and an occasional brass instrument, whilst the rhythm is kept by drums and a variety other 'percussive instruments'!