The History of Molly Dancing
Origins
Unlike other forms of Morris dancing little has been recorded about Molly dancing. It is likely that it was a fairly unsophisticated style of dance which was simply adapted from the social dances of the time. It was native to East Anglia and the Fens and probably dates to the 18th century.
As with some other forms of Morris dance4, Plough Monday, the first Monday after Epiphany (12th night) is of some importance.
The story is that dancers would drag a plough to the local landowner's house and dance outside, threatening to plough up his garden if their demand for money was not met.
This (it is claimed) was allowed by Royal Charter.
As many of the dancers would have been employed by the landowner they would blacken their faces with soot to avoid being recognised.
The origin of the Molly (man/woman) may have originated from men dressing in women's clothes as an additional means of disguise.
Collected Dances
There are a few dances from the Cambridshire villages of Girton and Comberton collected by Russell Wortley and Cyril Papworth[1,2,3]. These dances were identical to those used at village hall dances. The origins of these dances is not known, they may have been written in the 20th century or may have had earlier origins. However much of the Molly repertoire is now based on these 6 'feast' dances, 1 Molly dance and a broom dance.
Current Trends
Because of the lack of records the 'Molly style' of dance is a modern day creation. Almost all the dances performed by Molly dancers are their own creation.
- 1 Forester,T (2002) Molly Dancing into the Twenty-First Century Morris Federation ISBN 0-948383-13-5
- 2 Wikipedia
- 3 mollydacning.com"
- 4 Plough Stots of North Yorkshire.
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