Our Regular Local Performers
Sowerby Bridge Morris
Northwest Morris
After the success of the Sowerby Bridge rushbearing in the late 1970s, there was pressure for the town to also develop a dance side. The result, in 1979, was the Sowerby Bridge Morris Dancers. Originally an all-male Northwest side, they were a regular feature of rushbearing until 2002 when dwindling numbers made performing impossible. In 2012 the team was resurrected as a mixed side and set about learning the original team’s repertoire. In the years since they have written a number of original dances. In 2014 they added Whalley and Colne Royal, both traditional dances from the now disbanded Colne Royal Morris Men.
Bradshaw Mummers
Mumming Plays / Street Theatre
The Bradshaw Mummers began as a ‘one-off’ entertainment in 1972 and haven’t yet thought of a good reason to stop. They began performing at Rushbearing in the early 1980s and have been a well-loved fixture ever since. Essentially a street theatre group, they perform traditional and contemporary plays based on the medieval mumming traditions of death and re-birth and the triumph of good over evil. Do not miss them!
Ryburn Longsword
Yorkshire Longsword
Ryburn Longsword formed in 1994 and we are pleased to have had them perform at almost every Rushbearing since. The team is mostly drawn from the town of Ripponden. Over the years Ryburn have established themselves quite a reputation amongst the folk dance fraternity. They perform in the dance style traditional to Yorkshire and have boasted both a senior and junior team who've appeared at a range of events, both in and out of the region. Ryburn have done sterling work over the years encouraging youth participation in folk dance and folk arts.
Hebden Bridge Hill Millies
Cotswold Morris (Sunday only)
The Hill Millies are an all-female team from the nearby town of Hebden Bridge. Since forming nearly 2 decades ago they have danced in the Cotswold morris tradition as taught to them by the landlord of their local Fox & Goose public house. They have been performing at Rushbearing since 2007 and we are pleased to welcome them back again this year as they continue their mission to 'Entertain and educate the community with traditional music and dance.'
Our Visiting Performers
Sutton Masque
Border Morris
Formed in 2014, Sutton Masque is a border morris side from Sutton-in-the-Isle in the southern reaches of the Cambridgeshire fens. The side was founded by residents of Sutton but has now expanded to include members from as far afield as Witchford & Chatteris. They are a mixed side and claim they will come and dance at any event, large or small, which is lucky for us! The summer usually sees them performing at a number of pubs local to Cambridgeshire and occasionally beyond.
Border Reivers
Border Morris (Saturday only)
Border Reivers Morris is the best (ahem, only...) morris team in the west of Scotland. Based in Glasgow, the team was formed in 2016 by a stray Sowerby Bridge Morris dancer who ended up on the wrong side of the border with no-one to cavort with. Focusing predominantly on the border morris tradition, the team performs a mixture of traditional and more modern dances dressed in black and red rag coats and Black Stewart tartan kilts.
Wrigley Head
Northwest Morris (Saturday only)
Founded in 1974, Wrigley Head are an all-male North-west morris side based in the Oldham area of Lancashire. Their distinctive style of performance and idiosyncratic kit make them one of the most traditional-looking North-west sides in the country. They perform at morris events and folk festivals throughout England and Wales over the course of the year.
Wharfedale Wayzgoose
Border Morris
Otley's one and only mixed border morris side was founded in 1993 and has since grown in numbers and attended many major folk festivals throughout the UK, dancing with sides from all over England along with the USA, Australia, Romania and France. Their name refers to the printer's festival, or "Wayzgoose," a celebration which has been traced back to the seventeenth century. The side have travelled widely and been hailed as "true ambassadors of morris" by the Open Morris.
Carlisle Clog
Clog and Step Dancing (Sunday only)
The Carlisle Cloggies have had a long and checkered past with various incarnations and monickers. The team has previously performed rapper sword along with Border, Cotswold and North-west morris. They now perform predominantly traditional clog and step in addition to some longsword dances. They have performed in many places over the years, both in Britain and abroad.
