Dartmoor Tinners Morris

Tinners Morris started 10 years ago following a group of women who had created Cogs and Wheels Morris in Sticklepath. Since then, a group of fellas have enjoyed an active social life and have become an essential part of the Dartmoor traditions.

We  come from the Beacon Villages: Sticklepath, Belstone, South Zeal and South Tawton – with Okehampton, Chagford and Throwleigh all well represented.   We welcome anyone from anywhere, and any age.

The key requirements are a willingness to get a bit fitter, to be able to dance outside pubs and a desire to have fun and a lot of laughs with the lads.

We sometimes dance out with Cogs and Wheels, which adds to the fun – and often whole families come along to watch and enjoy the “apres-dance”.

Our tradition borrows from a number of Morris backgrounds and we have learnt dances from Cotswolds and  Sussex, but  we have developed some of our own dances. That means we use handkerchiefs and sticks but also iron bars to represent the mining and tinning tradition of the Moor.

Our kit is fairly simple – mostly white, which may seem risky when eating pasties and drinking pints, and we encourage individuality with our decorated waistcoats and top hats.

We dance to melodeon and fiddle, which gives portable music that is easily heard by the dancers. We teach the dances and we also support the development of musicians who may or may not want to dance as well. Everyone is welcome.

We practice on Sunday mornings during the winter period, and then we accept  invites to dance at a range of events, festivals and charity do’s. We dance-out in front of pubs – that about captures the character of the entertainment we provide, and the fun we have.

We are not a group of perfectionists; insisting that Morris is supposed to be enjoyable and part of the richness of our local culture  – fitting in with the rest of our lives. We do like to get the dances, music and the singing as good as we can, but we have the better reputation of being good to watch and good to have around.

Introductory Sessions 6th and 13th March – all welcome to come and try it out

Programme of events and more news: http://groupspaces.com/tinners/calendar/

Find us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Tinners-Morris-607356326084359/

Local contacts:
Derek Moore     01837 840316
Ian Crawford    01837 849027 zealman0@gmail.com


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