By Jonathan Spencer
Photo: The Capering Roisters (in white) and St. Louis River Rats (in black) perform a Morris dance with musicians accompanying at the Jewel Box in Forest Park on May Day, 2025.
For centuries, English villagers (and now citydwellers) have made time in their busy planting and harvesting schedules to build community, celebrate the seasons, and show their community pride through morris dancing. Try it for yourself on Sunday, February 22, at The Focal Point in Maplewood. No prior dance experience is needed or expected, all ages are welcome, and there’s no charge.
What’s morris dancing, you might ask? Picture a set of six people arranged in two lines of three, facing toward a small band of accordions, fiddles, and whistles. The dancers wear yellow, black, and red baldricks emblazoned with a red-winged blackbird, wide-brimmed hats covered in buttons collected over their years of attending conventions, and leather pads tied to their shins covered in metal bells. They solemnly raise their three-foot sticks into the air as they listen to a few bars of a jaunty tune. Suddenly, in unison, they take several steps forward, waggle their legs to ring the bells, jump into the air, and clash their sticks together. They spin, repeat these steps going the opposite way, turn and face each other, clash their sticks some more, and then hurl the sticks at their partners across the set. They then run around and weave through each other in time to the music, take a few backsteps, leap into the air, and clash their sticks again. This is a morris dance, and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
Morris dancing was a popular feature of village festivals and holidays. There are records of churches hiring morris sides hundreds of years ago, and William Shakespeare even mentioned the morris in several plays. The St. Louis teams, like most modern morris groups, always dance up the sun on May Day, marking the end of the dark half of the year and the return of the light. Other outings have included dancing at the London Tea Room for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s jubilee and the annual Midwest Morris Ale (convention), held in different cities throughout the region each Memorial Day (this year’s will be in Colorado).
In the olden days, each village would support a “side” (or team) of dancers. Maplewood is home to two teams, The Capering Roisters (Cotswold style) and The St. Louis River Rats (Border style). The two share dancers, musicians, and practice space (The Focal Point) but have different styles and repertoire.
What really sets morris dancing apart from other performance endeavors is how the personalities of the members come through. Judy Stein, founding member of the River Rats, said she chose the name because she liked the character “Ratty” from The Wind in the Willows. The team members sewed their own “tatters,” vests made from old button-down shirts with streamers of multicolored fabric scraps attached that catch the wind as the dancers spin. It’s a fun, creative outlet for folks whose dayjobs range from IT to construction, therapy to radio DJ.
The Capering Roisters and St. Louis River Rats are actively seeking new dancers (and musicians). To that end, they are hosting a special day for new dancers to learn about the tradition, meet people, and try it out for themselves. Join them from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM on Sunday, February 22, at The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd, Maplewood, MO 63143. Wear comfortable clothes and sneakers or dance shoes (no heels) suitable for wooden floors. For updates, see this MeetUp event: