400 Roses
Formed in 2005, the 400 Roses are a unique dance troupe that combine Tribal Belly Dance with UK-style Folk and Morris Dance. Accompanied live by our band, t’ Thorns.
The Black, Red and White themed costumes use an abundance of red and white silk roses to represent our Yorkshire and Lancashire origins.
The group is based in and practice in Shipley, West Yorkshire.
Expect the Unexpected!
The Lancashire Wallopers
The team was originally formed in 1981 by students of the legendary clog dancer and music hall entertainer Sam Sherry. The purpose of their formation was a one-off performance at the National Gathering at Cecil Sharp House of the bargees social dance taught to them by Bill Gibbons. Their outfits are inspired by the clothing traditionally worn by canal bargees and the group includes a dancing boat horse.
Wallop is a retired barge horse that makes occasional appearances with the team. He has a reputation for being a bit of a show-off but who can blame him? Wallop won the prestigious Sidmouth Horse Trials in 2016 and has an impressive 6 Lancashire and Cheshire Clog Championship titles!
Black Gate Morris
Black Gate Morris is a mixed Cotswold Morris side based in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Launched in 2018.
Flagcrackers of Craven
Flagcrackers of Craven are a mixed border morris side based in Skipton, North Yorkshire. They have been dancing for over 36 years and have now dusted off their clogs, cleaned the cobwebs off their hats, polished their bells and are now in fine fettle for Todmorden Folk Festival.
Hebden Bridge Hill Millies
Hebden Bridge Hill Millies are a Women’s Cotswold Morris Dancing side based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. We have been going for over 20 years, starting off as a bet with the then landlord of the Fox and Goose pub in Hebden Bridge. We dance with hankies, sticks, dusters, and on occasion a mop or two! We are accompanied by a talented group of fiddle players.
Blackstone Edge
Blackstone Edge are a female / non-binary Rapper Sword dancing team formed in 2019. They emerged from a bog on the grimy moors above Littleborough and are mostly made of millstone grit and corduroy. Fuelled by fried chicken and dirty beer, they bring the party wherever they go.
Bradshaw Mummers
The Bradshaw Mummers are a traditional mumming side, formed in 1972. We are Halifax based and perform traditional and self written mumming plays, up and down the country. With relevance to our locality, we are required to hide our faces in some form or other, traditionally black was the easiest colour to use , having been obtained from soot. Because of the sensitive nature of blacking our faces, we now find some other colour or way to hide our faces.
We are always looking for new players so if you fancy having a ‘go’ then come and have a chat or contact John on 01422 345170. This year we bring the ‘The White Rose Play’ which is our latest Play, written by one of our team.
Mind the Step
Mind The Step was formed in 1990 by a group of dancers wanting to “do something different “and they have been choreographing and performing their own style of lively Appalachian dancing ever since!
Appalachian dancing originates from English, Irish and Scottish clogging and stepping styles as danced by the immigrants who settled in the Appalachian Mountains in North America. The dance evolved in remote mountain communities incorporating steps from the dance style of native Indians and former slaves.
The team has evolved over the years to incorporate clog stepping into the repertoire to reflect their roots and add variety to their performance.
The Milltown Cloggies
The Milltown Cloggies are a side based in Dukinfield and formed over 30 years ago with members from the old mill towns of the Greater Manchester area, hence our name. We dance Clog Morris in the North West style, accompanied by an eclectic band of musicians who play lively music. We dance because we love to dance and hope that people enjoy watching us, therefore keeping the tradition of north west morris alive and relevant.
Thieving Magpie
“A vision of terpsichorean delight” is a term nobody has uttered having seen us dancing. Be that as it may, we do give it some welly. Thieving Magpie is a mixed Border side based in Marsden in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Our motto is “Leave nowt but blood, wood and feathers”. The Shorter Oxford Dictionary definition of “mixed” is “of a company of persons: not select, containing persons of doubtful character or status.” A bit harsh, we thought.
Rivington Morris
We are a women’s morris team based in Bolton, Lancashire dancing the North West style. Keen to maintain local dancing traditions we can be seen in carnival processions across the North West and at festivals and folk events around the country.
Our dancing repertoire includes collected Lancashire dances, alongside new dances in the North West tradition, written by team members. Our style is energetic and precise with straight lines our trademark! Our band comprises melodeons, accordions, drums, fiddles and whistles. The team kit is straw boaters, red skirts, white tops, purple sashes and black clogs – the colours are based on the Ashton-under-Lyne town colours as Ashton was the first dance the team danced out when we formed in the village of Rivington in 1977.
Slubbing Billys
Slubbing Billys are a mixed North-west Morris side based in Slaithwaite in the Colne Valley near Huddersfield. We wear distinctive purple woollen kit, and hats decorated with fresh flowers. We dance regularly at various folk festivals both in West Yorkshire and further afield as well as outside pubs in the local area on summer evenings. We practise in Slaithwaite Community Centre on Tuesday evenings from 8-10pm. New members are always very welcome – no dance experience necessary! Folk musicians are welcome too.
Ryburn Longsword
The Ryburn Longsword dancers are based in Ripponden, near Halifax, and have specialised in traditional Yorkshire Longsword dance since 1994. Longsword is a Yorkshire-based form of traditional dance performed in a circle, making a sequence of movements in which they go over or under the swords, usually ending with the display of a sword ‘lock’.
Saddleworth Women’s Morris and Clog
Saddleworth Women’s Morris and Clog formed in January 2024, after setting up a women’s team was discussed on a local Facebook group after the 2023 Saddleworth Rushcart. Lucy Marstin a former dancer with Wakefield Morris, and Ed Worrall a dancer and musician with Saddleworth Morris Men, both saw the posts and jumped in to organise the project!
Sowerby Bridge Morris
A mixed dance team performing in the North-West Morris tradition. They are based in the West Yorkshire mill town of Sowerby Bridge in the heart of the South Pennines.
The team was originally formed as an all-male side in 1979 following the success of the Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing Festival. In 2011, the team was revived as a mixed side with a view to performing at that year’s Rushbearing. The team perform all four of their original dances from the early 1980s, as well as two traditional dances from the now sadly defunct Colne Royal Morris Men. They have also developed two original dances, the Jubilee Diamond and the Rushcart 8Dance.
Star & Shadow
Star & Shadow dance team are an award-winning traditional rapper sword dancing team from Newcastle Upon Tyne. Star & Shadow dance rapper sword, from the Northumberland and Durham coal mining tradition. Rapper sword dancing is fast-paced style in which dancers hold onto double-hilted sprung steel swords to make intricate patterns and wow audiences. We also dance other styles – such as percussive clog dancing.
Rapper is traditionally danced in public houses, and we are often seen at folk music festivals. We also impress at formal events, such as concerts, conferences and weddings. We are looking forward to coming to Todmorden for the first time!
White Rose Morris Men
White Rose Morris Men are a Cotswold side, formed in Leeds in the autumn of 1953. In 1971 they moved to Huddersfield where they have remained to this day, occasionally venturing out to performances around the country. They celebrated their 70th anniversary in 2023 with a weekend of dance and other social events. Their kit is white shirts and trousers, with green baldrics and straw hats. They currently perform dances from the traditions of Oddington, Headington, Bampton, Adderbury and the local tradition of Fartown.
