Ironbridge morris dancers still going strong

With their planned performances for the summer cancelled a Morris Dancing group has been finding new ways to keep performing.

Morris dancers Pat and John Parnell are usually performing on ironbridge with about 40 of their fellow dancers The Ironmen & Severn Gilders but due to the lockdown the meetigs have been suspended. The group have been meeting by Zoom each week to practice but now they are taking in a virtual Morris Dance and today they did their own video for the event on The Ironbridge.

Members of the Ironmen and Severn Gilders from Ironbridge have been compiling their own contributions for a national Morris Federation video designed to keep people dancing during the lockdown.

The video will be made up of dancers from across the country performing their versions of a dance called ‘The Celebration’, which can be performed by many people or also just one individual.

The nature of the dance makes it perfect for people to record their own contributions and provide them for the national montage while they are not able to meet up with their fellow dancers.

Husband and wife, John and Pat Purnell, an Ironman and Severn Gilder respectively, have created their own effort for the video with a dance on top of the landmark Iron Bridge, as part of their daily trip out for exercise.Being not far from their home in Dale End it provided the perfect backdrop.

And it provided entertainment for people taking a walk through the gorge in beautiful early summer weather as the West Midlands’ heatwave continues.

The Severn Gilders have been been meeting by zoom each week, since the start of lockdown, to learn and practice ‘The Celebration’ as it is a dance that they can take part in on their own.

A number of members of the Ironmen and Severn Gilders are submitting contributions for the video, which will be released at a later date as a way to keep Morris Dancing alive during lockdown.