OBJ Morris
We Are a mixed-gender morris dance team, based in the Bracknell and
Wokingham area.
We follow the "Border Morris" tradition from the English side of the Welsh
border - mainly the counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and
Shropshire
Our year is usually spent like this:
September-April Tuesday evenings - teaching new members, new dances,
and practicing
May-July weekday evenings (usually Tuesdays) - dancing at pubs in our
area
April-September weekends - dancing at festivals and local events
The Programme of Events gives more detail of dates and places. You can
find it here
The OBJ Scrapbook contains pictures and video of OBJ since it was formed -
you can find it here
You don't need any prior experience of morris or dancing. You will need
a normal level of fitness, and some care with "warming up". If you want to
discuss it, you can contact us here or you can
just come along to an evening practice or pub session and have a chat.
We'll find a way of getting you dancing - different people learn in
different ways and at different speeds, so we'll figure out what works for
you.
We aim to be a sociable group that enjoys one-anothers company, has fun,
and performs morris to the best of our ability. If you want to
join an elite team, that's not us!!
We practice in Easthampstead, Bracknell on Tuesday evenings at 8:15pm. The
practice hall is located here
Our music is a mixture of traditional tunes, other genres, and recent
compositions, adapted to "fit" our dances.
We use a variety of instruments associated with folk music (melodeons,
concertinas, violins, drums, etc). We choose not to use amplification.
We'd like to expand our "band" and add
some new sounds - particularly with some "brass" instruments. We have
a nice green pBone just waiting for someone to take it on!!.
Subscriptions for new recruits are free for the first term (like a school
term). So, if you decide it's not for you, it costs nothing. After the
first term, members pay subscriptions in one or two payments each year,
totalling around 40 per year.
You will need casual clothes and trainers to get started. When you are
ready, we have a small stock of rag jackets to get new members started -
they cost a 20 returnable deposit. You will need to find the rest of your
dancing kit (generally black clothes).
If you're organising a local event, we might be persuaded to come along
and dance a spot for you.
Our approach to selecting local events is explained here
Read all about it here
The OBJ Scrapbook contains pictures and video of OBJ since it was formed -
you can find it here
OBJ Morris is a member of the Morris
Federation
We regularly dance at Swanage
Folk Festival, Winchester
Mayfest, Folk
Weekend Oxford, Wokingham
Winter Carnival