We are a mixed Morris Dancing side which welcomes both men and women from age 14 upwards. We dance mainly Cotswold Morris, with some Border dances as well, and practise on autumn and winter Tuesday evenings from 8.00pm-10.00pm at The Community Centre, Baldock. From May to August, Tuesday evenings are spent touring the pubs of North Hertfordshire, and we occasionally venture further afield for weekends of dance at the invitation of other Morris sides. We also dance at various local functions and special events by request. Although our dance-out year traditionally begins on 1st May, we usually manage to fit in a dance or two before then. This gives new members a first taste of dancing before an audience, even if it is only one man and his dog.
To find out more please contact us or come along and meet us at one of our practice nights.
The History
Baldock Festival committee members had tried unsuccessfully for a number of years to book a Morris side to dance at the annual Street Fair, held during the two-week May Festival. So a handful of committee members decided to take things into their own hands to try and form a Morris side learning three dances which they could perform just once a year at the May festival.
They eventually managed to scrape up six volunteers and, with the enormous help and support of Letchworth Morris Men, learned three dances which they performed that year at the Street Fair, with more enthusiasm than expertise. From then on things snowballed; more people wanted to join; someone offered to teach us more dances and musicians appeared to play for us. Our lives were never the same again……
Dances
We dance mainly Cotswold, but also have a growing repertoire of Border dances. We aim for a varied repertoire, which currently includes Adderbury, Bampton, Fieldtown, Ilmington, Raglan, Sompting and Lichfield. We have also created our own Baldock tradition!
The Name
One of the most frequently asked questions is ‘Where did the name come from?’
Founding members thought that ‘Baldock Morris’ sounded a bit bland, so added the ‘Midnight’ after receiving an impromptu request to demonstrate the dances they had learned late one night at a party in April 1996, when full of bonhomie and not a little wine. Not surprisingly, there's no photographic evidence of that, though it has since become a tradition at a Christmas costume party to which all of BMM are invited.
The Kit
The colour and form of the kit was decided democratically when everyone in the side completed ‘The Great Kit Questionnaire’! The kit has stayed substantially the same except that we changed the original white shirts for black ones after dancing out a couple of years running in the bitter cold of a January weekend. We realised that you could wear as many layers as necessary under black shirts without it being obvious! Anyone joining is asked to provide a black shirt, black knee breeches and red football socks; they will be given, on loan, a waistcoat, bell pads and enough ribbon (yellow, red and green) to make a set of fliers.
Book us!
If you would like to books us to dance at your event, please contact us via e-mail at info'at'baldockmidnightmorris.org.uk.