Leigh984, The creative portfolio of Leigh Spencer

Join the Leicester Morris Men as they perform a variety of traditional Morris Dances in the car park of the Blue Bell Inn, Desford. The sun was setting as the Morris men took their places and the musicians struck up one of many tunes handed down through generations, did you know ? traditionally in the Morris all the dancing steps, the movements and music were passed down from father to son within each village or Morris side. First we see a hanky dance then followed by a stick dance. The Leicester Morris Men are predominantly a Cotswolds Morris side, which means they dance traditional dances collected from the Cotswolds villages. In 1989 they also started to perform traditional Border Morris dances from the Welsh – English border villages. In 2023 the group proudly celebrate 70 years of Morris dancing in and around Leicester.

Founded in 1975 in the town of Nuneaton by a group of folk music enthusiasts the Anker Morris men take their name from the River Anker which runs through the town, anker also being an ancient word meaning meander. The team was admitted into the Morris ring in 1980. Each Morris team has its own distinct kit the Anker`s being blue and silver-grey. My film features a Morris dance performance at the Swan Public House and Restaurant set against a setting sun accompanied by  traditional instruments and carrying on some of the country's oldest traditions.