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Morris Couch Dancing
Oct. 19th, 2004 10:52 pmPicture, if you will, an outdoor pedestrian mall. The air is cool and rain is on the way, but doesn't yet seem committed to actually falling. It is quiet. There are few people about. Most are in the restaurants that line the mall, but a few folks are strolling. Most of those few, including my wife and I, stop for a moment when they see the dancing troop of middle-aged men with bells strapped to their shins who are whacking each other with large wooden sticks to the beat of a single violin song. These are the Albemarle Morris Men. Traditional English folk-dancers. The picture on the web site speaks a thousand words. I think keeping old traditions alive is wonderful, but I must admit it's rather surreal seeing them for the first time without knowing what they're doing.
Now, if that weren't surreal enough, as the Morris Men continue dancing several high school kids come running down the mall carrying a white couch. More accurately, a love seat, but either way you don't expect to see a crowd of kids running around the downtown mall with large piece of living room furniture.
They drop the couch in front of CVS. A bunch of kids jump on the couch, another one video tapes them as they pose, while another one dutifully writes on a clipboard. Before they can attempt to haul the couch into the CVS, the manager comes out yelling, shooing them away from the store-front. The kids grab the couch and start running. They pass the dancing Morris Men, who have since drawn a small audience, and decide to park the couch among the audience and watch. It isn't long before an impish gleam lights up their young eyes.
As the Morris Men wrap up a dance the kids run over to them, begging them to dance around the couch. The Morris Men happily oblige. The kids grab the couch and put it in position. Six Morris Men step up and begin debating about how to do this. Finally, two men end up sitting on the couch, taking cues from a leader. They decide to modify one of the traditional 6-man dances in such a way that allows the 2 middle men to perform while sitting on the couch. A seventh man plays a tune on the accordion, the Morris Men dance with the couch, while the kids are doing their own version of the dance behind them. The kid with the video camera is recording everything. The guy with the clipboard is freaking out. "This awesome! Bonus points! Nobody else will have this!"
When the dance is done, the kids whip out some cash and tip the Morris dancers. Then, they take off running down the mall with the sofa, again. A block later, they've parked for a rest. But a police man comes roaring down the street, threatening them with disorderly conduct if they don't get that couch off the mall. The kids grab the couch and run, leaving the mall. All is once again normal and peaceful. The wife and I continue on our walk. A block later, a second (different) group of kids are hauling a blue couch away from a coffee shop. Another kid with a clipboard is checking off an item on his list. I warn them of the cop up ahead and they veer off the mall, altering their plan.
I didn't see any further groups of kids, but I was on guard. As I walked around town, I expected a sofa to be around every corner. Honestly, I hoped to see an inappropriately placed couch everywhere I looked. It warms my heart to think that there could be hundreds of kids running around with living room furniture seeking ridiculous places to sit.
Now, if that weren't surreal enough, as the Morris Men continue dancing several high school kids come running down the mall carrying a white couch. More accurately, a love seat, but either way you don't expect to see a crowd of kids running around the downtown mall with large piece of living room furniture.
They drop the couch in front of CVS. A bunch of kids jump on the couch, another one video tapes them as they pose, while another one dutifully writes on a clipboard. Before they can attempt to haul the couch into the CVS, the manager comes out yelling, shooing them away from the store-front. The kids grab the couch and start running. They pass the dancing Morris Men, who have since drawn a small audience, and decide to park the couch among the audience and watch. It isn't long before an impish gleam lights up their young eyes.
As the Morris Men wrap up a dance the kids run over to them, begging them to dance around the couch. The Morris Men happily oblige. The kids grab the couch and put it in position. Six Morris Men step up and begin debating about how to do this. Finally, two men end up sitting on the couch, taking cues from a leader. They decide to modify one of the traditional 6-man dances in such a way that allows the 2 middle men to perform while sitting on the couch. A seventh man plays a tune on the accordion, the Morris Men dance with the couch, while the kids are doing their own version of the dance behind them. The kid with the video camera is recording everything. The guy with the clipboard is freaking out. "This awesome! Bonus points! Nobody else will have this!"
When the dance is done, the kids whip out some cash and tip the Morris dancers. Then, they take off running down the mall with the sofa, again. A block later, they've parked for a rest. But a police man comes roaring down the street, threatening them with disorderly conduct if they don't get that couch off the mall. The kids grab the couch and run, leaving the mall. All is once again normal and peaceful. The wife and I continue on our walk. A block later, a second (different) group of kids are hauling a blue couch away from a coffee shop. Another kid with a clipboard is checking off an item on his list. I warn them of the cop up ahead and they veer off the mall, altering their plan.
I didn't see any further groups of kids, but I was on guard. As I walked around town, I expected a sofa to be around every corner. Honestly, I hoped to see an inappropriately placed couch everywhere I looked. It warms my heart to think that there could be hundreds of kids running around with living room furniture seeking ridiculous places to sit.
