Kingsessing
Morris Men
1977
&
47
Years Dancingncing
Morris practice is ongoing.
If you are interested in dancing with Kingsessing
contact one of the folks below.
Joe
Passante
Bill Quern Jan Alter
Schedule
|
The team will
be dancing at these events
|
|
Wed.
May 1, '24
|
6:00 am |
Belmont
Plateau |
MAY DAY 2024
At Belmont Plateau in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia
The K-men were proud to take the opportunity to dance at St.
Joseph's University to honor Doug Kurtz's retirement
from teaching there.
DANCING FOR THE APPLES
Feb 3, 2024
The above picture was published in Town Topics, Princeton's local cummunity newspaper
Dancing with Handsome Molly at Terhune Orchards in Princeton
is an annual event. The day's weather was exceptional with
a large turnout of folks that came to see the dancing, eat the doughnuts,
drink the cider, and roast marshmellows.
May Day on Belmont Plateau 2023
A beautiful morning for dancing, singing and
being together to begin the first day of May
You can watch a 9 minute video of some of the dancing and singing by clicking
here
BRYN MAWR 'S MAY DAY
April 30, '23
Even with the rain the enjoyment of dancing
to welcome a new season of spring overcame the wet weather.
It's clear that with the right fool and his chicken one can bring a laugh
to lots of folks.
Renegade Morris and Kingsessing shared the morning to help Bryn Mawr celebrate
their May Day Celebration
And with a little teaching from Curtis Hoberman a few hundred students were
dancing morris as well.
Click here to see
the Bryn Mawr May Day Celebration video.
here
YOU BET YOUR GARDEN 2023
Bethlehem, PA
April 14
Spring was on the airwaves with Mike McGrath
both interviewing and having the K-men perform
for his weekly show You Bet Your Garden, which aired on channel
39 on April 29th, '23
If you click the word GARDEN
and look for S4 Ep34 you can watch the broadcast.
MUMMERS PARADE 2023
Since
morris dancing is English in origin the K-men thought it appropriate to honor
Queen Elizabeth II's
many years on the throne with both a tribute and a dance in her memory. The
team marched and danced
on Broad Street to the enthusiastic applause of thousands. No kidding or exaggeration
here.
Click here to watch
DICKENS FESTIVAL 2022
NARBERTH, PA
Dec. 4
Almost feels just like old times
Curtis teaching morris to everyone at the Dickens Festival
Morris Men Make History
on
May Day
Monday Night Morris Practice '21
No, the team is not in line waiting for
dinner. The men are dancing outside for safety
in the covid environment.
Adaptation and pragmatism are a key element to continued existence.
DANCING AT BRYN MAWR COLLEGE
IN THE SPRING
Ed Stivender captures the enthusiasm of
the moment to teach a few hundred Bryn Mawr
students a morris dance. Along with Rik Bourne's and Bill
Quern's music everyone was on a cloud of enjoyment
You can watch the team dancing at Bryn Mawr by clicking
MAY DAY 2021
Dawning masks at dawn at Belmont Plateau, in Fairmount Park,
to welcome the sun.
Some
of the great treasures of Kingsessing are its musicians.
The quality and sensitivity of their playing continually energizes
the dancers to give their best.
1st
Place WINNERS
in the 2020 MUMMERS DAY PARADE
Interestingly
enough there are morris teams in England that wear flowered hats all the time.
Kingsessing won 1st place with their 1 minute dance out of 19 entries. You
can watch them
dancing by clicking on the word
link
DANCING AT THE FARM
after the deep freeze
Feb 2, 2019
The K-men danced at Terhune Orchards, in Princeton,
NJ,on Ground Hog Day, for the
farm's annual Wassailing to the Apple Trees event along with Handsome Molly,
and
Green River Tap & Die, from New England. It was fine event and a nice
opportunity to finally
enjoy the outdoors in moderate winter temperatures compared to the polar vortex
ones
that had to be endured only a few days previously.
KINGSESSING WINS 3rd PLACE
at the
MUMMERS DAY PARADE 2019
Watch the team dancing in the Parade by
FIREBIRD FESTIVAL 2018
PHOENIXVILLE, PA
Dancing at the field where the Phoenix will
be fired. This picture seems to show plenty of light
but it was actually half as bright giving the dancers a lot more thought to
both carefully
clashing their sticks to each other and dancing.
The Kingsessing Morris Men dancing at Bryn
Mawr College's
May Day celebration about 15 years ago.
Listen to an Interview with
Kingsessing, and Mike McGrath
just before May Day,
about 20 years ago on
You
Bet Your Garden
on WHYY radio
Mummers Day Parade 2016
The Kmen's thematic dance in 2016 paired the
destruction of the worldly traveling Hitchbot when it
came to Philadelphia during the summer and the Pope's good will visit to the
city later in early fall.
Both visits were intended as something positive to benefit humanity and that
was something
Kingsessing wanted to celebrate a little more.
Click below for more
About morris dancing |
Morris dancing
originated in England about 800 years ago, before Christianity took
a solid hold on the countryside. The dancing was done at springtime
by the farmers to celebrate the planting season and the "rebirth"
of life. The spirits of the sun, rain, and earth were called upon to
be plentiful to the folk who worshipped them. Kingsessing Morris Men springs from Philadelphia and the surrounding areas from where it began in 1977. The team's dancing was originally done in the springtime with vigor, in the hopes that the planting season will be bountiful, and that those who view the dance will have good fortune. Bells are worn on the knees to wake the ground. Through the years the dancing has evolved into a year long tradition, dancing for any festive occasion that could bring enjoyment |
Traditionally
handkerchiefs beckon the sun to shine, and the sticks chase the evil
spirits from below to awaken the earth. The team dances primarily in
the spring touring to parks, schools and the city; but also performs
during the other seasons too at various festivities such as fairs, weddings,
and get-togethers. The team dances regularly in the Philadelphia Mummers
Day Parade, and lately in the Phoenixville, PA, Firebird Festival in
early December. The team is currently accepting new members who will be instructed n the styles of Bleddington, Ducklington, and Fieldtown traditions. Practice is on Monday nights from September through May near Ardmore, Pa. |
Contact Us
This is back in 2001, when
the team danced at a public school in Philadelphia on May Day.
Folks often ask why members of the team dance morris.
Reasons vary but for just about everyone who does it the common theme is they're
having fun.
Kingsessing History
May 1979
The team's first kit (uniform)
sported knickers and suspenders. This was May Day
at Bryn Mawr College, as the team began their second year performing.