Dippy and the Crocuses by Ellie B. Morris

It has enriched it in some really, really great ways. Morris dancing is such an amazing part of my life now. And I knew a couple of people already on a Morris side in a town near where I live called Kenilworth. I thought I’d quite like to get involved with it myself, and as I said, at the time I was learning to play violin and really wanted to play fiddle for the Morris. I think he was just looking for something to try and so he started dancing, and I went to a couple of the dance-outs and I just really enjoyed the social elements of it and the music. I don’t know how or why or what pushed him to do that. When my dad retired in 2018, he started Morris dancing. You’re quite young to be a Morris dancer, aren’t you? I love the connection with people, I guess, and the connection with the past that comes with it. And with it comes all the festivals where you meet up with people and share that experience with them.

I find it a very comfortable space, connecting with people through dancing and through tunes, folk songs, and singing together. I think, with tradition, I’ve just sort of found another family in another community through that.

I had a really lovely childhood growing up, and community was always such a massive part of it. I love the sense of community that it brought. What attracted you to Morris dancing? What caught your interest? I think, through the Morris, I’ve come to learn about traditions and started going to tune sessions and song sessions and things like that. I originally started because I wanted to play fiddle for Morris sides, but I haven’t actually done any of that yet because I’ve enjoyed the dancing so much. I think my way into the folk and traditional world came through Morris dancing. They did a lot of theatre and I was taught Golden Age show tunes. I’ve always had an interest in music, mainly from my mum’s side. I came to the traditional folk world quite late on. Tell me where your interest in tradition came from.

If there was ever a walking advert for young people joining Morris sides and getting their bell-jangling groove on, Ellie may well be it. Ellie, as she explains in this interview, is part of Chinewrde Morris, the first female side to be invited to dance at the esteemed Saddleworth Rushcart, which they attended earlier this year. Not content with writing songs on folk history, however, she’s also making folk history, too. It is a magical mix of folklore, trad-inspired melodies, and tales of the Warwickshire lives that shaped the county she calls home. While it’s true that her debut album ( Dwelling by the Weir, out on September 30th via her Bandcamp page) is not a collection of traditional songs, there’s no way we could ignore it here on Tradfolk. Ellie Gowers is, quite literally, an all-singing, all-dancing folk polymath.

Dippy and the Crocuses by Ellie B. Morris