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Just as the sun was rising on Wednesday 1st May 2024 at about 5:40am, Dartington Morris danced at Totnes Castle (courtesy of English Heritage). This year we were delighted to have an audience of about forty people join us for the celebration.
The mist hung over Totnes so we didn't see the sun appear this year, sadly, but this didn't dampen our enthusiasm. We sang May Day songs and performed a number of dances in the Cotswold tradition, while we welcomed our audience with warm, spicy apple juice and fruit cake. We were asked about the songs and we've added the lyrics to this new page of the website.
We finished with a collective dance called "Shepherd's Hey" and were delighted that everyone joined in to conclude our performance.
We rounded up the morning with a breakfast at the delightful Signal Box cafe at nearby Totnes station.
We were pleased to present Debbi Shotton, Community Fundraising Officer from Rowcroft Hospice, a cheque for £500, collected by Frank from our generous audiences over the past summer and Christmas time. See more information on our donation history page.
May Day marks the first 'summer' outing for us and we continue with weekly performances, usually on a Friday evening, all the way to September. Please check our calendar for full details and do come along to watch - you're sure of an enjoyable Friday evening out at a delightful pub somewhere in South Devon!
In common with a number of Morris dance teams elsewhere in the UK, we dance at dawn on May Day each year to mark the beginning of our summer dance programme.
For further details, please contact the Bagman.