Enthusiasts to imitate village dance on same day – out in California

By peter smith peter.smith@thepostandtimes.co.uk

THOUSAND-YEAR-OLD antlers have been replicated as hundreds of enthusiasts prepare to imitate an ancient village dance in California.

A band of enthusiasts in the U.S. are to conduct their own version of the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance on the same day as the event is held in Staffordshire.

The two dances – to be held about 5,500 miles apart on Monday, September 6 – can be traced back to a performance at Barthelmy Fair in August 1226.

But organisers from the California Revels have promised their first Abbots Bromliad, in a park in Oakland, will be the largest ever to take place.

Revels artistic director David Parr said: "As the ritual has come to be performed by many communities outside of Abbots Bromley, celebrants have added their own special grace notes to the stepping and costuming.

"I think this speaks to the power of this ritual and the durability of tradition.

"It can be successfully reshaped by each group of celebrants as they embrace its essence and tailor the performance to make it their own."

The Abbots Bromley dance involves a team of 12 members, six of whom parade 10 miles through the streets, farms and pubs with horns.

The characters include deer-men, a fool, hobby horse, bowman and Maid Marian, a part invariably played by a man sporting a full beard.

Horn dancer Terry Bailey believed the publicity would attract enough curiosity to ensure the tradition prevailed for hundreds of years.

The 53-year-old, of Abbots Bromley, said: "We were contacted about 10 years ago from a group of people in the U.S. who were keen for us to travel over and give a demonstration. For one reason or another, the trip never came off but we have always been well aware of the interest from all over the world. There has been a revival of ancient pastimes in the 30 years since my first dance and now we get crowds of two or three thousand."

Jack Brown, who has written a book about the event, believed the dance's reputation had grown after it was performed at the Albert Hall in 1948.

The 82-year-old, of Colton, said: "There was a particularly eerie rendition of the dance with slowed down music which seemed to capture a lot of attention."

Barbara Kendrick, aged 73, watched the dance for the 42 years her husband Les, now aged 83, played the role of Maid Marian.

The retired school cleaner, of Colton, said: "It certainly takes a lot of energy but Les has always had two left feet; he was always lucky it was more or less the same three steps repeated for the entire day."

Roger Jarman, chairman of Abbots Bromley Parish Council, was delighted the dance's popularity had reached all corners of the world. He said: "As a village, the history of the dance certainly makes us unique."