A NIGHT OF DANCE – WITH BELLS ON

Croydon cultural fixture the Croydon Night of Dance is back on the streets of Croydon after its Covid-19 hiatus.

This annual event is a chance for Morris dancers, musicians and their followers to meet on the streets of Addiscombe to celebrate their tradition of English folk dancing.

This year 13 Morris sides gathered for the event which was held at three venues in Addiscombe. This year’s venues were the Alma Tavern on the Lower Addiscombe Road, the Builders Arms in Leslie Park Road and the Oval Tavern in Oval Road.

The event was opened by the Civic Mayor of Croydon, Councillor Alisa Flemming who was accompanied by the Consort Honorary Alderman John Wentworth.

They both entered into the spirit of the event and said later that the event was ‘absolutely fabulous, we turned up to open the event and stayed for three hours of wonderful dance, music and fun.’

Croydon Night of Dance Bag Man (a Morris term for the secretary or organiser) James Denny said ‘It was great to get back into the swing of things at this year’s Croydon Night of Dance. We have added a third venue to our schedule which we have been hoping to do for a while. All our venues gave a fantastic welcome to CNOD, but our new venue, the Alma Tavern really entered into the spirit of things and we are hopeful that they will be a firm fixture from now on.

The Morris sides came from all over London and the South East. Local sides, North Wood Morris Men, Old Palace Clog and The Wild Hunt Bedlam Morris were present as usual. New sides such as Quaggy Morris from Lewisham, Madder Hill Molly from Carshalton, railway-based side Arc and Shovel and Ewell side Green Man Sword added to the wide variety of Morris dancing on show.

Croydon Night of Dance has been working together with Rotary Club of Croydon for some years to raise funds for local Croydon charities. This year has been no exception. Croydon Rotary Club president, Patricia Painting has chosen the Croydon NHS Charity as her charity this year. She was very pleased to hear that the Croydon Night of Dance raised £375 for this very good cause.

Next year promises to be a big one for the Croydon Night of Dance. Bag Man James Denny explains. ‘Its our 20th anniversary. 20 years since a few of us gathered outside the Glamorgan pub for some beer and dance’.

Next year Croydon is also the London Borough of Culture and arts groups will be showcasing the wide variety of cultural activities in Croydon. James Denny is keen for the Croydon Night of Dance to be a part of this. ‘The Croydon Night of Dance will be putting its best foot forward to take part in the events for the Borough of Culture next year. Croydon has given the Night of Dance a great welcome and we want to show that Morris is alive and well in urban environments as well as the village greens that most people associate with the Morris’

Rotary Club vice-president Loraine Davis, herself a long-standing member of Old Palace Clog said that ‘Morris people are friendly people who enjoy getting together to have fun and it’s always great to see members of the public coming out of their houses to watch the sides at the Croydon Night of Dance. The Rotary Club of Croydon is looking forward to supporting the Croydon Night of Dance. 

The Civic Mayor of Croydon The Mayor, Alissa Flemming and Consort Honorary Alderman John Wentworth came along to open the event and said ‘Absolutely fabulous! We thought we would only stay for an hour, but it turned out to be a wonderful 3.5 hours of dance, music and fun.  Warmest congratulations to you all’. 

Nuala O'Neill
August 2022