- Guise dancing
Guise dancing (sometimes known as goose or geese dancing) is a folk practice celebrated between
Christmas Day and Twelfth Night (traditionally alsoPlough Monday , and someparish feasts) inCornwall ,UK . One of the principal activity associated with the guise dancing was the performance of a 'traditional' Christmas (or other) play with the players were dressed in a disguise to hide their identity allowing them to perform in an outlandish or mischievous manner in the hope of receiving payment of food or money. [Semmens, Jason, "Guising, Ritual and Revival: The Hobby Horse in Cornwall." Old Cornwall 13, No. 6 (2005) pp. 39–46]Description
Guise dancing was observed in the late 19th century by Cornish antiquarian M.A. Courtney who reported that the practice had been largely eliminated by 1890 in
Penzance , but continued to be observed in St Ives and the villages around Penzance until the 1970's.William Bottrell in his book "Traditions and Hearthside stories of West Cornwall describes in detail the guise dancers in Penzance ,
BBC recording
It is believed that in 1936, the
BBC made a recording of the plays and music associated with Guise dancing however this recording has subsequently been lost. Performances associated with this practice include 'St George and the Turkish Knight' and 'Duffy and Devil.' Each performance allegedly ended with the 'Turkey Rhubarb ' dance, the origins of the name of this dance are not known but may relate to the herb of the same name.Furthermore, there is considerable continuity between guise dancing and the
Hal an Tow celebrated inHelston during theFurry Dance . Guise dancing is practised as part of the St Ives feast celebrations by local group the St Ives Guisers and forms part of theMontol Festival inPenzance .See also
*
Montol Festival
*Tom Bawcock's Eve
*Golowan
*Furry Dance
*Allantide
*West Cornwall May Day celebrations References
External links
* [http://www.an-daras.com/dance/d_danceindex_p_turkeyrhubarb.htm Description of the Turkey Rhubarb dance]
* [http://www.folkplay.info/Texts/85sw72mw.htm Guise dance play from 1826]
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/prwe/prwe234.htm Description of Christmas in St Ives at the turn of the 19th Century - Includes detailed description of Guise dancing]
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