Editing Morris dance (section)

==Evolution==
===Continuance of Morris tradition===
The continuance of Morris is as much in the hands of independent groups of enthusiasts as it is in the nationwide groupings such as The Morris Ring or The Morris Federation. So while for some sides there is a feeling that the music and dance recorded in the 19th century should be maintained, there are others who freely reinterpret the music and dance to suit their abilities and including modern influences. In 2008 a front-page article in the ''Independent Magazine'' noted the rising influence of [[neopaganism]] within the modern Morris tradition.<ref name="HNN">
{{cite news
|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/hey-nonny-no-no-no-goths-and-pagans-are-reinventing-morris-dancing-823498.html
|title=Hey nonny no, no, no: Goths and pagans are reinventing Morris dancing
|newspaper=[[The Independent]]
|access-date=14 March 2010
| location=London
| first=Cole
| last=Moreton
| date=11 May 2008}}</ref> The article featured the views of [[Neopagan]] sides Wolf's Head and Vixen Morris and Hunter's Moon Morris and contrasted them with those of the more traditional Long Man Morris Men. The Morris may have become popular in neopaganism thanks to the scholarship of [[James Frazer]], who hypothesized that rural folk traditions were survivals of ancient pagan rituals. Though this view was fiercely criticized even by Frazer's contemporaries, it was fully embraced by Sir Edmund Chambers, one of the first to produce serious writing on English folk plays and dances, and who became a major influence on popular understanding of Morris dancing in the 20th century.<ref name="hutton">Hutton, Ronald. ''The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain''. Oxford University Press, 1996. pp.&nbsp;218–225</ref>

===Age and gender issues===

[[File:Belles_of_London_City_dancing_at_Lyme_Regis,_July_2021.webm |thumb|Belles of London City performing in [[Lyme Regis]]]]
In January 2009 ''The Telegraph'' published a report predicting the demise of Morris dancing within 20 years, due to the lack of young people willing to take part.<ref>''The Daily Telegraph'', 5 January 2009</ref> This widespread story originated from a senior member of the more traditionally minded [[Morris Ring]], and may only reflect the situation in relation to member groups of that one organisation.

A survey published in December 2020<ref>{{cite web|title=Findings from the 2020 Morris Census|last=Worth|first=Jack|url=https://www.morrisfed.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Findings-from-the-2020-Morris-Census-as-at-202012.pdf|publisher=Morris Federation|date=December 2020}}</ref> identified how the profile of morris dancers had evolved since the first survey published in 2014. The number of morris dancers in the UK had increased from 12,800 in 2014 to 13,600 in 2020. The average age of a morris dancer in the UK was 55, up from 52 in 2014. The survey also reported an even balance between male and female performers by 2020.

===Use of the Internet===
The advent of the Internet in the 1990s has also given Morris sides a new platform upon which to perform. Many Morris sides now have entertaining websites which seek to reflect the public persona of the individual sides as much as record their exploits and list forthcoming performances.

Morris sides have traditionally raised funds by collecting cash from spectators, but in the post-Covid moves to a more cashless society, many sides now use portable card payment terminals.

There are also a multitude of thriving Morris-related blogs and forums, and individual sides are to be found maintaining an interactive presence on major social networking sites. Surveys in 2021 of use of social media services by morris sides found that the Westminster Morris Men YouTube channel had received over 100,00 views<ref>{{cite web|title=Survey: Use of YouTube|first=Brian|last=Kelly|url=https://www.morrisfed.org.uk/resources/it/survey-use-of-youtube/|publisher=Morris Federation|date=1 September 2021}}</ref> and the Shrewsbury Morris's Twitter account had over 100,000 followers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Survey: Use of Twitter|first=Brian|last=Kelly|url=https://www.morrisfed.org.uk/resources/it/survey-use-of-twitter/|publisher=Morris Federation|date=1 September 2021}}</ref>

===In popular culture===
The success of [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld]]'' novels has seen the entirely invented Dark Morris tradition being brought to life in some form by genuine Morris sides such as the Witchmen Morris and Jack Frost Morris.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://picasaweb.google.com/104420944580823979375/MayDay2010 |title=Picasa Web Albums – Jack Frost – May Day 2010 |date=30 April 2010 |access-date=28 May 2013}}</ref> Dark Morris has been described as having been "evolved from the border revival of the 1970s which was part of a wider neo-traditionalist surge of interest in regional morris styles".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.morrisfed.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-History-and-Development-of-Dark-Border-Morris.pdf |title=The History & Development of Dark Border Morris |date=October 2021 |access-date=24 Oct 2021}}</ref>