About Us
Great Western Morris are from Exeter in the UK. ‘Performance Morris’ is our thing. Our superpower is to engage, amuse, and entertain. We work hard on dancing well, honouring the tradition the dances originate from, but also using some 'morris magic' to leave our audience feeling entertained by being a part of the performance.
Great Western has performed at festivals and events across the UK and Ireland, in the Czech Republic, France, Italy, the United States and Canada. In 2023 we had a return trip to the La Fiera Della Birra beer festival at Monte St Vito in Italy and in 2025 we have been invited back to the Marlboro Morris Ale Vermont USA. Why not download our latest flier (2024 Great Western flier)
We’re regular participants in the Exeter Pride parade and perform in the city and across East Devon for both special events and our annual programme of summer dancing. (For more info on where you can see us, check out 'Our Events'.)
We’ve hosted Sidmouth Folk Week’s annual Morris Party a number of times, and have written and performed bespoke spots and shows, workshops, and a variety of other one-offs for festivals all over the country.
Our kit is based on the clothes Morris dancers wore in the 19th century. Our sticks, wavers, top hats, bells and ribbons make us ‘bigger’ and promote impact.
Our dances are based on two styles from Oxfordshire — 'Fieldtown' and 'Bampton'. Both use the wavers (big hankies) and sticks associated with Cotswold Morris. Our ever-growing repertoire is a mixture of traditional dances and others we've borrowed or written ourselves.
We have a superb band of experienced musicians who play both traditional and modern tunes for our dancing. There is a variety of instruments ranging from melodeons, flutes, oboes, concertinas and more!
If you're interested in keeping fit, travelling, trying something new, socialising, meeting new people, and generally having a laugh then JOIN US!
For more information about practices then check out Practice Information.