Our Traditions

Wooden clogs create the sound that brings you around a corner to see what is going on! Up to eight dancers perform rants and double-steps in a captivating collage of sound.

Northwest Clog Morris developed in the textile mill area near Manchester, England, soon after the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. Workers wore wooden clogs in the mills to keep their feet up off the damp floors.

Our dance clogs are hand-made to order in England; dancers send actual drawings of their feet so the wooden soles can be cut to shape. Today we put rubber on our soles (which is eventually worn down by energetic dancing) to protect the wood, but historically clogs would be soled with steel, proto-tap shoes. The steel was known to spark on the cobbled streets during dances!

Mystic Garland's clog dances are based on those collected in England, with some of our own creations and variations.

Graceful, summery dances, performed with or without clogs…

Watch for patterns of shifting lines, diagonals, and "wagon wheels". Several of our garland dances were written as processionals for village planting and harvest ceremonies, while others are of more recent vintage.

Our beautiful wheat garlands were woven by a team member, who was an experienced straw artist.

Winter must die… so spring can be born.

A ritual dance with overtones of death and rebirth – all ornaments are removed and faces are solemn. Dancers weave and circle with swords linked, then lock them into a star which is lifted high in the air, symbolizing the rising of the new year. The longsword dance is usually performed near the winter solstice, often as part of a traditional mummer's play which includes Saint George, the Black Knight, and a rather curious doctor.