Furry Dance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Furry Dance (also known as the Floral Dance or Flora Dance) takes place in Helston, Cornwall, and is one of the oldest customs still practised in the British Isles. The dance is very well attended every year and people travel from all over the world to see it.
The Furry Dance takes place every year on May 8 (or the Saturday before if May 8 falls on a Sunday or Monday), and is a celebration of the passing of Winter and the arrival of Spring. The day starts with the first dance at 7.00 am and continues with the children's dance at 10.00 am, the midday dance and culminating in the evening dance at 5.00 pm. Of these, the midday dance is perhaps the best known: it was traditionally the dance of the gentry in the town, and today the men wear top hats and tails while the women dance in their finest frocks.
Traditionally, the dancers wear Lily of the Valley, which is Helston's symbolic flower. The gentlemen wear it on the left, with the flowers pointing upwards, and the ladies wear it upside down on the opposite side.
Contents |
[edit] Children's dance
The children's dance involves over 1,000 children aged from 7 to 18, all dressed in white with Lily of the Valley buttonholes. They come from St Michael's School, Nansloe School, Parc Eglos School, and Helston Community College and School. Each year a different school leads the dance.
The boys wear their school colours in the form of school ties, and the girls wear matching coloured flowers (blue cornflowers for St Michael's, forget-me-nots for Helston Community College and Helston School, daisies for Nansloe and poppies for Parc Eglos) in their hair.
[edit] Mystery play
The Hal an Tow, which takes place on the same day, is a kind of mystery play about St George slaying the Dragon, and contains disparaging references to a Spaniard, probably referring to the Spanish raid on Newlyn in 1595. The Hal an Tow is much more modern than the Furry Dance and is almost certainly a late English invention or import.
[edit] Music
The music is provided by Helston Town Band, augmented by members of other local bands. They play from memory, as the music for the dance is never written down.
In 1911 Katie Moss added words to the music and it was first recorded as a song entitled "The Floral Dance" by Peter Dawson on the Zonophone label. It has since been recorded by many other artists. In 1978 a version with vocals by Terry Wogan reached no.27 in the UK singles chart.
In 1977, the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band got to no. 2 in the UK chart with Derek Broadbent's arrangement of the traditional tune.
[edit] Similar customs
The only two very similar customs can be found in Biewer (Germany), where the annual "Schaerensprung" takes place and Echternach (Luxembourg).
