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Morris and Sword


Great Meadows Morris and Sword is a group of high school-age students from the Greater Boston area who perform traditional English morris and rapper sword dances. Since 1999, we have danced at festivals and special events throughout Massachusetts and New England, including NEFFA and the annual Lilac Sunday event in Boston's Arnold Arboretum. Great Meadows also has performed on the international stage: We've competed in the Dance England Rapper Tournament and were invited to the 2004 World Sword Spectacular in Whitby, England.

Morris and sword dances have been performed in England for centuries, and are now popular in the US and many other parts of the world. People of all ages are drawn to morris for its liveliness, vigor and camaraderie. True to the spirit of morris, Great Meadows offers the experience of good dancing, good exercise and good company!

Great Meadows is co-sponsoring the Second Annual Sword Workshop Extraordinaire March 29. Go here for more information.

We practice on Sundays from 5-7 p.m. during the school year at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Sudbury, at the intersection of Route 27 and Concord Road. For more information, please contact our team squire Tom Kruskal at 978-443-8940 or by e-mail at kruskalt@comcast.net.

More about us

In 1999, we began performing as "Team X," with some members also dancing as part of Velocirapper, a high school-age rapper sword team. In time, some members of Team X became interested in starting another rapper side, and during the 2000-01 season "Candyrapper" was born. During the summer of 2002, Team X and Candyrapper became incorporated under Great Meadows Morris and Sword. Since then, a number of Great Meadows rapper teams have formed: Besides Candyrapper, current and past teams include Beside the Point, Slightly Green, Pocket Flyers, Scrambled Six and Fresh Blood, as well as ad hoc, short-lived groupings like Minimal Death and Scrambled Eggs(!). [Wait a minute! What is rapper sword dancing anyway?]

There is historical and geographical significance to the team's name. Native-Americans referred to the Sudbury River Valley as "Great Meadows," as did early colonists, who found that the river supported some of the most bountiful hayfields in the Northeast. Today, "Great Meadows" lives on as the name of wildlife refuge very near to where our team meets and practices.

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Schedule for the 2008 season

Check back for updates
*2008 Boston Celtic Music Fest Great Meadows will present a special performance as part of the BCMFest Boston Urban Ceilidh, Jan. 11, Springstep, Medford, Mass.

*The Second Annual Sword Workshop Extraordinaire, presented by Great Meadows with the Country Dance Society Boston Centre, March 29, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m., International School of Boston, 49 Matignon Road, Cambridge, Mass. A full day of workshops on rapper and longsword dance -- Get all the details here.

*NEFFA, April 25-27, Mansfield, Mass. One of New England's oldest and largest festivals of folk and traditional music, dance and arts. Great Meadows will perform on Saturday, April 26, at the following times:
=10 a.m. Candyrapper
=11 a.m. Snicker Snack
=4 p.m. Pocket Flyers and Great Meadows Morris
=5 p.m. Scrambled Six

* Lilac Sunday May 11, Arnold Arboretum, Boston -- Morris and sword teams from all over the Northeastern United States (and sometimes elsewhere) perform at this all-day event.

*Ginger Ale, May 17, Boston -- The Ginger Ale is an annual gathering of childrens' morris and sword teams from New England.

*Marlboro Morris Ale, Memorial Day Weekend, Marlboro, Vermont -- One of the longest-running morris "ales" (festivals) in the US, if not the world.

Here's Where We Danced in the 2007 season


See more photos like these
in our 2007 Photo Gallery.

*2007 Boston Celtic Music Fest Jan. 12-13.

*Half Moon Sword Ale, Feb. 16-18, New York City -- Candyrapper performed at this yearly gathering of rapper sword and long sword teams.

*Dance England Rapper Tournament (DERT), March 8-12, Nottingham, England -- Candyrapper and Scrambled Six participated in this competition, which draws many of England's top-notch sword teams. This was Great Meadows' third consecutive trip to DERT.

*NEFFA, April 20-22, Mansfield, Mass.

*Sword Workshop Extraordinaire, March 31, International School of Boston. Great Meadows co-sponsored this special day of instruction in longsword and rapper sword dancing, featuring some of North America's best sword dance experts.

*Ginger Ale, May 5, Boston

* Lilac Sunday May 13, Arnold Arboretum, Boston

*Marlboro Morris Ale, Memorial Day Weekend, Marlboro, Vermont


Other Places Where We've Performed in Recent Years


*2006 Boston Celtic Music Fest.

*2006 Half Moon Sword Ale New York City. Beside the Point was the GMMS representative for the 2006 Ale.

*2006 Dance England Rapper Tournament, York, England. Candyrapper, Beside the Point and Scrambled Six took part in DERT 2006, with Beside the Point winning the tournament's "Best Display" Award.Photos

*NEFFA 2006 photos

*2005 Boston Celtic Music Fest Photos

*2005 Half Moon Sword Ale Photos.

*2005 Dance England Rapper Tournament, Preston, England. Candy Rapper placed second and Beside the Point fourth in the DERT Open Competition. You can see some photos of their performances, and the other teams, in the DERT gallery.

*NEFFA 2005.

*Lilac Sunday 2005.

*Marlboro Morris Ale 2005 Webumentary.


Photo galleries

This page also includes events at which Great Meadows appeared.

2003- 2004 performances

Spring 2003 performances

Performances from 2000-2002.