To many, the mention of sword dancing will conjure up thoughts of kilts and Highland pipes. The Sword Spectacular, however, is a festival of a much different style of dancing to be found in various forms across Europe. We were celebrating the linked, or hilt-and-point, style of sword dancing and enjoyed displays by over 40 groups from Europe, the USA and the UK.
England has many styles of traditional dance, each originating in its own part of the country. The Morris dance, for example, is often regarded as “typically English” but in truth has its home in the villages of the Cotswolds. But sword dances are just as English and many have their origins in Yorkshire and the North-East. There are two principal styles - Rapper, from Northumberland and County Durham, which is peformed with short, flexible swords, and Longsword, with its longer steel or wooden swords, from Yorkshire. These traditions were affected by changing social customs and the Great War (1914-1918). Many teams died out but a huge revival of interest in recent years means that sword dancing is now being performed by more groups than at any time over the past century.
Longsword is by far the older of the two styles, dating back at least 200 years, and dozens of Yorkshire villages boasted their own sword dancers. Many danced around Christmas, sometimes accompanied by a plough, symbolising the change of seasons. “These frolics they continue until New Year's Day, when they spend their gains at the ale-house with the greatest mirth.” (Ingledew's History and Antiquities of Northallerton, 1858).
Rapper dancing has its roots in the North-East's coal mining communities, evolving early in the 19th century. The dances are much faster than Longsword, from a local version of which they probably evolved, with intricate stepping and often athletic movements such as somersaults. Best suited to indoor performance, they would be danced around the local pubs as a source of beer money and were fiercely contested in competitions. One or two of the early teams continue today, along with a growing number of newer groups.
Both English traditions were imported to the USA by Cecil Sharp and others in the early 20th century, where they have continued to be performed and developed further, often with great flair.
Linked sword dancing has been peformed at various locations on the continent of Europe for at least 700 years, with some of the earliest recorded performances being in the Low Countries, Zurich and Nuremburg. Although the different forms may be related, there is considerable difference in style of dance from country to country. The swords used are always rigid, and many of the European traditions include elements such as raising a peformer to shoulder-height on a lock of swords or waving large flags.
For further information on rapper, go to the Rapper Online site, which provides comprehensive information on the tradition and its history. The site also has a page on related sword dances including Longsword and European styles.