The Seasonal Cycle
Renegade Rose Morris loves to dance dances that are connected to the cycles of the year. Morris teams have celebrated these cycles for centuries at traditional fetes and festivals. Even now, teams in all parts of the world gather to dance in the dawn on Mayday, or to celebrate wassailing feasts and other events. To honor this heritage, Renegade Rose has a year-long cycle of dances, both traditional and composed.
Beginning with the rebirth of the sun (Winter Solstice/Yule), followed by first stirrings of the earth at Imbolc (early February), through the months of summer and harvest, and ending with Halloween (or Samhain), Renegade Rose dances hope to evoke a reminder that we are tied to the earth and each other.
Our list of dances and their corresponding festival:
| Time of Year | Dance | Music |
| Winter Solstice | Apple Squeeze | Sung and played: Apple Tree Wassail |
| Imbolc (February 1st) | Fieldtown Valentine (trad) | Valentine |
| Spring Equinox | Beansetting (trad) | Beansetting |
| May Day | Dawning of the May (based on All Hallow’s Eve) | Pepper in the Brandy |
| Summer Solstice | Oak and Ash and Thorn (composed) | Sung: Oak and Ash and Thorn |
| Lammas (August 1st) | John Barleycorn (courtesy of Hunters Moon Morris) | Sung: John Barleycorn |
| Autumnal Equinox | The Scythe (composed) | Sung: All among the Barley |
| Samhain (Halloween) | All Hallow’s Eve (courtesy of Ann Arbor Morris) | Sung: All Soul’s Night (Lorena McKinnit) |
