To think that it would be nice if stuff like maypole dancing were done more but that 'wokeness' is probably not the reason that it's done less now?

[Jane3212]

On Facebook today a post popped up about traditional stuff like maypole dancing that's done less now. The person who wrote the post blamed this on 'wokeness erasing English customs'.

Is 'wokeness' really the reason maypole dancing isn't done as much? I think things like that are nice but I'm not convinced 'wokeness' was the reason they've somewhat faded. Overstretched teachers & schools could be one. It's fair to note also that maypole dancing was never something my mother (born 1960s) or grandmother (born 1930s) experienced, probably as they grew up in London.

AIBU?

That's my experience too @BlueFairyBugsBooks - I've danced N-W cloggie, jigs, border and cotswold so across the spectrum - and while I see lots of people fulminating about the "loss of traditions" I've never seen the moaners try to participate in those traditions. Then they moan that we have participants who aren't white - well why not, most cultures have a bells-and-drum dancing tradition and people who live here will join in with the nearest one regardless of heritage, and secondly, you don't get to criticise something you're not engaged with.

Yay, Birmingham! 🥳

My children did it 5 minutes down the road from you in Kings Norton, back in the late 90s/early 00s in the church grounds. It was delightful.

They probably use the same pole supplier and instructors as Bournville!

Nightclubs have gone into massive decline in recent years - huge numbers have closed down, and many of the surviving nightclubs have few people in them compared with ten years ago.

It was always seen as a bit naff, nowt to do with woke.
I do love English traditions though: garden fetes, ferrets down yer trousers etc. I even miss Penny for the Guy.

That's true lifestyles changed, however pps do mention liking it in London schools, I don't think it has to have that element to be enjoyable.

Stuff like tea dances aren't done so much, definitely. Strictly & other programs show a lot of people still do like watching ballroom dance which is of course an older thing, and some still do it.

I'm older Gen Z and still like them...it's probably COL. Also quite a few Gen Z don't like staying up very late or drinking alcohol, but you don't have to do that to enjoy clubbing.

No maypole dancing in Scotland
The forced Scottish country dancing and ballroom in 70s secondary.
Never danced a dashing white Sargent
Or a waltz.
Think it would've looked odd on the Northern soul scene

yep, kind of illustrates my point with things changing over time... although my uni aged kids still go clubbing. I genuinely don't want to know too much about what they get up to though 🫣

I think it's always going to be a battle, but there's enough of a minority who do go in for it.

I'd count myself someone who likes very English things like lefty protest songs (even tho politically folk would see me as more of a right winger.)

But good music is good music, and I'm always going to support it, because I like distinctively English music.

Facebook stirring shit? No way!

We did maypole and country dancing at school qnd loved it. Left school and never saw it again. People just didnt keep it up, like women not playing sports. Men didnt want to look "silly" and women didnt have the time.

I always thought nightclubs were extremely overrated, to be honest, so I'm pleased they've gone into decline. I remember the first time I went in one aged 17, and it was such a letdown. They were just a lame con to fleece teens and young adults really.

Not all. Some were run by community groups and did foster a real sense of community. And there are and were well-run commercial night clubs too.

Unfortunately in the 90s many UK nightclubs were under the thumb of gangsters - it was a huge moneymaking enterprise for the underworld! What a racket!

Attending such a club could be a matter of poor taste and judgement.

Unless they had quality drugs, of course.

In which case it's completely understandable.

I've done clog dancing, Morris and ceilidh dancing - a good ceilidh with a good caller is the best night out!
No-one's mentioned what hard work they are, particularly Morris. A real workout, and much more joyful than a boring gym session.

Sadly it was mainstream youth culture to go to such places back then, and heavily promoted by the media. Absolutely brilliant for the wallets of crime lords though.

That's just it - it isn't just people dancing in a circle. Maypole dances are complex because the whole point of them is to weave a pattern on the pole with the coloured ribbons and then reversing direction and undoing it again. There's lots of ducking under various numbers of ribbons etc and it all has to be remembered. Messing it up is not looked on kindly because it throws everyone else off. It's very time consuming to teach it. At my kids' primary school, the ending of it coincided with the arrival of SATS. As it's a May tradition, it's just at the wrong time of year and teachers are far more scared of SATS results and repercussions than the kids are. Time just can't be found at that time of year.

I would 1000% rather re-learn country dancing than go to a stinky steroid filled sweat cave.

Sussex has several active Morris sides and Brighton and Lewes both have a women's Morris side. They seem to be at every country show in both counties.

Don't know if they include maypole dances in their repertoire though.

Someone told me that Hastings has Maypole dancing, but I can't vouch for the accuracy of that. They have a big folk festival called Jack in the Green every May, so it seems credible.

My DC did maypole dancing every Mayday while they were at primary school. It was wonderful, wholesome and very entertaining - especially when it went wrong, which it invariably did. It was a real community thing in our village, and followed on from the May Queen and attendants procession from the church.
It's not wokeness that's stopped the tradition. You need somebody prepared to organise and teach, a place to rehearse and practise, and ideally a community event for the performance.
Very sad that it seems to be dying a death.

I think it would be a real shame if there were no or few nightclubs for dancing or listening to new music- they're definitely not for everyone but it's good for those who like to have the option. Boost the economy, too.

Yes, thar's the dark side. Not just the 90s : look at the role the Kray Twins had in the nightlife scene in the 60s.

There is sometimes maypole dancing at the Brixton Windmill. It’s quite a woke area