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BBC News
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Furness Morris dancing group's hopes over future
A Morris dancing group, which was in danger of folding after 62 years, has been thrown a Morris, based in Ulverston, Cumbria, said up to five new members could be joining in the sessions were held in June, with some of those who attended in their Ord, who has been with the band for 50 years, said he had "a big smile" on his face when he saw younger people walking in. "They're in the age range that I was when I started," he said."If we've got enough new people, I'd happily pass on my knowledge and retire as it were."The group had hoped to attract new members so it could pass on the tradition of the English folk Ord, who is the band's second longest-serving member, said he was feeling "a bit more optimistic" about its future. Furness Morris was founded in 1963 and had 20 members in its numbers have dwindled to just eight and the band warned back in May it may not survive unless about half a dozen new dancers Ord said the band was "certainly going to carry on" in the immediate future, following the two recruitment sessions. "I'm a bit more optimistic than I was but we won't know really until after the summer when we get into practice season properly and see what people's commitments are to the group," he said. "We haven't called it a day, yet." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
CBC
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Filipino youth put skills to test as part of decades-old Maharlika dance group
Social Sharing When Kian Gilongos decided to join his local Filipino dance group, he was excited about the opportunity to be part of a family tradition that stretches back four decades. Regina's Maharlika dance group has existed since the 1980s, which is when Gilongos' father first joined the group as a teenager. "Maharlika was a really good opportunity to bring together other Filipinos that had immigrated or had been born here, and it was a really great way of sharing culture, and I decided I wanted to do that too," the 14-year-old said. The youth group features 65 dancers between the ages of six to 27. They've been practising since January for the routines that they'll perform during this year's Mosaic festival, June 5 to 7. The energy is palpable during rehearsal, the excitement reaching a fever pitch for the tinikling dance, which sees older dancers deftly step and hop over moving bamboo sticks. Gilongos describes the dance as "exhilarating." "There's just so many things that could possibly go wrong, right? Somebody could clap off, somebody could take a step wrong, and it's truly stupefying to see all of this happening and working together." WATCH | Filipino dancing a family affair: Filipino dancing a family affair 5 hours ago Duration 1:43 Kiam and Dara Gilongos are following in their father's footsteps by dancing in Regina's Maharlika dance group and embracing their Filipino roots. Last year at Mosaic, one of the dancers had a toenail slam into his foot and began bleeding, yet finished out the dance, Gilongos said. It speaks to the level of commitment the dancers have. "The show must go on, right?" The dancers say there's a camaraderie here that they don't get anywhere else — and they take pride in extending that to others who appreciate their culture. Twenty-one-year-old Karyss King is an instructor with the group, and is among the participants who do not have Filipino ancestry. She got involved when Filipino friends, knowing she was a dancer, invited her to check out a practice. She got hooked. "I loved it so much," she said. "I think something to appreciate is just the love that everyone has. You don't have to be Filipino to be a part of Maharlika." She appreciates the challenge of certain dances, including one where dancers balance a glass of water on their heads. However, the tinikling dance intimidated her, especially as a dancer who needs to protect her feet. "When I tried it for the first time, I was honestly horrified, but I was like, 'I can't show that I'm scared,'" she said, adding that dancers begin to lose their stamina as the pace gets faster. "But when you look up and you see your friends around you, it's like, 'I have to keep going. I want to keep going and I'm going to do this dance.'" Participants say visitors will feel the good vibes and energy from the Philippines Pavilion at Mosaic and its close-knit Maharlika dancers.
