We celebrated our 30th anniversary in 2024, and held a special day of dance in the pretty town of Tring in Hertfordshire, where we were joined by guest teams. This was followed by dancing, music and plenty of cake in Tring’s historic Victoria Hall. It was a great celebration of the thirty years since Wicket Brood was set up by a group of intrepid pioneers.
So what has made us such a long lasting and well regarded team (It’s always ‘side’ or ‘team’ but never ‘troupe’!)? Well, the ethos then, as now, was FUN! At Brood, members are encouraged and supported to be their best. Making a mistake is not a punishable offence – everyone makes them after all! We are an inclusive side, and we always welcome newcomers. Never danced before? Not a problem – come along to a practice and you may find you’re actually rather good!
We perform dances in the Border tradition. and practice in the village of Bricket Wood in Hertfordshire, England (near St. Albans, Watford and London). In our quest for an appropriate, original and witty name for the side, we deduced that a spoonerism of our home base might conjure up images of a mysterious assembly of dark shadowy characters keeping alive ancient rituals and traditions. Maybe that was wishful thinking but it’s a name and we like it!
Wicket Brood at Bolnhurst Rally, Bedfordshire, July 2023
The dances we perform originate from a number of sources. Some have been obtained from documented notations of dances performed many years ago by some of the original Border Morris teams from Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire. Some of these were very fragmented, some just based on personal recollections, and a certain amount of interpretation was required. Other dances are more contemporary, having been either developed by ourselves, or obtained from other similar sides. We hope that the variety provides an interesting contrast for our audiences.
Our costumes are based on traditional sources and we hope, present a colourful and interesting sight. Our ‘tatter’ jackets are purple, green, and black – all are similar but a degree of individual flair is allowed! Black trousers, stout boots of purple, green or black, and hats of similar colours complete the scene. In common with most Border Morris teams, our faces are painted, (originally thought to be a form of disguise), and again black, purple and green paints are used in varied combinations (and never in the form of the all ‘black face’ adopted by some Border Morris sides). Our dances are performed with stout sticks, either long or short depending on the dance.
Brood would not be complete without its musicians. Some play in local Barn Dance or Folk bands, and the music for the dances is played on a variety of instruments – melodeons, accordions, concertina, guitar, whistles, recorders, saxophone, fiddle, drums, tambourines and other percussion.
We are known for being friendly and we’ll always make newcomers welcome. Being part of Wicket Brood is huge fun! You can find out more about joining us here.
