In the autumn and winter months we often perform as Brummie Gems Molly Dancers.
We dress in bright, clashing colours (all from charity shops) decorated in the gems of Birmingham’s jewellery trade.
Molly dancing originates in East Anglia , in the Fen country. It takes the form of stylised Country dances which were often danced on Plough Monday, the first Monday after Epiphany (or Twelth Night.)
Farm workers would have performed these dances to earn money in the winter and, in disguise, made fun of the gentry. We often have a ‘Lord’ and ‘Lady’ in our dances, who take the lead-but are sometimes mocked by others.
We sometimes incorporate lively stick dances from the Welsh borders.
