How many morris dancers are there in the UK?
With 13,000 individuals in 780 sides, there are as many morris dancers in the UK today as there have ever been before. The number of UK morris dancers has increased slightly from 2014 to 2017.
The average UK morris side has around 18 regular members, where members are defined in the survey as ‘musicians and dancers/performers that regularly perform out with the side’. Of those, 13 are members of one side and 5 are members of more than one side. Some sides have lots of members, while others have relatively few.
The average UK morris side has around 18 regular members, where members are defined in the survey as ‘musicians and dancers/performers that regularly perform out with the side’. Of those, 13 are members of one side and 5 are members of more than one side. Some sides have lots of members, while others have relatively few.
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Members of more than one side (so-called "tarts") make counting the total number of morris dancers challenging because they will be counted at least twice. I account for this in estimating the total by counting them as half a member. Typically, 10-30% of sides' members are also members of other sides.
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Sides also reported in the Morris Census having, on average, around 2 occasional members that perform ‘once or twice a year or less’. Many of them may be regular members of another side, but it is hard to know exactly how many: I count occasional members as half a member as well, adding them to the estimate of the total.
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The number of UK morris dancers has increased slightly from 2014 to 2017 from just under 13,000 to just over. There are no estimates of the number of morris dancers before 2014 to put this estimate in a historical context, but because the number of morris sides in the UK has been growing in recent years, it is probably true to say that there are as many morris dancers in the UK today as there have ever been at a single time before.
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