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imageMorris Dancers at the Dillsboro Arts & Music Festival

Morris dancers at the Dillsboro Arts & Music Festival

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These are morris dancers at the Dillsboro Art & Music Festival. Morris dancing is a tradition that originated sometime after the fifteenth century. It is an English folk dance usually accompanied by music. Dancers often wear intricate costumes and use props to enhance their dance, ranging from the common, such as the wooden sticks seen here, to the unusual, including a pair of tobacco pipes laid on the ground around which the dancers move. Morris dancing is more common in Britain than the United States, but there are at least 150 morris sides (or teams) in the United States.

Dillboro is located in Jackson County, North Carolina. It is host to a variety of festivals and celebrations, despite its tiny size.