The Outside Capering Crew Dances

Bacca Pipes

The bacca pipes jig is our trademark dance - fast, complex and exciting. It is developed from an obscure Cotswold curiosity, traditionally performed over two crossed, long-stemmed tobacco pipes. We have several bacca-pipes dances, including versions for three or four dancers all performing over one set of pipes, crossing and turning with inches to spare. We also perform our finale dance over the pipes, which ends with dancer Tracy Seelig leapfrogging over the rest of the team in a single leap.

Morris jigs

In the 19th Century, the best morris dancers in the English Cotswold region would create their own one- and two-person jigs, sometimes competitive in spirit. Some would have special steps or features not found in team dances. We have followed their example to create several interesting and energetic Cotswold jigs in the traditional idiom, intended to show off the dancers' skill. In 2009, we hope to introduce a ground-breaking new jig that is danced to a tune that sounds like the Pirates of the Caribbean theme, but is actually much, much older.

Broom Dances

Broom dances Broom dances are found in several parts of the UK. We have created two unique variations. One is a challenging solo dance by Simon Pipe, drawing on early training in circus skills. It is rarely performed with complete success, but that only adds to its audience appeal. The dance sometimes ends with a leapfrog over the up-ended broom, except when Simon's nerve fails him. We also hope to re-introduce a mildly comic broom dance for two performers in 2009.

Comic dances and audience participation 

Humour has long been a part of the morris and we’re not afraid of having a spot of traditionally-inspired fun (we cannot say the same for our audiences).

The Ugly Duckling and our Knees Up dance both involve hand-clapping choruses and a certain amount of physical contact between the dancers. We have a third clapping dance, Shepherd's Hey, that gives people of all ages a chance to dance alongside us and look gleefully ridiculous.

If the occasion is right (or even if it's not), we might be persuaded to invite audience members to play along for one of our dances on our orchestra of rubber chickens, which have had various musical instruments, such as kazoos and Swannee whisles, inserted into their rear ends.