Shirley Collins and Brighton Morris

Along with many in the world of English traditional music and song, we have been great fans of Shirley Collins MBE for years.

And she of us. When we dance in her home town of Lewes there is always a good chance that Shirley will be there to watch us. We were honoured when she agreed to be our patron.

One of our few dance performances in 2020 during the pandemic was an unpublicised event outside Shirley’s home to celebrate her birthday. Our association with Shirley has also included:

  • ‘Folk Roots New Routes’. In 2008 Shirley invited us to take part in her weekend of concerts on the South Bank in London
  • Shirley’s 80th birthday celebrations on the South Bank. In 2015 we again danced for her on the South Bank
  • Lodestar We were honoured to help launch Shirley’s first recorded album in 38 years (two of Brighton Morris perform on that album, as they do on her 2020 release ‘Heart’s Ease), and dance on stage on the subsequent concert tour. We also helped launch the film ‘The Ballad of Shirley Collins’ in 2017.