GCM

A men’s morris side in Onondaga County, New York.

Membership roster: Rich Holmes, Peter Hoover, Maria Hosmer-Briggs, Laura Waterstripe.

I have done what no other known man ever attempted to do, I have been to village clubs, single-handed in full war paint, with gosoon Dress, two sets of Bells on, Stick and Bladder, a stocking of a sort, Ribbons and Sashes, with my Fiddle in my hand. The jingle of the Bells would fetch the people out. They would shout `Here’s the Bam Morris’. When they saw only one member, `Where’s the Morris?’ `Here’s the Morris’, says I. — William Wells, 1914

GCM (formerly Griffin’s Corners Morris (formerly Grindstone Creek Morris (formerly Griffin’s Corners Morris))) is a men’s Cotswoldish morris side in Onondaga County (Syracuse area), New York. And when I say “men’s”, I mean men, plural, if you count male musicians and disregard female ones.

There are four of us. So far. One dances on this team, the other three don’t. We, that is to say I, dance our own GCM style (“tr*d*t**n”, if you prefer), which presently consists of six solo jigs.

On paper, GCM (the style, not the side) consists of quite a few dances, since it is in fact ________ (a collected tr*d*t**n, whose name we never utter), except for the bits that are ________ (likewise), except for the bits that aren’t. But since they mostly require at least four dancers, which also exist only on paper, we, that is, I, are (am) not dancing them just yet.

GCM was founded in 2001 and first danced out four years earlier.

GCM (the side, not the style) welcomes new members, provided they are of a suitable gender, or are musicians of an unsuitable gender. Prior morris experience will be tolerated. Prospective members may show up at any practice, except of course there are no practices, so that could be a problem. (At least you know there’s next to no time commitment involved.) It might be easier to call the Squire (that is, me (that is, us (also Fore, Bag, Archivist, Webmaster, Et Cetera))) at 315-214-3840, or email me.

People with gender of any suitability — or no gender at all — who want to learn more about morris dancing without actually joining the team are welcome to call or write too.

GCM is also available for very, very short bookings. Or very repetitive ones.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION ABOUT GCM:

Q: Are you serious?
A: Yes.