Pig Dyke Molly

Pig Dyke Molly performing on May Day 2017 in Stilton.
Molly dancing is a form of English morris dance traditionally done by out-of-work ploughboys in midwinter in the 19th century.
English folk custom is at its very best when it portrays dark and ‘weird’.
Pig Dyke costumes also contribute to the creation of weirdness. Historically Molly dancers grabbed whatever they could that was bizarre: being painted to resemble Red Indians, dressed and beribboned in a most grotesque fashion to represent various beings, human or otherwise. Costumes included a variety of animal heads - not masks but full heads which were kept from year to year.
The music which accompanies the dancing is also unique, inspired originally by the late Robin Griggs and is uncharactistically for folk tunes based on rock and jazz music. The dances themselves are equally idiosyncratic, more hedonistically flamboyant than the ‘military discipline’ of conventional morris dance. Attraction to the audience is fundamental to the Pig Dyke style and the dance style is as varied as the costumes used.