Seabright Morris and Sword

Santa Cruz, California

History

Seabright Morris was formed in the spring of 1991 by Evan and Berry Shepherd. Evan and Berry spent many years dancing morris on the east coast. After moving west they danced in Berkeley and Palo Alto before coming to Santa Cruz. Evan saw us thru our first 2 ales before retiring from the morris in 1993. Seabright has trained new members from the Santa Cruz area every year, and during 1994 we were honored to gain several experienced members from Minnesota. The record of our performance history is seen in our calendars.

What's in a Name?

At its inception the founders of the team called it DarkStar Morris. Other names briefly applied were Dun Hill Morris (a reference to Loma Prieta, the most distinctive nearby mountain), Sirius Morris (the brightest star), and Cuckoo's Nest Morris (a favorite Adderbury dance). The approach of the 1992 Lame Duck Ale required a decision. In the end the name Seabright was chosen because geographic names are traditional, the region is central to the team members, and because one of our favorite pubs is there. Seabright is a neighborhood just east of downtown Santa Cruz. Early in the 20th century Seabright was a resort area and beach distinct from Santa Cruz, but it has since been completely consumed by suburban sprawl.

Geography

Seabright is the first morris side in the Monterey Bay Area. We celebrate May Day annually by dancing the sunrise at Lighthouse point in Santa Cruz, and continue to dance throughout Santa Cruz for the rest of the day. We have learned much from the SF Bay Area morris sides, and tour with them often.

Tradition

We are a mixed side specializing in the Cotswold traditions of Adderbury and Bledington (but we may also be able to fake some other traditions). See the list of show dances that we have performed each year.

During the holidays of 1994 an appendage of the team performed our first public caroling and mumming at places around Santa Cruz. In the future we will bring even more old English tradition to the Santa Cruz area. We are grateful to Berkeley Morris for inviting Seabright to their New Year's Wassail every year.

Schedule

Cotswold practices are held every Wednesday. Typically we meet at Louden Nelson Community Center (corner of Laurel and Center) at 7:30 PM, but check with us to be sure. During late winter and early spring we often hold an extra fun session on the weekend at the Felton Covered Bridge. Sword practices are smaller and not yet held in a regularly rented space. Contact us for details.

Kit

We can be identified by our white shirts and socks, forest green vests, black knickers and shoes, and green and purple armbands with many ribbons. The Kit Ogre has some photos on the WWW for those who want a look. (Also see the Seabright hobby fish while you're there.)

Organizational Structure

Seabright is still young and evolving, but we have some idea how things work.

How to join us

We have fun doing this, and there's plenty of room for more.

What about the Sword?

Funny you should ask. During January of 1995 our smith, Loren Washburn, produced a full set of longswords in her shop. During the summer of 1995 we began practicing with them, and the Seabright Sword team debuted at the California Ale in 1996.

Back to the Seabright home page.

Steve Allen <sla@ucolick.org>