Glory of the West

Glory of the West is a Women’s Cotswold morris side based in the City of Exeter. We welcome dancers who identify as women or non-binary and musicians of any gender.

We are a group of people from various walks of life drawn together by a love of dance, traditional music, and chocolate. We meet once a week, along with our talented musicians, to chat, dance, gossip, dance, drink, dance, eat chocolate, dance, have fun and dance.

Glory of the West was founded in 1976 at Exeter University. Our colours were taken from the green and white of the University. Later the complementary colours of red and yellow became more prominent. However in 2009 we underwent a radical change of image, changing our kit to all black, keeping the colours of red, green and yellow in our ribbons.

Our members range in age from 18 to 70 and we have two second generation dancers in the side.  Morris dancing is very much alive and well in Exeter!

The Dances

We have a varied repertoire of dances drawn from three different styles of Cotswold Morris (for more info see section About Morris Dancing). Over the years we have adapted the dances to produce our own unique style, and many dances are created by us while maintaining the steps and traditional figures of Cotswold Morris.

A year in the life of Glory

During the winter months, from October to April, we practise once a week, meeting on a Wednesday evening at Bowhill Primary School in Buddle Lane, Exeter, EX4 1JT.

During the summer, we put on our kit and dance out in various locations around the county. Most Wednesday evenings will see us at a Devon pub, sometimes in the company of another local side. We also travel around the country, to fêtes, to festivals, and to visit with other sides, and every other year we organise our own event, either a weekend tour, or a day of dance with guests from around the country.

Our other Talents

We are not only good to look at, we have other talents too. Some of our talented musicians play with local Ceilidh bands, we have singers in our midst, we have Appalachian dancers and belly dancers and we can translate it all into French! We offer talks on the history, survival, revival and significance of morris dancing. We can offer workshops to give you the chance to join in and have a go. We offer ideal entertainment to groups such as Twinning Associations, Womens Institutes, Village Fetes, etc.

(P.S We also make a wicked chocolate cake)