MORRIS FOR MINORS

Comic Relief is upon us again, and this week three teachers from a Hackney Primary School got into the spirit of things by taking up an unlikely dancing challenge. Sarah Bloch reports.

ANYONE who remembers their school discos knows that teachers are not famous for their dancing skills.

But three Hackney primary school teachers were recently forced to prove the stereotype wrong in front of their school, and the nation, when Comic Relief’s Big Challenge team came knocking.

The headmaster and two colleagues from Holmleigh Primary School, Stamford Hill, were grabbed at the assembly and given 24 hours to perfect a traditional folk dance.

Staff then had to perform their routines in front of the whole school and a panel of expert judges, including Fame Academy choreographer Kevin Adams.

He said: “Usually with a routine you get two or three days, so if I’d had 24 hours I’d have been panicking.”

Their efforts will be broadcast this Friday in the BBC Comic Relief television spectacular.

As part of The Big Challenge, surprised teams of school staff from schools across the country were set individual challenges – and given 24 hours to achieve them.

Headmaster Kevin Ward said: “I thought to myself, ‘this will be interesting’; something that clearly the children were going to enjoy. On the other hand, I was worried about facing up to the kids wearing those costumes.”

Morale was high to begin with, but the challenge was no easy ride for the brave threesome, who were whisked off by the Comic Relief crew to witness some proper Morris dancing before attempting it themselves.

The group attended some intensive tuition sessions at the English Folk Dance and Song Society in London, where they were coached under the expert eyes of the traditional dance group, The Demon Barbers.

The traditional choreographed Morris dance routines take up to two years to rehearse and perfect, and feature tiny bells worn on the legs, originally thought to scare away evil spirits, and twirling white handkerchiefs.

Diane Cabot, educational officer at the Society said: “Traditional dance forms are so good for young people. They have a fairly simple structure that is then repeated, so once you know how to do some of the basic structures in a dance, it gives enormous confidence and it lays down really good building blocks for later on in life. Apart from that, it’s whole body exercise, so you get really good aerobic exercise.”

Year Four teacher Margaret Boateng was less keen on the proposed routine. She said: “I thought I was going to be doing breakdancing, spinning on my head, anything else but Morris dancing.”

Teaching assistant Karen St Clair was also daunted. She said: “It was shocking to see the sort of dance we’d have to do. Watching the feet when we saw the demonstration, I thought we’d never be able to do it. The brain goes in one direction and the feet go in another.”

Ms St Clair refused to give up, however. She said: “I wanted to show the kids that if a challenge is put up to you, no matter what it is, you can do it if you try.”

The following day, children from the school donated money to Comic Relief for a special assembly, where they could watch their teachers dance.

The headmaster was awarded eight out of 10 for his funky hip-hop style scarf dancing, and even managed a backwards somersault. The other two teachers each received seven points for their intricate clog dance, the forbear of modern tap-dancing.

The money raised by the event, and a video of the team’s efforts, will be broadcast during this weekend’s BBC Comic Relief coverage.