Amble Rapper Dancing
 

I started looking for a history of sword dancing in pit communities when I found an 1823 Shilbottle Colliers Song to which sword dancers performed. (Tune the Keel Row).
Having looked a bit further it seems swords became rappers and most pit villages had a dance group.
Amble had a group made up of members of the Flanighan family. There is a photograph on the web. The dance seems to have died away in Amble in the early 30s.
Despite being born and raised in Amble, I've not heard of a rapper dance group or the Flanighans, although they were a bit before my time.
Hopefully there might be better informed Amblers out there!

I've never seen Rapper Sword Dancing in the flesh, just on TV. I didn’t know there was a strong connection to the Northumberland and Durham coalfield regarding this activity either, think I thought it was just a general English thing like Morris Dancing! Anyway most interesting that we had local people doing this.

Anyone for a revival group! :D

Dont mention Morris Dancing ........I have a cousin into this , travelled all over the place and been on the TV . I think it's the most silliest thing to watch........that and Irish dancing [ the Michael Flatley dancing]. So, no we dont any local groups starting up :-)

just my opinion !

Yeh, I'd probably end up decapitated knowing my luck. :)

found that Amble Flanighan pic mentioned in the opening post:

http://www.the-nut.net/articles/flanighans.php

I don't know, it's very sad that we are not likely to see a tribute Amble rapper group emerge! I remember when real men went with their wives to the Legion for dancing classes and danced the light fantastic at Old Year. They were lovely movers, good enough for Strictly Come Dancing.
Another sign of Amble's decline:)

I've never heard of rappers either, well not that kind. :D

Checked with my Flanighan/Flanagan relatives and its not something they have come across. Interesting thread but count me out too :D

Rapper/ Sword dancing
 

My father, Richard Dixon , is third from the left,standing, in the
picture of the rapper dancing troupe that was run by the Flanagan
family.Our family lived in Gordon St, Bert & Ruth Flanagan lived
just across the lane from us.I believe that it was their daughter
Naomi that gave the photo to the Northumberland Gazette.

Amble Morrismen !! // Dancers Flannigans!
 

http://www.the-nut.net/articles/flanighans.php

I can hear Mel talking like this still ! Rest in Peace Mel!

Excuse my ignorance , They are Rappers not Morrismen

Re;Amble Sword Dance
 

RE;Amble Sword Dance

The dance was "collected" from the Flanaghans in the late 50s and early 60s and a good description of it is contained in a 10-page article "Rapper Knots from Amble and Bedlington" by Bill Fisher Cassie in the Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society for 1966. I have a copy of it.

I saw the dance in its entirety in the annual Folk Dance Festival of the EFDSS at the Albert Hall about 1960 when it was danced by Kings College Sword Dancers. I think the original Amble team had stopped dancing about 1931.

The connections with Bedlington may have originated from the family movements at an earlier time.

[threads merged]

I'm interested in any more information anyone has on the original Amble sword dance team.

A Boxall I have sent you a private message... would love to hear any memories you have of your father dancing.
Thanks

Re;Amble Sword Dance
 

A couple of points about my notes yesterday.
The Article I mentioned has a bit of blurb about the Flanaghans from whom the dance was collected. I could copy some bits if anyone is interested. (Not sure about copywright!)
Also the (last) swords were deposited in the library of Cecil Sharp House, the HQ of the EFDSS. They were supposed to have been made at Broomhill Colliery machine shops from machine saw blade material.
It is a pity that this brilliant tradition is apparently held in such contempt by some of your contributors and interested young people can only learn about it away from the area.

I can believe the colliery machine saw blade story. The blades were very popular among the tradesmen for making enormous knives. Electricians had a particular penchant for these for stripping cables. Like machetes. Management banned them in the end I think. It was a perfect material for a blade though.

There's this article online, have we linked to that yet? [ it is liked on the 'nut.net' page above I think]

http://www.rapper.org.uk/notations/amble.pdf

Thanks for sharing those interesting notes about the 'swords'.
I think I have most of what has been written about the amble dance now(not a lot!). But any more personal recollections would be priceless.
We are currently attempting to learn the dance and we want to do it justice. It has some quite unique figures...

Rapper dancing
 

If you go to Google & put in
Rapper Dancing online Amble
you should get an article on
Rapper Dancing which mentions
The Flannigans