[janwhin]

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!