About Us
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 look for the Seabright hobby
fish while you're there.)
Organizational Structure
Seabright is still young and evolving, but we have
some
idea how things work.
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. |
![[The Seabright Logo]](images/sms80.gif)
