Sompting Village Morris dancers celebrate May Day

Traditional folk dancing, singing and music is expected to pass through the streets of Shoreham later to celebrate May Day.

The Sompting Village Morris group plan to begin their May Day activities from Coronation Green at 07:00 BST.

As a celebration marking the first day of summer, May Day’s traditions are rooted in pagan festivals.

The Morris dancing group will parade to the Shoreham War Memorial to crown their annual May Queen.

Started in 1978, Sompting Village Morris says their aim is to uphold the tradition of English street folk dance.

Martin Frost, a dancer with the side, says they have been celebrating May Day in Shoreham for over a decade.

“I like to think that Morris dancing is an older version of younger people’s street dance,” he told BBC South East.

“We do it in the streets. We don’t do it professionally. We do it just for fun.”

As a form of traditional English folk dance, the dance takes on a variety of styles depending on where the group has come from.

Sompting Village Morris says they are a joint team, with men and women performing separate dances at the same event.

In 2023, the dance became a tradition which saw men no longer make up the majority of participants for – the first time in UK history.

Mr Frost said Morris dancing is eccentric and quintessentially English.

“You look at it and think it’s a very odd thing to do,” he said.

“These lads all dress up a bit strange. They’re using sticks and hankies, jangling with bells. But why not?”