‘Draped in black and teal, faces painted, sticks clashing, this is folklore with attitude. These aren’t your quaint village green dancers. This is Morris turned wild: anarchic, magnetic and a little bit unholy.’
Anderida Border are a mixed group (known as a side) of approximately 30 dancers, musicians and a small support team based in Pevensey, East Sussex. We were founded in 2018. Our name originates from the Latin for Pevensey with the building of the Roman fort (subsequently becoming the Norman built Pevensey Castle), which features in our main logo. We’re often asked how Anderida is pronounced. Being Latin no one knows for sure, but phonetically the common pronunciation is ‘An-dare-ida’.
In Border Morris we dance with sticks, paint our faces and wear tattercoats, traits that originate from the English/Welsh border during the Middle Ages. Predominantly black, coastal inspired colours are added to our tatters reflecting the connection to Pevensey and the south coast.
Today we are to be found keeping our traditions alive dancing in celebration of our connection to nature with the Green Man, Lammas, Samhain and Wassails featuring in our calendar. We predominantly perform from Spring through to Autumn at pubs, fetes, festivals and more besides, oftentimes with other sides who perform a variety of dance styles including Bedlam, Clog, Cotswold and Molly. We also perform at private events such as handfastings and birthdays. We’ve even been known to dance outside Eastbourne town hall as a surprise for a couples wedding!
