Although sometimes treated as a form of morris dance, sword dancers are proud of their own tradition and often wish to be treated as a traditional dance category in its own right. A Morris dance is a form of folk dance. ...

General sword dances forms include:

• solo dancers around swords – such as the traditional Scottish sword dances. This general form also encompasses non-sword dances such as the bacca pipes jig in Cotswold morris dance,
• mock battle dances, including many stick dances from non-sword traditions, and such common continental dances as Buffins or Matachin
• hilt-and-point sword dances – where the dancers are linked together by their swords in a chain. These form the basis for rapper sword and long sword forms,

Hilt-and-point sword dances traditional to England include rapper sword and long sword, although both of these are now also performed by revival teams outside their traditional areas, including teams in most of the English-speaking world. A Morris dance is a form of folk dance. ... Rapper sword is a kind of sword dance. ... The Long Sword dance is a hilt-and-point sword_dance from Yorkshire in England. ... Rapper sword is a kind of sword dance. ... The Long Sword dance is a hilt-and-point sword_dance from Yorkshire in England. ...

There are related hilt-and-point sword dances that are, or were, performed all over Europe. These are particularly concentrated in an area corresponding to the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire at around 1400-1500, and many of these traditional dances are still performed in Germany, Austria and the Flanders. Linked sword dances were also found all over the Iberian Peninsula, and are still widely performed in the Basque Country. An overview of these can be found on the Related Traditions page of the Rapper Online website. Jump to: navigation, search This page is about the Germanic empire. ... Flanders (Flemish, Fleming) (Dutch: Vlaanderen (Vlaams, Vlaming), French: Flandre(s), (flamand, flamand), German: Flandern, (flämisch, Flame) has two main designations: a constituent community of the federal Belgian state through its social and political organisations, and through the institutions of the Flemish Community (with its own Flemish government and Flemish... topographic map of the Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Basque Country (Euskal Herria in Basque) straddles the western Pyrenees mountains that define the border between France and Spain, extending down to the coast of the Bay of Biscay. ...

Mock battle sword dances are found worldwide, varying from the Saltatio Armatum of the ancient Romans, through Turkish, Persian and Middle Eastern traditions to Japanese mock battle dances. Some European sword dances, such as the dance from the island of Korcula in Croatia, include both hilt-and-point and mock battle sequences. A view of the city of Korčula Korčula (Italian Curzola, Greek Korkyra Melaina) is the modern Croatian name for an island in the Adriatic Sea with a long Byzantine and Venetian history. ...

Newcastle Kingsmen (England)	Handsworth Sword Dancers (England)
St Martin in Sulmtal (Austria)	Kemen Dantza Taldea (Basque Country)
St Martin in Sulmtal (Austria) Flamborough Sword Dancers (England) Markina Sword Dancers (Basque Country)

English sword dancing has also been brought to the New World, initially as part of the "morris revivial" of the 1970s and 1980s. Teams are now extant in most major metropolitan areas in North America. The New York Sword Ale is an annual gathering over Presidents Day weekend that brings together over a dozen sword teams form the east coast and around the world. Newcastle Kingsmen rapper sword dancers This work is copyrighted. ... Newcastle Kingsmen rapper sword dancers This work is copyrighted. ... Handsworth Sword Dancers This work is copyrighted. ... Handsworth Sword Dancers This work is copyrighted. ... St Martin in Sulmtal (Austria) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... St Martin in Sulmtal (Austria) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Kemen Dantza Taldea (Basque Country) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Kemen Dantza Taldea (Basque Country) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... St Martin Schwerttanzer (Oesterreich) (GNU-FDL selbstfotografiert) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... St Martin Schwerttanzer (Oesterreich) (GNU-FDL selbstfotografiert) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Flamborough Sword Dancers (England) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Flamborough Sword Dancers (England) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Markina Sword Dancers (Basque Country) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Markina Sword Dancers (Basque Country) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Jump to: navigation, search World map showing North America (geographically) A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: The Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York City Governor George Pataki (R) Senators Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) Official languages None (English is de facto) Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18... Presidents Day, also known as Washingtons Birthday, is a national holiday in the United States of America celebrated on the third Monday of February. ...

External Links (information)

• Rapper Online - information on the rapper sword dance
• Overview of hilt-and-point sword dances (from Rapper Online; includes photos, videos and links)

External links (dance groups)

• Bacchu-Ber (France)
• Bal do Sabre Bagnasco (Italy)
• Danseurs de Quevaucamps (Belgium)
• High Spen Blue Diamonds (England)
• In de Kring (France)
• Kirkburton Rapier (England)
• Korcula Moreska (Croatia)
• Lange Wapper (Belgium)
• Newcastle Kingsmen (England)
• Stuttgarter Spielkreis (Germany)
• Volkstanz Neckartailfingen (Germany)
• Half Moon Sword (New York City)
• Jack the Rapper (Norway)

• RIch Holmes site includes links to many English and English-style sword teams.