Morris is an English traditional folk dance form. How old it is, no one knows for certain, but Shakespeare used morris dancing in a few plays, and it was considered old even in his day. Modern morris dance includes several different types (called "traditions"), all named for different regions of the British Isles; Cotswold Morris from the south, Border Morris from the west, Molly Dancing from the southeast, and Northwest Morris from (you guessed it) the northwest. Many people also include Longsword, Rapper (sword), Clog, and Garland dancing in the term "morris". One common feature that all Morris dances seem to have in common is that they are performed for an audience rather than experienced as pure social dance (ie, couple dancing, barn dancing, etc). Teams of morris dancers perform choreographies with props such as sticks or handkerchiefs, or sometimes complicated hand clapping. Dancers wear bells on their legs to accentuate the rhythm of the dance and to catch the attention of the audience. The music is always played by live musicians for the morris - never recorded music - thus adding to the audience appeal. What is it like? In the words of one morris dancer, "It's vigorous, energetic, sometimes boisterous, sometimes soul-stirring, and generally so much fun it shouldn't be legal."