Top row, from left: Sarah Higginbotham, Barbara Finney, Anne Ketchen, Kem Stewart, Liz Truebenbach, and Cary Browse. Bottom row, from left: Doug Reiner and Julian Cole. (Courtesy photo)

This Saturday, Nov. 13, Harvard will serve as the venue for some very unique talent. Three forms of ancient English ritual dance, including Long Sword, Rapper Sword, and Abbot's Bromley Horn, will be performed by local dance teams at Fruitlands Museum and the public library.

Long Sword dancing, which originated in Northern England, dates to the 15th century. The dance was thought to bring good luck and fertility and usually coincided with celebrations like Boxing Day (the day after Christmas). It was, and still is, performed by people in villages all across England, with each having their own unique style. Generally, it involves six to eight dancers who each carry a metal—but not sharp—sword approximately 30 to 40 inches in length. The steps are very rhythmic, like that in step-dancing or a jig. The dancers form a ring where they make weaving and twisting motions while avoiding breaking the circle they have formed. The dance is accompanied by lively music played by a variety of instruments, including fiddles, flutes, violins, and accordions.

Harvard resident Cary Browse and her Still River Sword team have been perfecting their Long Sword routines since 1997. Their repertoire encompasses an eclectic mix of tunes and tempos, including their interpretation of "Yankee Doodle." It takes them about one year to learn each new dance. Browse, who discovered Long Sword at Pinewoods Camp, a dance camp in Plymouth, in 1990, enjoys the camaraderie. "I do it just for the joy of performing, the joy of showing sword dancing to an audience, and socializing with other sword teams," she says.

Most of her 10 teammates are from surrounding towns, with a few from New Hampshire. Their routine consists of four dances, three traditional English patterns, and one original modern composition. The team practices almost weekly at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Building. They dance annually at the New England Folk Festival and Lilac Sunday at the Arnold Arboretum, and have traveled to New York City several times to perform at the Half Moon Sword Ale Festival, an event that draws teams from all over the U.S., Canada, and abroad.

This is the first time the group has hosted their own tour. "The other teams that are touring with us are great," says Browse. "Snicker Snack is a team of teens that comes out of a class for children in Sudbury. They do a different type of sword dancing that uses rapper swords. These swords bend, making it possible to dance very closely together at great speed. Not for the faint-hearted! That long, tall sword comes from Northampton, Mass." She says Snicker Snack will perform a traditional Long Sword dance, a dance they wrote themselves, a mummer's play, and a haunting dance called the Abbot's Bromley Horn dance, which incorporates antlers. And, she says, they will be wearing some amazing costumes.

The Still River Sword tour will take place Saturday, Nov. 13, at Fruitlands Museum from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and at Volunteers Hall at the Harvard Public Library from 2 to 3:30 p.m. There is no charge for the performances. For more information about Still River Sword contact Cary Browse at 978-456-8160.