Cecil Sharp

Cecil Sharp began collecting English folk songs in 1903. Two years later, he had started comprising an assemblage of folk dances when Mary Neal, a dance teacher, asked him if he knew of any she could teach to her students. His interest in folk dances led to the foundation of the Folk Dance Society in 1911. He interpreted the dances and helped English folk dances to become popular. Sharp's interest in folk songs took him to the Appalachian Mountains where he studied American folk songs with English origins. Sharp was the foremost Morris dance collector. He first learned about Morris dances in 1895, when he saw the Headington Quarry Morris Men perform. He worked at collecting and documenting the Morris dances throughout his life.

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