Guise dancing - Sometimes Geese, Goosey or Guize danicing is a Cornish winter tradtion practiced during the Christmas period, Plough Monday and some feast days. Guise dancing is a celebration of mischief, topsy turvey, and role reversal. People dress in gentleman's hand me downs, and masked ball style masks to hide their features sometimes blacking or whiting up to complete their disguises, gender reversal was often a part of the celebration with some women dressed as men an vice - versa. They are sometimes dressed in tatters like those worn by somekind of morris dancers.

William Bottrel writes

"During the early part of the last century the costume of the guise dancers often consisted of such antique finery as would now raise envy in the heart of a collector..The Chief glory of the men lay in their cocked hats which were surmounted with plumes and decked with streamers and ribbons, The girls were no less magnificently attired with steeple crowned hats, stiff bodied gowns, bag skirts or trains and ruffles hanging from their elbows "

(Guise dancers and 'Obby 'Oss Penglaz in Penzance)

The Guisers are often led by a "Lord of Misrule" figure known by different names in different communities, this figure was often attended by mock state officials. The guise dancers would perambulate around towns and villages performing traditional dance and music and the mummers play of St George and the Turkish night or Duffy and Bucca. Sometimes they would come into a house uninvited and rearrange the furniture in a bazaar way to disorienate the house holder or perform Cornish carols. St Ives, Penzance and the Isles of Scilly were the strongest traditional strong holds of the Guise with nearly the whole of the Penzance community taking part in 1831.

The guisers were occasionaly accompanied by an Obby Oss - In Penzance this was the famous Penglaz who now can be seen in community celebrations and festivals.

(An historic picture of Guise dancing in St Ives in the 1970's)

The custom survived in Penzance until 1914 and was revived in 2007 during the Montol festival. In St Ives the custom persisted until the 1980's and was revived in 2005 by local music group Bagas Porthia who perform during St Ives feast. Music and dance group Pyba have a guise dance routine with their own 'Oss Penguise.