The Britannia Coco-nut Dancers of Bacup

One of my favourite photographers, Tony Ray Jones,  photographed the Coco-nut Dancers in 1968. It was great to tread in his footsteps and witness this bizarre spectacle for myself.
On Easter Saturday every year, the Britannia Coco-nut Dancers take to the streets to welcome Spring and ward off evil spirits as they dance from boundary to boundary in Bacup , Lancashire .
The coco-nut dancers' faces are blackened to disguise themselves from evil spirits and to reflect the coal mining roots of the tradition.