Networking and Petit Riens

This past week, I've been working hard on preparing for the Bare Shakespeare workshop. Reesa and I have been flexing our totally awesome 80's pop rock muscles and picking out music that fits both the scenes and the music (harder than you might think when looking for something in 6/4 time). So far, I'm really excited about what we've come up with. I say we but its mostly Reesa - I get sidetracked sometimes when searching for music - I blame Lala for just being so darn accessible and fun.

Anyway, while trolling the depths of classic rock looking for songs in odd time signatures, I have also been working hard on redoing the instruction sheets for several dances that I'll be teaching. One of those was for Petit Riens, a fun little dance I first learned up at Scarborough Faire. Now, for those of you who are not familiar, Scarborough is TRF's neighbor to the north. We've always had a friendly rivalry with them, and because we're on opposite sides of the calender it has always stayed friendly. Lots of performers and shop owners work both shows, and we always make a day of going out and visiting each other. Sometimes we go in costume, sometimes we just go to visit. Either way, we always have fun and look forward to seeing each other at the next show.

Back in 2004, a group of us had decided to go up and make a weekend of visiting everyone. At this time, I was running Evening Dance and Maypole out at TRF, so I of course wanted to go peek in on their shows. Scarborough has always had a LOT of dance shows going on, so it is always a pleasure for me to go and see what they're up to. This year, I was not disappointed: I was able to watch both their country dance and court dance shows. I was dressed in peasant clothes that weekend (because why corset when you don't have to?), so wasn't quite as recognizable as usual.

It probably comes as no shock to anyone that the main way faire people recognize each other is by sight - especially by costumes. It is always a little jarring to see someone running around in street clothes: somehow, they just don't look quite right. I know I feel more comfortable in period clothes than normal ones, and I am positive I am not the only one. On this occasion, I was wearing a costume I hadn't worn for almost ten years, so was, for all intents and purposes, incognito to most other performers.

I was having a great time visiting. Scarborough has an open dance-floor policy, and many of their patrons have, over the years, learned their dance repertoire as well. I slipped in fairly unnoticed and learned all I could. This was easy during the country dance. Court dance however....was a little more obvious.

I got there early, in time to sit in on the "teaching" phase of evening dance. One of the benefits of doing dance for-ev-ah is that learning new ones becomes very easy after a while. That is exactly what was going on today. They were teaching a dance Miz Ellen had written a few years ago, which happened to be a variation of a later Playford Dance called The Indian Queen. Simon Spaulding had taught that to me years ago, so it was a quick review to pick it up again.

It didn't take long for me to be left in charge of several patrons. Dance teachers, it seems, are all fairly noticeable when we get going in our element, despite trying to be low-key. When the actual dancing started, I can only imagine it was more obvious.

At this point, I'm the only patron in peasant clothing holding my own in a set for Poacher's Moon. Next up, a dance I haven't heard of: Petit Riens. Well, I think to myself, I'm a patron. It is totally ok if I mess this up.

Petit Riens, which means literally "little nothings" is a fun little follow-the-leader dance for three people. I adore it - it is such a great way to put character into a dance. When the music started, I was relieved to see that, as the last person in the line, all I had to do was follow and mimic what was going on in front of me. Having been trained be some of the best improvisational actors Houston had to offer, I just smiled and did my best. I had a great time, and merrily skipped along through the dance pretending like I knew what I was doing. Apparently it worked.

After the dance was over, a woman glided over to my side and took me by the arm. "My lady," she said with a smile, "Don't take this the wrong way, but who are you and where did you learn that?" I am pretty sure I blushed and looked at my feet, then explained that I was one of the choreographers from TRF. She laughed and gave me a hug, then told me to get my fanny back into the set.

That is how Susan and I met, and that is how we began the lovely dance exchange between TRF and Scarborough. I loved seeing her and her group on the sidelines at my shows, and she always looked for me at hers. Both of us share a passion for bringing dance to as many people on the site as possible, which has made the sharing that much more fun. It doesn't hurt that our thoughts on the time, place and style of dance at faire are almost identical.

When I was rerunning the dance over and over this week, I couldn't help but think of Susan. Maybe I can find her somewhere on Facebook - I would love to hear what she thinks of what we're doing to our Petit Riens.