Hey neato! We're listed!

Larry Staats was kind enough to submit our class to the Columbus Folk Music Society page:

http://www.cfms-inc.org/

If you scroll down to January 22 - there we are :) Totally awesome!!

More dancing in Ohio!

Howdy all!

In the last three or four months...things have become a little more hectic and productive at the same time. Which, to be fair, always happens it seems. The new dance group at OHS did FANTASTIC! I am beyond proud of everyone who participated and am really excited about our next projects together. I'm pretty sure that we were one of the most popular attractions at Halloween, and we kept the Seminary PACKED for Dickens. Go us!

Now on to the next fun projects....monthly dance classes at the Grandview Public Library, 1930's classes for the Speakeasy, maybe some fun 1860's balls at the German Village Society...and me finally tackling a website for the first time since 2002. Help?

Anyway -- for those of you in the Columbus area, I'm starting a new class over at the library. I'm calling it 'But I already Danced all the Dances I know' - and it is an informal dance class that will be held once a month. I decided to open this class series up as an opportunity for everyone to come together and learn dances from the early Renaissance all the way through the Civil War in a safe, fun, and non-stressful environment. I can't WAIT to get started. If you're not on my email list and would like to - drop me a note and I'll get you the information!

Yay Dance!!

Well, I guess that makes it official

From my inbox:

Greetings,
We are forming an Historic Dance Troupe for the Ohio Village events!! OHS Volunteer Genevieve is conducting these workshops for us with the premiere performance at All Hallows Eve on Oct.16 & 23. The main emphasis will be on mid 19th century dances, but will eventually expand to other time periods. We want to use this troupe at all our major events. The thinking behind the formation of this troupe is another way to draw our visitors into the village experience. So it is more than just demonstrating to the public - you will learn the dances but you will also learn how to have our visitors accompany you in the dance. The classes will be held on 9/2, 9/16, 9/30 and 10/14 from 6-8 pm. (The first 3 sessions will be held in the Museum, the last in the Village Town Hall). If you are interested in joining you must commit to all four training sessions.

We are also in search of folks with musical instrument background to accompany the dance troupe and to play at our events.

Please let me know if you are interested in either of the above mentioned opportunities. It will add a great new dimension to our programs!

Best regards,
Susan

And with that...it is finally happening and real. I'm nervous and such, but hopefully people will enjoy it. I've become a much better teacher than when I first started, thankfully. Its always very daunting starting from scratch though, no matter where it is. Luckily, there are a few volunteers who already have dance knowledge - I am so grateful for them!

Wish me luck, and if you're in Columbus, come on by!

The only thing I really missed having....

...was a radio.

Just got finished working the Origins Game Fair. The Historical Society was putting on a dinner theater - Murder Mystery Friday night, and I was along to help out. I was playing one of the mannequins that comes to life (we're doing a Night at the Museum type story), but that was the secondary part for me.

I'm just going to admit this right out: I love running crew. I adore organizing, running props, finding actors, talking to organizers and all of that. I love the sore feet, the clipboard of power, the schmoozing...all of it. The older I've grown, the more and more I enjoy doing the background work. It is so rewarding to see the plan come together.

The show went off without a hitch (except for the room being a little large). They want to do more next year - different stories, more time periods, encouraging costumes. I'm totally excited to be a part of all of this. I also totally want to do a Steampunk Murder Mystery, but that's just my own pipe and cog dream, I think ;)

Hopefully, I'll have more crew work soon. Keep your fingers crossed!

Regency Dance!

I absolutely love when I get an opportunity to learn new things - especially when that new thing is a pile of new dances from a time period I don't know as much about. In this case, I have been lucky enough to be invited to perform with Past Tyme Dancers here in Columbus. Last night was the first evening of rehearsal for the City of Dublin's Bicentennial Celebration. In honor of that, we will be performing a series of dances from the Regency period.

The Regency Era, when applied to broader, non-UK sources, can be stretched to approximately 1790 - 1820. This is a period of dance history with some of the most complex steps and trace patterns (which is reflected in the clothing - cut high up to show off the footwork and well-turned calves). I've done a little bit in this time frame, but most of my experience has been with dances just before or just after. I'm extremely excited about learning more about it.

Last night, we covered quite a few new dances, and one or two I already knew. We opened with The Duke of Kent's Waltz, which luckily I was familiar with. Here is a short video of the dance - it is really an enjoyable, relatively simple piece:



Notice how one couple moves up the dance, and the other moves down - that is a hallmark of later English Country Dance called progression. In earlier dances, many times you had a position within the dance and you stayed there. In this time period (and earlier - they were very popular in the mid 18th Century) this progression style is very common. It made for learning a dance you were unfamiliar with quite easy - you could stand at the bottom of the line and work your way to the top!

The other dance that stood out for me last night was Mr. Beveridge's Maggot. Before I go any farther, I should explain that the word 'maggot' previously didn't mean a wriggling little bug - it meant a fancy or an eccentric idea. There are a lot of dances from the 18th - 19th Century named someone's Maggot - and I was quite confused until I thought to go look up the word.

This is actually quite a famous dance. Almost every film or television production of any of Jane Austen's works includes a performance of this piece. For our production, we are going to be doing the BBC Pride and Prejudice Choreography. Here's a look at it:



I cannot tell you how excited I am to have this dance in my repertoire! It was so much fun to learn!

Completely fantastic video to share

This morning, I was pleased to receive an email with one of the best dance instruction videos I've ever seen attached to it. The dance in question - The Black Nag - is one that is found in the earliest versions of Playford's The English Dancing Master, and it also happens to be one of my favorite dances to both teach and do. Take a look!



What I actually love the most about this video is the perspective. One of the most beautiful parts of English Country Dance is the patterns that they trace on the ground while you are dancing. When I first learned this style of dance, the floor patterns never occurred to me at all. Which, honestly, is a little bit odd. I had been marching in the band in halftime shows for many years by that point, and was very aware of how everyone worked together to create a picture that was only truly visible from the bleachers. I even remember thinking about line maintenance and dressing right and left appropriately, but the overarching pattern never entered my mind. Well, not yet.

In 1995, I was co-dance captain for the very first year of Cavalier Dayes of Texas. That year, I was a lady of the court (which was much less taxing then my next role there, but that's a story for another day) and somehow ended up doing the bulk of the dance instruction. To be fair, when I began teaching, I wasn't particularly good at it yet, but we had a good time out on the tennis courts at my apartment complex running the Nonesuch over and over again.

That year, we were performing for four days at Waterloo Park in Austin, Texas. For a variety of reasons, I absolutely adored that site. One of my favorite parts of the park was the huge tree that the concession area was built around. The way the park is situated, the tree was at the bottom of a small cliff, and the pub was located at the base of the tree on the bottom level. From the top side of the cliff, you could walk out on top of the pub and look over the grounds. We took our breaks up top there, and it was always very enjoyable to sit for a moment and overlook the festival grounds.

Primarily because of the flat terrain, we had chosen the area in front of the pub to do evening dance. For some reason, which is now lost to time, I had to step out of evening dance one day to run up to the porch. I had been rushing to get back down in time to at least Nonesuch, but sadly I was too slow to make it for the beginning. As I was digging through my baskets, I chanced to look over the railing at my dancers below me on the ground.

It was like a whole new world opened up. I'd never even considered what the dance looked like from above! I stood there the entire time, watching the lines form and reform, the heys circle around, all the slipping as they meshed the sets together. Suddenly all the circles and squares in the dance manuals made sense. There was a system - a pattern - in here that I suddenly recognized. It was the largest, clearest a-ha moment I have ever had in dance, and it remains one of my most cherished memories. Even as I write this, I can see them dancing in my mind, and it never fails to bring a huge smile to my face.

Time to Dance: Petit Riens

All finished! Here is my cleaned-up version of Petit Riens. There are of course small differences between my version and others, but this is the way we did it at TRF. I really enjoy it, and it is a fantastic way to inject some characterization into the dance. I can't wait to teach it again!

As before, first is the whole dance, then I'll break it down.

Petit Riens

Petit Riens, sometimes written Petit Vriens, means "little nothings". I think both the dance and the music are light and fun.

Dance for three people, either two men and one woman or two women and one man, in a line holding hands.

Counts - Steps

16 counts - 8 Piva, starting on the left foot.

16 counts - 8 Piva, starting on the Left again.


8 counts - First person in the line moves away with four Piva.

8 counts - Second person in line does four Piva to follow the first person.

8 counts - Third person does four Piva to catch up with the first two.


4 counts - First person moves away, this time with a Doppio, left foot first.

4 counts - Second person follows the first with a left Doppio.

4 counts - Third person catches up with the others with a left Doppio.


4 counts - First and second person reverance to each other.

4 counts - Second and third person reverance to each other.

4 counts - All three dancers reverance to each other (it makes a triangle).


4 counts - All doppio backwards, starting on your left foot.

4 counts - All doppio forwards, starting on the right foot.

2 counts - All continenza left.

2 counts - All continenza right.

4 counts - Turn over your left shoulder, then take hands to start from the top.


Repeat dance two times, then reverance all at the very end.



Here is the dance broken down section by section:



16 counts - 8 Piva, starting on the left foot.


A Piva is a bit like a straight-line step-ball-change, but done low to the ground. While rising up on your toes, step forward with your left foot (step), and bring your right toe behind, placing it almost underneath your left heel and briefly shifting your weight onto the right (ball). Finally, shift your weight back to your left foot (change). Each Piva takes two counts to do, and when you start the next one, you will begin with your right foot.


16 counts - 8 Piva, starting on the Left again.


Since they were so much fun to do the first time, let’s do some more Piva. There is no set track that they follow, but it is probably best to keep them on the stage and out of the audience.


Everyone drop hands, but keep facing the way you were headed before.


8 counts - First person in the line moves away with four Piva.


The leader is going to head off in a direction, leaving the second and third person behind them.


8 counts - Second person in line does four Piva to follow the first person.

8 counts - Third person does four Piva to catch up with the first two.


Now everyone is back together in a line again. But not for long…


4 counts - First person moves away, this time with a Doppio, left foot first.


A Doppio is a slightly different type of step. Rising up on your toes, take three walking steps forward, starting on the left and staying up on your toes (step left, right, left). On the fourth step, bring your right foot up to meet your left and sink back to the ground, heels onto the floor. The whole sequence takes four counts to complete.


4 counts - Second person follows the first with a left Doppio.

4 counts - Third person catches up with the others with a left Doppio.


Now all three dancers are back together again in a line. The first person then turns to the second person in

line:


4 counts - First and second person reverance to each other.


A reverance is a fancy word for bow or curtsey. If we’re being completely period, this should be something

called a riverenza minima (small bow), which is lovely but isn’t very visible from the audience. Typically, the modern theatrical reverance is a great way to show some more of your character via movement.


4 counts - Second and third person reverance to each other.

4 counts - All three dancers reverance to each other (it makes a triangle).


Take hands into a single line, facing the same direction. Raising up on your toes together:


4 counts - All doppio backwards, starting on your left foot.

4 counts - All doppio forwards, starting on the right foot.


In this sort of dance, the foot you start on will typically be reversed if you change direction, meaning if you go backwards on the left foot first, you will go forwards on the right foot.


2 counts - All continenza left.


Continenza is another superfancy word for a simple movement. Rising up on your toes again, step horizontally to the left (with the left foot), then touch the toe of your right foot to your left instep. Lower yourself back down briefly, because next we are going to:


2 counts - All continenza right.


Repeat the same movement to the right: step right and touch your left toe to your right instep. Drop your

heels to the floor, and let go of everyone’s hands.


4 counts - Turn over your left shoulder with a doppio, then take hands to start from the top.


This is actually called a voltatundra, but I’ve already inundated you all with enough Italian words, I think. I usually call this section as: step-touch-step-touch-turn around and do it again! After taking hands again, start the dance over from the pivas. Depending on your music, usually you will be able to do the whole thing about three times through.


Reverance all at the very end.


Fun, huh? For your pleasure, here are two videos of the dance, one where everyone starts in a long line facing each other's backs (and while not exactly serious, you can tell they're having fun!), and the other where they are side-by-side.