Capering & Kickery

Cadet Waltz

Instructions for The Cadet Valse, by L. W. Vizay, instructor in dancing to the cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point, were published in conjunction with sheet music for the dance composed by Frank Mayr.  A copy is available on line at the Chrystelle Trump Bond Dance and Music Collection, Goucher College Archives, from which the beautiful cover image at left (click to enlarge) is taken.  This copy is an English printing and dated 1892, but since the dance instructions appeared in M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) under the name Cadet Waltz, the dance and music must be at least a couple of years earlier than that.  The dance instructions also appeared, under the name La Valse Cadet, in George Washington Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903).  All three sets of instructions are essentially identical, allowing for some shifts in terminology.

The Cadet Valse is an excellent example of dance steps specifically matched to music.  In this case, it's rather unusual music which alternates two bars of mazurka music with four bars of waltz.  With that pattern, the sequence is essentially undanceable to any other music.  I've done an electronic version of the first twelve bars, since it's really necessary to hear the musical accenting to understand the dance.

The Rutcher Waltz

In my earlier post on the Ruchter, I mentioned the mixed-tempo version described by William De Garmo in the fifth edition of The Dance of Society (New York, 1892).  This version was called the Rutcher (not Ruchter) Waltz, and was comprised of sixteen measures of 2/4 music, and sixteen measures of 3/4 (waltz) music.  To be precise, that is eight measures, repeated, of each, as may be seen in the music from De Garmo's book at left (click to enlarge).  This dual-time format is similar to that of the Rye Waltz, which shifts from 4/4 to 3/4.  De Garmo claimed that it was an old folk dance, which I find believable from its style, but I haven't found any trace of it under either Rutcher or Ruchter.  It may well be the original version of the dance, with the Gilbert/Lopp Ruchter being a variation created for a particular piece of music.

A quick summary of the dance is that it is a "doubled" version of the Ruchter using waltz music for the second part.  To break that down in more detail:

Baby-Polka (La Badoise)

Despite the instructions for the dance being listed as the Baby Polka in M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and La Polka Bébé in George Washington Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903), the first thing to know about the Baby Polka is that it is actually an older folk dance called La Badoise, for which French composer-choreographer François Paul appears to have either written new music or adapted a folk tune (as he did with Sir Roger de Coverley for his "Gigue anglaise croisée") and then credited himself with the choreography.  "Baby-Polka" thus appears to be simply the name of Paul's composition, which over the last century or so has become (or remained) strongly associated with the folk dance in France and elsewhere, though it is not the only tune attached to it.  The name Baby-Polka seems to have merged with Badoise to become the name of the dance as well.

The image at left above (click to enlarge) is from my own copy of Paul's "Baby-Polka" sheet music; it was reproduced exactly in Gilbert, as may be seen here.

The word "badoise" refers to the German region of Baden, or possibly to the spa town Baden-Baden, so it makes perfect sense that French writers attributed the dance's origin to Germany.  Eugène Giraudet, in and early edition of his Traité de la danse (c1890) simply stated "La Badoise est d'origine allemande" (The Badoise is of German origin).  G. Desrat, in his Dictionnaire de la Danse (1895), noted less definitively that it "paraît être d'origine allemande" (would appear to be of German origin), though he also noted its close analogy to a Russian children's dance, "la menace".  In the Lussan-Borel Traité de la Danse (c1900 and c1904 editions), it was given an "origine teutonne".

Lopp, in La Danse, claimed to have researched the origin of the Baby Polka, to no avail:

La polka Bébé, une des premières danses champêtres connues, nous vient de la Bohême; mais à quelle époque remonte son origine? On n'en sait rien, elle se perd dans la nuit des temps. C'est en vain que j'ai fait des recherches, nulle trace; seule une tradition que j'ai pu trouver et d'après laquelle la polka Bébé aurait été composée par une maitresse d'école qui l'aurait fait danser par ses élèves devant un haut personnage pour fêter son passage.

My loose translation:

The baby polka, one of the premier known dances of the countryside, comes to us from Bohemia; but to what era does its origin go back? We do not know, it is lost in the darkness of time. I have searched in vain, no trace; only one tradition that I was able to find, according to which the baby polka was composed by a schoolmistress who would have had it danced by her students dance for an important personage to celebrate his passage.

He settled on it being Bohemian and cited a Mademoiselle Suski, who provided Lopp with some lyrics to sing while dancing.  

I haven't tried to trace the folk dance origins of the Badoise, but its finger-wagging "scolding" element goes back at least as far as Arbeau's sixteenth-century Branle des Lavandières (Washerwomen's Branle). 

Whatever its origins, in late nineteenth century France it was primarily conceived of as a children's dance.  Desrat on the topic:

La badoise, en raison des mouvements des mains coïncidant avec ceux des pieds, ne peut être dansée que dans les matinées enfantines.

My loose translation:

The badoise, because of the coordinated movements of the hands and feet, can be danced only at children's daytime events.

Other writers' similar thoughts will be noted below.

Diary of a Journey to England, 1761-1762

On November 22, 1902, The New York Times announced the discovery, translation, and publication of the travel journal kept by Count Frederick Kielmansegge on his visit to England in 1761-1762 for the coronation of George III.  The diary was discovered and translated by his great-granddaughter-in-law Philippa, then-Countess Kielmansegg (the spelling of the family name varied over the years).  The opening paragraph of the article may be seen at left; click to enlarge.  The complete article may be found online in The New York Times Archives.

Friedrich Graf von Kielmansegge (1728-1800), a lawyer and administrative official, and his brother Karl Rudolf August von Kielmansegge (1731-1810) were part of a prominent Hanoverian family (the Holstein/Hannover Kielmansegges) and second cousins once removed of George III through their grandmother, who was the illegitimate half-sister of George I, the first Hanoverian king of England.  Their family name variously spelled as Kielmansegg, Kielmansegge, and Kielmannsegge, but since the diary was published in English using the spelling "Kielmansegge", I'll keep to that version here.

The coronation was the brothers' excuse to travel, but Kielmansegge was an enthusiastic tourist and roamed all over England taking in the sights, which he described at great length.  He also socialized extensively and attended balls given by royalty and nobility in London as well as in other towns he visited.  The diary is a fascinating document in general, well worth reading, but the major attraction for the dance historian is that it contains useful information about the practice of dance in England in the mid-eighteenth century.  I have not read the original, which does not seem to be available to the public; I am dependent upon the English translation.  But I see no reason for the Countess to have edited or bowdlerized the dance information and therefore regard it as reasonably reliable.

The Bronco

Compared to other dances found in M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and George Washington Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903), the Bronco is a bit of a puzzle.  The tune "Le Bronco" was a schottische with an interestingly irregular accent which the dance matched precisely.  Both music and dance were composed by J. F. Davis, as may be seen on the cover at left, from the 1888 sheet music, which has been made available online by Richard Powers, here (PDF).  According to Powers' bibliography, there was also an earlier edition published in 1885.  

These publications obviously predate Gilbert (1890) and Lopp (1903).  But Gilbert and Lopp, who were usually quite good about crediting the creators of dances, did not attribute the Bronco to Davis.  They also gave a shorter sequence, only the first part of Davis's two-part dance, and listed it as for 6/8 (jig) or 2/4 (galop) music rather than schottische.  Why?  We don't know. 

The simplest explanation is that the shorter jig-time version was transmitted more widely and Gilbert either was unaware of the Davis version or, for some reason -- personal conflict, political difficulties between dance organizations, whatever -- just didn't want to give Davis the credit.  Lopp rarely offered a credit that Gilbert did not.  Or Gilbert might have created the shorter version himself, though in that case Lopp might likely have credited him. 

Another possibility is that there was an existing dance called the Bronco and that Davis incorporated it into a longer sequence and composed music to match.  I consider this less likely.

For now, the exact process by which we ended up with two variant Bronco sequences will have to remain a mystery.

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Hornpipe Polka

Taking yet another meander through M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890), here's an extremely simple polka variation from Constantine Carpenter and Charles Martel, the same Philadelphia-based pair responsible for The Latest York.  The Hornpipe Polka itself is trivial, but it was composed to a very popular piece of music to which it is extremely well-matched and of which numerous early recordings survive.   Interestingly, it does not seem to have impressed G. W. Lopp, who did not include it in his La Danse (Paris, 1903), which incorporated translations of almost everything in Gilbert.

The variation itself is quite short.  The starting position is "military" position, opened up side by side (the gentleman's right hand on the lady's waist and her left hand resting on his shoulder or upper arm) as discussed and pictured here.  "First foot" below refers to the normal starting foot -- the gentleman's left and the lady's right; second is the opposite.

Hornpipe Polka (four measures of 2/4 time)
2b   Polka forward twice, starting on first foot, then second.
(take closed hold)
1b   Galop, starting with first foot, making a half turn
1b   Polka, starting with second foot, completing the full turn
(open up side by side and restart from the beginning)

July 2019 Gig Calendar

I am still mostly on my summer reading/research/writing break, but I plan to emerge briefly for my second lecture to the Beau Monde (Regency-focused) subgroup of the Romance Writers of America at their conference in New York in July.  Other events may emerge, but I'm not really seeking them.  Lots of work to do!

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Tuesday, July 23rd ~ New York City
Beau Monde Annual Conference and Soirée
3:15-4:15pm, lecture; 7:30-11:00pm, soirée.  Regency romance writers' conference.  I will be delivering a lecture on Regency-era dance and ballroom etiquette and leading the dancing at the evening soirée.  This event is open to registered members of the conference only, with a limit of one hundred attendees.  Pre-registration cutoff is July 13th.  See the conference webpage for details.

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I am available for private lessons in Connecticut, or while on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

New Haven, CT: July 1-22, 25-31
New York City: July 23-24

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Maxina, 1917

On Thursday, July 26th, 1917, as part of its annual conference, the British Association of Teachers of Dancing held a competition for "round dances", which in this context means couple sequences.  The "first certificate" (winner) was "Maxina", by Madame Low Hurndall of London.  The choreography was published in The Dancing Times in September, 1917 (issue numbered New Series No. 84) as well as with the sheet music for the dance, composed by Marguerite Boissonade and W. F. Hurndall (husband of the choreographer).  The cover of my copy of the sheet music is shown at left; click to enlarge. 

The Maxina spread quickly, and not only within the British Empire; there is also a 1917 French translation of this "nouvelle danse qui fait fureur a Londres" online at the Bibliothèque nationale de France.  Sequence dances, however, were not considered quite as à la mode as regular couple dancing.  In 1919, Gregory D'Egville, in the first edition of How and What to Dance, reported haughtily that "Although not 'fashionable' in the ordinary sense of the word, the Maxina is danced a good deal at small dances outside London."  This did not stop him from publishing a version of the instructions with a slightly different ending. 

The Maxina continues to be danced as a living tradition dance and has acquired several significant variations over the years.  My reconstruction is based on the earliest sources for the dance: the description published in The Dancing Times and the instructions on the sheet music.

Album Review: A Midsummer Regency Romp

Well, it's only taken me three years to get around to reviewing this digital-only album from the top-notch UK dance band Green Ginger!  A Midsummer Regency Romp came out in the summer of 2016, and I've been happily using tunes from it off and on ever since.

The short version of the review: buy the album from Bandcamp here!  But be aware that (1) the time range is rather wide for "Regency", (2) only eleven out of fourteen have suitable repeats (six) for historical style dancing, and (3) one of those is...problematic.  Contact Green Ginger directly for extended (twelve-repeat) tracks.  And be wary of the dance reconstructions in the accompanying booklet.

The Ruchter (Babies on our Block, Little Sally Waters, La Marsaielle)

Continuing to work my way through M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and G. W. Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903), here's one of the more unusual dances: the Ruchter!  It was also known as "Babies on our Block" and "Little Sally Waters" for reasons I will discuss below, as well as, apparently, "La Marsaielle".  The Ruchter as given in Gilbert and Lopp is a polka.  There is also a double-length mixed-time signature version, the Rutcher [sic] Waltz, which appears in the fifth edition of William De Garmo's The Dance of Society (New York, 1892) and which may be the original form of the dance.  De Garmo adds a footnote to his discussion of the Rutcher Waltz acknowledging the shorter just-plain-"Rutcher" with a slight variation in the second part.

(Edited 7/26/19 to add) I have described the Rutcher Waltz here. (end addition)

The Ruchter is unusual primarily because it's standard starting position is with the two dancers facing each other across the line of dance, both hands joined and extended somewhat outward.  Gilbert's illustration of this position is above; Lopp's is at left (click either to enlarge).  Note that the dancers need to be as far apart as is comfortable since, as depicting in Gilbert's illustration, they're about to be moving mirrored feet straight toward each other.

Mrs. Underwood's Reception and Exhibition, 1901

This dance program is a bit unusual: it's not for a ball in the usual sense, but for a dance teacher's "reception and exhibition", which in this case means an evening that starts with a bit of social dancing, then breaks for a children's dance recital, then continues on with more social dancing.  This was a common mix for dance school recitals; numerous descriptions of similar events  were published in the pages of the dance masters' journal The Director in 1897-1898.  For example, George Prutting's sixteenth annual exhibition and reception, held on April 22, 1898, in Hartford, Connecticut, started with children's exhibition dances and ended with a social program of sixteen dances, "including the waltz, two step, schottische, lancers, etc." (The Director, Vol. 1, No. 6, May 1898, p. 186).  Mrs. Underwood's reception, held on February 15, 1901, actually had three separate dance programs: an initial set of social dances probably performed just by the students, the exhibition or "fancy" dances, and the social dances for "general dancing" at the end of the evening.

Dancing to "The Bishop"

I recently attended a modern English country dance evening and happened to dance what in modern tradition is known "The Bishop", done to the tune "Miss Dolland's Delight".  As can be deduced from the title of this post, I would phrase that differently, but I'll get to that later on.

I play a little private game at modern dance events of trying to guess the decade of those dances that are based on historical sources and then figure out what (if anything) has been done to modernize them beyond removing the historical steps in favor of walking.  "The Bishop" was easy to guess as 1770s (it turns out to be from 1778).  It was also very easy for me to spot the three biggest modifications to it. 

Ready to play?

Here are the directions for the modern dance:

A1    1st Man cast to middle place, set to & turn 3rd Woman with 2 hands, finishing in middle place
A2    1st Woman the same with 3rd Man
B1    1st Couple gate up through 2nd Couple as 3rd Couple gypsy clockwise, then circle hands 6 L half way round
B2    1st Couple gate up through 3rd Couple as 2nd Couple gypsy clockwise, then circle hands 6 L half way round

It may be easier to visualize these figures with the help of a video.  Here's one that's well-made and shows the modern figures clearly.  The music is "Miss Dolland's Delight".

Can you pick out the three big modernizations aside from everyone just walking through it?

It's easy, right?

Early Foxtrot: Quick Dips

Ah, June, when one turns one's thoughts (and feet) to...weird little foxtrot variations! 

This time around, let's look at a pair of steps, or rather step-sequences, from Edna Stuart Lee's Thirty Fox Trot Steps (New York, 1916) that both involve quick dips.  These are actually ever-so-slightly harder to do than the usually run of walks, trots, glides, and two-steps that make up a great deal of the 1910s foxtrot repertoire.  Lee noted that the first of these, The Coney Island Dip, is "very exhilarating and excellent exercise for the lungs."

The gentleman's steps are given; the lady dances opposite.

CD Review: Kitten on the Keys

Kitten On the Keys is an album of "Ragtime, Novelty, and Stride Classics" from famed concert pianist Frederick Hodges, previously noted here as part of the Crown Syncopators, whose album Ragtime Dance Party I heartily recommend for both dancers and listeners.  Kitten on the Keys is more of a listening album, with enough musical flourishes that the dance beat on some pieces can be hard to track.  I wouldn't necessarily suggest using many of these pieces for newer dancers, but it's a treat for listeners and more experienced dancers should be able to manage fairly well.  

The brief liner notes explain Hodges' approach: 

The professional pianist, however, correctly understood that sheet music was to be used as a guide or a blueprint for constructing a full and satisfying piano solo...the professional pianist strove to create a unique and special arrangement that gave the piano roll and record buying public a good reason to buy yet another record of the rag hit of the day.  

Employing this historically correct approach, I have taken delight in creating my own arrangements of the rags on this CD.  Only in rare instances do my arrangements reflect the published sheet music, and then only when the published arrangement or sections thereof were so musically satisfying that little embellishment or expansion was required.  Nevertheless, my goal has been to perform these rags in an authentic manner, fully consistent with the performance styles of their composers and of the best professional pianists of the ragtime era.

More information about Hodges' substantial accomplishments may be found on his own website (warning: music autoplays!)

This is a piano-only recording, which is appropriate for the ragtime era.  Most of the music is best suited to one or more of the two-step/one-step/foxtrot family of dances, but the highlight of the album for me is a rare half-and-half track, "Drawing Room Echoes".  The liner notes are brief, but interesting.  

June 2019 Gig Calendar

I have some personal and research travel planned during June, but otherwise am taking my annual summer reading/research/writing break.  I don't expect (and am not looking for) any public events at all this month.  I am still available for private lessons in Connecticut, or while on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

Connecticut: June 1-7, 14-18, 25-30
New York City: June 8-9
Boston area: June 10-13

Elite Lanciers (3 of 3)

Wrapping up Gilbert's Elite Lanciers, here are the fourth and fifth figures.  Introductory material and the first figure may be found in my first post in this series; the second and third figures are in the second.

The fourth figure as given in Link:

8b   Introduction [not repeated]
4b   All swing corners with right hand half round address
4b   All turn and swing with left hand half round, address
4b   All join hands, forward & back, address
8b   Four ladies cross right hand, half round, left hand back
Played 4 times
3rd & 4th time gents

This is another figure where Link's brevity completely obscures the interesting part: that this is a mixer figure, in which the dancers change positions and partners every time until they regain their home positions after the fourth time through!

Elite Lanciers (2 of 3)

Continuing along with Gilbert's Elite Lanciers, here are figures two and three!  An introduction and the first figure may be found in my previous post.

The second figure as given in Link:

8b   Introduction [not repeated]
4b   Head ladies forward & back
4b   Cross over
4b   Head couples chassa to the left & right
4b   Head ladies pass to the couples on their left and swing gent with the right hand half round
4b   Chassa
4b   Turn partner to place
Played 4 times
3rd & 4th time gents

The interesting element that is not obvious from these instructions is which dancers do the second "chassa".  Following Rivers, it's meant to be done by six dancers in two trios in "wavy" formation, with the gentleman facing two ladies, holding hands, and all three moving in the same direction.

Eiite Lanciers (1 of 3)

The Elite Lanciers is a variant Lancers set created by M. B. Gilbert, most famous for his couple dance collection, Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890).  The Elite Lanciers does not appear in Round Dancing.  I came across it first in the Unique Dancing Call Book by Charles Link (Rochester, NY, c1893), where it did not impress me as particularly interesting.  What changed my mind about these figures was finding a second source: New Dances, by C. H. Rivers (Brooklyn, c1890), with an attribution to Gilbert.  Link trimmed the calls in his book to a bare minimum (and didn't mention the creators of the figures).  Rivers not only offered more detailed calls but also added some additional notes and gave Gilbert his credit.  Along with being a fun set of figures, this makes the Elite Lanciers an interesting example of how a minimalist set of calls can make what's actually quite a nice set of figures into something that looks too boring to bother with. 

The Latest York

Years ago, when I was working intensely on the "York set" of variations (see here, here, here, here, and here), I somehow skipped The Latest York, possibly because, unlike all those other "Yorks", it does not feature the characteristic York step sequence of slide-close-slide-cut/close in "1&23" rhythm.  

M. B. Gilbert published The Latest York in his Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) "by permission of Constantine Carpenter, Son, and Charles C. Martel".  This style of credit generally refers to the choreographer of the sequence and/or composer of the music.  The same pair are also credited with the Gavotte Glide.  Carpenter is listed in Gilbert's directory of dancing masters as living in Philadelphia.  Martel is not in Gilbert's directory, but his name appears in Philadelphia newspapers (The Times, October 21, 1894, e.g.) during the 1890s offering parties and lessons. 

Interestingly, The Latest York is one of the few dances from Gilbert that G. W. Lopp did not translate and reprint in La Danse (Paris, 1903).

Rye, just Rye

Moving right along with late nineteenth-century variations from the usual pair of M. B. Gilbert (Round Dancing, Portland, Maine, 1890) and G. W. Lopp (La Danse, Paris, 1903), here's a short one that's classified as a redowa or mazurka.  Lopp attributed La Rye to Gilbert, who had previously printed it in his own work without attribution.  Gilbert did not ever credit himself specifically in his own book, unfortunately, which makes it difficult to be absolutely certain of the attribution.

The name of the variation suggests that it was meant to be danced to a musical setting of the famous Robert Burns poem, "Comin' Thro' the Rye", which was set in both waltz and schottische rhythms (including both alternately in the Rye Waltz, a sequence dance dating back to at least the 1890s).  The waltz version of the tune, which may be heard on this YouTube video, is not accented like a redowa or mazurka and does not offer especially good musical support to this sequence of steps.  There may have been a version published with a more mazurka- or redowa-like style, but I haven't been able to locate one.  Skilled musicians might also be able to tweak it musically on the fly.  It's also possible that there was a completely different tune called "The Rye", but I actually find this less likely, as the word was so strongly associated with a particular tune.  There was a 1922 novelty dance ("The New Rye Dance") published which combined a "redowa, Rye movement, and waltz" using "Comin' Thro' the Rye", but that's much too late to mean anything more than that people really liked adapting "Comin' Thro' the Rye" for dancing. 

In the absence of adventurous musicians or a mazurka/redowa-accented recording of "Comin' Thro' the Rye", I'd not really recommend that piece for these steps.  They work much better with an appropriate polka mazurka or redowa tune.  For tempo, Lopp offered his typical  recommendation of 144 beats per minute, which works quite well and matches Gilbert's overall recommendation for  redowa/mazurka.

Wayside Gavotte

Just to be thorough, here's a quick reconstruction of the Wayside Gavotte I mentioned in my previous post on the Stephanie Gavotte.  This is another short couple dance sequence, but unlike M. B. Gilbert's Stephanie Gavotte, it moves normally along line of dance throughout and loosely follows a "doubled" schottische pattern with four bars of forward travel and four bars (more-or-less) of turning.  Though it is meant to be danced to "Stéphanie-Gavotte", there is no reason it can't be danced to other schottische music.

Per Gilbert Dances, Vol. II (1913, Susan Hoffman Gilman, ed.), the Wayside Gavotte was choreographed by Helen C. Way, whom I presume to have been a student of Gilbert's.  It is undated, and since, according to the biography in Gilbert Dances, Vol. I, Gilbert was teaching until his death, it could be from as late as the beginning of 1910.  The use of the waltz-galop step feels to me more reminiscent of the schottische sequences of the 1880s-1890s, however, so I suspect it is from closer to 1900.

Stephanie Gavotte

The Stephanie Gavotte is a short (eight-bar) schottische/gavotte sequence which George Washington Lopp, in La Danse (Paris, 1903), attributed to M. B. Gilbert.  It had previously appeared in Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) without any specific attribution.  

The sequence was almost certainly created for the popular "Stéphanie-Gavotte", op. 312 of Austro-Hungarian composer Alphons Czibulka (1842-1894).  The piece was composed in 1880 in honor of the engagement of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, to Princess Stéphanie of Belgium and apparently became enormously popular.  It's quite easy to find the sheet music; the Library of Congress alone has eighteen copies of it online, including this 1885 edition, from which the image at left was taken.  Performances and recordings of it are likewise easy to find; here's a nice one by the Belgian orchestra Brabelio:

May 2019 Gig Calendar

Last month in Moscow!  Along with preparing for my homeward migration at the end of the month, I'll be traveling to Odessa for Vintage Dance Exchange 2019 - By the Sea and teaching a full slate of waltz and nineteenth-century classes and private lessons.

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Friday, May 3rd ~ Moscow, Russia
Private class
3:00-6:00pm
Noted here just to hold the date/time.

Sunday, May 5th ~ Moscow, Russia
Private lesson
6:00-8:00pm
Noted here just to hold the date/time.

Thursday-Sunday, May 9-12th ~ Odessa, Ukraine
Vintage Dance Exchange 2019 - By the Sea (Facebook event)
A weekend of classes, balls, and parties with multiple teachers and both historical and folk dance!  My classes will include: Gentle Polka Mazurka Variations (late 19th century American), Dolce Amoroso Fuoco (16th century Italian), Musicality: New Waltz Musical Crossovers (late 19th century American), Quadrille Cinq Parties du Monde (mid-19th century French), and more!  Events will include an open mic dance party, a Renaissance ball, a Regency picnic, a late nineteenth century ball, a trip to the Odessa opera, and an early twentieth century afterparty.

Tuesdays, May 14th & 21st  ~ Moscow, Russia
Intermediate Cross-Step Waltz
7:00-10:00pm; lessons 7:00-8:15/8:30-9:45 + two 15-minute practice sessions.  New variations and review of material from 2018-2019 season.

Thursdays, May 16th, 23rd, 30th ~ Moscow, Russia
Late 19th Century Polka Mazurka Plus
7:00-9:00pm
Improvisation in polka mazurka using steps and sequences from American variations of the 1880s.  Emphasis on musicality.  Steps work with polka-mazurka, redowa, and mazurka music.  Also: applying these variations in galop and jig time!  Pay by the week or for the full four-week course.

Friday, May 24th ~ Moscow, Russia
Beginner's couple dance class
8:00pm
Easy partner dance choreographies from the early 20th century!  Beginner-friendly! 

Saturdays, May 19th & 26th ~ Moscow, Russia
Private lessons
5:15-7:15pm
Noted here just to hold the dates/times.

Tuesday, May 28th ~ Moscow, Russia
Farewell Waltz Party (VK event - in Russian)
7:00-10:00pm.  Waltz, waltz, and more waltz!  Light refreshments.

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I am available for private lessons in Moscow, or while on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly or (Russians) contact me on VK if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

Moscow, Russia: May 1-6, 13-31
Odessa, Ukraine: May 8-12

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Three Tiny Galop Variations

Wrapping up my impromptu miniseries of posts on galop variations found in M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and G. W. Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903), here's a trio of galop variations which I don't feel warrant sufficient time or analysis for individual posts:

• Two of the three are short "do something, then some galop" sequences; the other is even shorter and rather dull
• None of them are very challenging to perform, and two have repeated leaps from a complete stop, which, as a dancer, I don't really enjoy. 
• None of them have any conflicts between sources. 
• One has a reconstruction problem, but it's minor and easily resolved. 
• I fully expect that all of them have matching sheet music and that the names of the variations are actually the names of the tunes to which they were choreographed, but I haven't been able to locate any of it, and none of them are sufficiently attractive to inspire me to spend much time searching.

So, in the interest of efficiency, here's the trio together with brief notes about each.

The Gaiety (La Gaité)

This is turning into a miniseries of galop variation posts.  Moving right along, the Gaiety is another one found in both M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and G. W. Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903).  The dance was attributed to George T. Wilson by Gilbert and plain George Wilson by Lopp.  I'm familiar with books by George E. Wilson, but not George T. Wilson.  The "T" might be a typo, but I don't think it is.  George E. published rather standard manuals from New York.  The two I have looked at (one that I own, one at the New York Public Library) do not include the Gaiety, and are so pedestrian and derivative that I think it unlikely that he created something as, ah, non-pedestrian as the racket-like Gaiety.  And Gilbert listed George T. as living in Maine.  Possibly the reason they both used their middle initials was to avoid confusion!

Gilbert noted that the Gaiety was accepted by the American Society of Professors of Dancing, New York, on September 4th, 1889.

Allowing for translation issues, the two descriptions are almost identical in wording, and the reconstruction is mostly straightforward.  For the steps given below, the gentleman begins on the left foot and the lady on the right.  The starting position is a normal closed ballroom hold, starting either with the gentleman facing more-or-less along line of dance (if dancing diagonally, which is my preferred reconstruction) or with his back to the center if one is attempting to turn the Gaiety.  See the notes below for more about this issue.

The Puritan Waltz (La Puritan Galop)

The Puritan Waltz is not, actually, a waltz.  It's a galop variation found in both Round Dancing (M. B. Gilbert, Portland, Maine, 1890) and La Danse (G. W. Lopp, Paris, 1903).  Gilbert described it under the name The Puritan Waltz and also referenced it under The Jubilee.  Lopp chose truth in advertising over adherence to the original and went with La Puritan Galop.  The two descriptions match perfectly in the practical aspects, though Gilbert gets a little more poetic in naming the parts of the dance after...a whaling expedition?  I feel like there must be some story behind a dance with parts called "The Calm", "The Fluke", and "The Gale", but I've no idea what it might be.  Nantucket Puritans?

With a title like that, the first question that comes to mind is whether it's mis-listed or mis-described and really meant to be a waltz.  It's not; the sheet music by George Fox (cover image at left; click to enlarge) is online at the Library of Congress, complete with dance instructions that are nearly a word-for-word match with Gilbert.  It's nice to have an outside source for a Gilbert/Lopp-published dance; it doesn't happen as often as I'd like.

Per the sheet music, the dance is by E. Woodworth Masters, was published in 1885, and was accepted by the National Association of Teachers of Dancing.  Gilbert and Lopp both duly credit Masters.

Love's Provocations, 1855

Love's Provocations; being Extracts taken in the most Unmanly and Unmannerly Manner from the Diary of Miss Polly C-- is a comic novel published in 1855 by an English clergyman writing under a pseudonym (cover image at left; click to enlarge).  After some of the painfully earnest and unintentionally hilarious (to a modern reader) Victorian novels I've read for dance research, it's a relief to read one that was actually intended to be funny.  As a bonus, it also has more interesting and valuable dance information than most of the more serious ones!

Cuthbert M. Bede was the pen name of Edward Bradley (1827-1889).  He wrote a number of novels and short pieces for many different publications (notably, The Illustrated London News and Punch) as well as constructing acrostic puzzles.  Biographical information and more about his writing career may be found on his Wikipedia page, but The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (1940) provides a much more complete bibliography of his books and confirms the 1855 publication date for Love's Provocations.  

The novel is the story of the romantic tribulations of "Polly", who is madly in love with one Walter Vernon, much to the dismay of her protective parents and her brother Fred, who consider him -- accurately -- to be a scoundrel.  The title of the book is a play on The provocations of Madame Palissy by Anne Manning (1807-1879), which is explicitly referenced by Polly as the inspiration for her journal.  She claims not to have read it; I skimmed it, and there doesn't seem to be any thematic connection.  Madame Palissy's provocations were rather more serious, so the appropriation of the term by Polly is just more evidence of her general silliness.

Polly is abetted in her clandestine love affair by her friend Madge, whose brother Joseph is also in love with Polly.  She is also being courted by an older friend of her father's.  Walter, meanwhile is also flirting heavily with the Madder Brown sisters, Rose and Hyacinth.  "Rose Madder Brown" is a joking reference to the red dye rose madder, one of Bradley's many plays on words.  Others include "a castle in Ayrshire" (castles in the air) for Walter's imaginary wealthy family, and the dancing master "Signor Pussigutti", a reference to catgut, from which violin strings were made.  Dancing masters were often violinists as well, and played for their own dance classes.  The plot is about what you'd expect: Polly plays her suitors against each other and generally acts like a shallow and narcissistic idiot.  She ends up planning to elope with Walter, only to be thwarted by her devoted family.  It's full of over-the-top, buoyantly fake, melodrama:

I saw the gentlemen interfere, and take Mr. Joseph away ; and I thought that I could do no less than go into hysterics. So I sank on the couch, and began to go into them ; but Walter, instead of at once coming to support me through them (as naturally I intended him to do), left me in the most provoking manner, and went out of the conservatory; to attend to his own nose, I suppose. I then, of course, came-to very quickly...

This was after a confrontation between suitors disintegrated into the very drunk Joseph hurling oranges at Walter.  Other amusing scenes involve Walter's wig: long, poetic black locks with which he is covering -- horrors! -- bright red hair, and a moment in a boat when, after being miraculously saved from the incoming tide, Walter and Polly retreat to opposite ends of the boat to be comprehensively seasick.

Interestingly, considering it was written by a clergyman, after Polly is saved from Walter and abandoned by her other suitors for her fickleness, there is no scene of religious repentance and subsequent happy ending, nor does she waste away and die.  She just remains, for the nonce, unmarried and, apparently, unrepentant.

On to the dance material.

Late Victorian Waltz Variations: The College Step

Working my way through the waltz variations in Round Dancing (M. B. Gilbert, Portland, Maine, 1890) and La Danse (G. W. Lopp, Paris, 1903), here's one that can fairly confidently be classified as a step rather than a sequence written for a particular piece of music.  It's actually quite interesting, though less for the step than for the fact that though at first glance it looks like a two-part sequence, it's actually not.  Gilbert specifically (and ungrammatically) wrote:

Repeat ad lib, commencing at the second part.  At the termination of the side movement.  Waltz at pleasure, introducing the second part at will.  

In other words, waltz (the first part) for as long as you like, then do the second part (a set of sideways movements akin to a racket) for as long as you like.  In short, use the second part as a variation in your waltzing.  That's in line with how I suspect many of these variations were actually used, but it's unusual to see it stated so explicitly.

Late Victorian Waltz Variations: The Eugénie

The Eugénie, or Eugenie-Trot, is yet another of the many variations published in M. B. Gilbert's book of couple dances, Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and later, in translation to French, in G. W. Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903).  It was attributed by both authors to St. Louis dancing master Jacob Mahler, as is confirmed by the cover of the sheet music shown at left (click to enlarge).  I would not regard it as a particularly important or significant variation; it warrants a reconstruction only as part of my overall progress through every dance in those two books.

The Eugénie begins in the "military" position (described at length, with a photo, here) with the dancers opened up side by side, the gentleman's right arm around the lady's waist and her left hand resting on his shoulder or upper arm, depending on their relative heights.  The gentleman starts with the left foot and the lady with the right.  The gentleman's steps are given; the lady dances opposite.

Reconstruction (eight measures of waltz)
4b   Leap forward onto left foot (1), pause (2), and close right to fifth position behind (3)
       Repeat three more times with the same foot; the fourth time, the gentleman swings in front of the lady to put his back to line of dance and take closed position

4b   Waltz two complete turns, opening up at the end to restart

Not very exciting, eh? I personally prefer the extremely similar Military Waltz (described here), which uses a leap-pause-hop/point instead of a leap-pause-close and alternates feet rather than this lame-duck-like repetition four times with the same foot.  The Eugénie is really nothing but a less-pleasing variation.

April 2019 Gig Calendar

April is going to be busy with local teaching for me: my regular weekly cross-step and "polka mazurka" (now expanding to all sorts of late-nineteenth-century dance) classes and waltz party plus private lessons and an Easter ball!  In between, I'll be preparing a whole list of classes for Vintage Dance Exchange 2019 - By the Sea, coming up in mid-May in Odessa!

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Tuesdays, April 2nd, 9th, 16th  ~ Moscow, Russia
Intermediate Cross-Step Waltz (generic VK post with times - in Russian)
7:00-10:00pm; lessons 7:00-8:15/8:30-9:45 + two 15-minute practice sessions
Concentration on "skater's" variations done with matched feet and making smooth and subtle transitions from matched to mirrored feet and through different arm positions!  Second and third classes will incorporate tango variations from the second class as well!  Pay by the week or for a full month including the waltz party on the 23rd

Thursdays, April 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th ~ Moscow, Russia
Late 19th Century Polka Mazurka Plus (generic VK post with times - in Russian)
7:00-9:00pm
Improvisation in polka mazurka using steps and sequences from American variations of the 1880s.  Emphasis on musicality.  Steps work with polka-mazurka, redowa, and mazurka music.  Also: applying these variations in galop and jig time!  Pay by the week or for the full four-week course.

Saturdays, April 13th & 20th ~ Moscow, Russia
Private lessons
5:15-6:15pm
Noted here just to hold the dates/times.

Saturday, April 13th
Easter ball preparatory class (VK announcement - in Russian)
7:00-9:30pm
I will be teaching from about 8:00-8:45; the rest will be the other ball leaders.  Easy choreographies!  First of three.

Saturday, April 20th
Easter ball preparatory class
7:00-9:30pm
Second of three, details TBA.

Tuesday, April 23rd ~ Moscow, Russia
Spring Waltz Party (VK event - in Russian)
7:00-10:00pm.  Waltz, waltz, and more waltz!  Light refreshments.

Friday, April 26th ~ Moscow, Russia
Private lesson
9:00-10:00pm
Noted here just to hold the date/time.

Saturday, April 27th
Easter ball preparatory class
7:00-9:30pm
Third of three, details TBA.

Sunday, April 28th ~ Moscow, Russia
Easter Ball (VK event - in Russian)  (Facebook photo-announcement - in Russian)
Easter ball [note: Orthodox Easter!] mixing historical, modern, and traditional dancing.  I am co-directing with dance studio "Russian Traditions" and Pavel Kundius.  Dress code: early 19th century (1800-1840) or modern formal; pink/red colors encouraged for ladies.  (See prep class on April 13th above!)

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I am available for private lessons in Moscow, or while on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

Moscow, Russia: April 1-5, 8-30
Tula, Russia: April 6-7

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Coming in May: Vintage Dance Exchange 2019 - By the Sea! in Odessa, Ukraine!

Death of a dancing-master, 1699

While on the topic of late seventeenth-century dancing masters behaving badly, I came across information on one George Norton, seventeen years old, condemned to die for the murder of Thomas Harris, a dancing master whom he accidentally killed with Harris's own sword in a street fight.

Here's Norton's brief confession, excerpted from A True Account of the Behaviour, Confessions, and last Dying Speeches of the Condemn'd Criminals, that were Executed at Tyburn on Wednesday the 2d. of August, 1699, by John Allen, Ordinary.

George Norton, Esq ; 17 Years old, Condemn'd for the Murder of Mr. Harris; being examin'd gave this Account, which he confirmed with repeated and solemn Asseverations, when he receiv'd the blessed Sacrament, viz. That as he was going to his Lodgings, he accidentally met with the Deceased, whom he never saw before; who held a Woman in his Hand; he taking the Wall of her, she asked Mr. Harris, if he wou'd permit such a Puppy to affront her so: Upon which the Deceased pushed him, which made him demand who he was? Mr. Harris replied, he was a Man; this occasion'd several Words, which at length made them both draw, and as he protested, the Deceased drew first, and made several Passes, ten or twelve, before he receiv'd his fatal Wound. Being demanded how the Deceased's Sword came to be bloody and broke, and his bright and entire? He added farther; That as they were Pushing at one another, the Woman took away his Sword, which made him defend himself for some time with his Cane, but perceiving the Deceased to press hard upon him, he closed with him, and endeavoured with all his Force, to wrest the Sword out of his Hand, which breaking short, with the Point of his own Sword, the Hilt still remaining in his Hand, the Deceased receiv'd his mortal Wound; for which he seem'd very Penitent, earnestly beseeching God, to Wash him throughly from his Iniquity, and cleanse him from his Sin, in that Fountain opened for Sin and for Uncleanness, the precious Bloud of the Immaculate Lamb of God, Slain to take away the Sins of the World. I believe he is a true Penitent.  (source: Old Bailey Online)

Later on in Allen's account is a brief note:

George Norton, Esq ; is Repriv'd till the ninth instant.

But the story didn't end there.  According to a surviving "true crime" broadsheet containing a fuller confession, Norton committed suicide by poison on August 8th, the night before his new execution date.

But why, exactly, were Norton and Harris fighting in the street in the first place?

A larcenous dancing master, 1694-1696

I came across the larcenous late-seventeenth century dancing master Daniel Phillips while browsing through the criminal proceedings at Old Bailey Online, which houses the records of London's central criminal court from 1674 to 1913.  He first turns up in the records on April 18, 1694, after purportedly stealing a tankard:

Daniel Phillips was Indicted for stealing a Silver Tankard, value 5l. from Edward Tendring. The Prisoner and another man were drinking at Mr. Tendring's house and the Prisoner was seen to take the Tankard from the Bar, and run away with it; which they threw into the Thames, (being pursued) and at 11 of the Clock the same night, the Prisoner and another were seen Rowing in a Boat upon the Thames, in order to search for the Tankard, with their naked Swords drawn in the Boat. The Prisoner urged that his Employment was worth 300l. per annum, (being a Dancing-master) and he had no need to steal. That it was meer malice in the Prosecutor to Indict him, for that he had arrested her for a Scandal, some time before she took him up. There was but one Witness against him, and he good Evidence for his Reputation: so he was Acquitted.  (source: Old Bailey Online)

March 2019 Gig Calendar

Local classes only this month as the Moscow winter hopefully wraps up: cross-step waltz (two intermediate classes) and polka mazurka variations with a bit of a wander through other musical rhythms as well, plus my monthly waltz evening.  Lots of research and writing in between...

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Tuesdays, March 5th, 12th, 19th  ~ Moscow, Russia
Intermediate Cross-Step Waltz: Skater's Variations (VK post - in Russian)
7:00-8:15pm; practice time 8:15-8:45pm
Concentration on "skater's" variations done with matched feet and making smooth and subtle transitions from matched to mirrored feet and through different arm positions!  Second and third classes will incorporate tango variations from the second class as well!  Pay by the week or for a full month including the waltz party on the 26th.

Tuesdays, March 5th, 12th, 19th ~ Moscow, Russia
Intermediate Cross-Step Waltz: Tango Variations (VK post - in Russian)
8:45-10:00pm; practice time 8:15-8:45pm
Variations from tango, including lunges, molinetes, ruedas, scissors, and ganchos.  Pay by the week or for a full month including the waltz party on the 26th.

Thursdays, March 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th ~ Moscow, Russia
Late 19th Century Polka Mazurka Variations (VK post - in Russian)
7:00-9:00pm
Improvisation in polka mazurka using steps and sequences from American variations of the 1880s.  Emphasis on musicality.  Steps work with polka-mazurka, redowa, and mazurka music.  Also: applying these variations in galop and jig time!  Pay by the week or for the full four-week course.

Saturdays, March 16th & 23rd ~ Moscow, Russia
Private lessons
6:00-7:00pm
Noted here just to hold the dates/times.

Tuesday, March 26th ~ Moscow, Russia
Belated St. Patrick's Day Waltz Party (VK event - in Russian)
7:00-10:00pm.  Waltz, waltz, and more waltz!  Light refreshments.  Wearing of the green!

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I am available for private lessons in Moscow, or while on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

Moscow, Russia: March 1-31

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Military Times

Military Times is one of the many, many, many little couple dance variations included in both M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and George Washington Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903) but not, so far as I can tell, to be found in any other period source.  I'd mentioned it (negatively) in passing many years ago when I wrote about the other "military position" variations in Gilbert, but hadn't ever published a reconstruction.  In the interest of being thorough, and since I feel more positively about it now than I did eleven years ago, here it is!

Military Times is attributed by Gilbert to Ralph Warren of Denver, Colorado.  Like the other dances with "military" in their names, Military Times begins with the dancers side by side, the lady on the right, the gentleman's right arm around the lady's waist and her left hand resting on his shoulder or upper arm.  Their free arms can hold a gentle curve at their sides, or (French style), her hand can hold her skirt while his rests at his waist, palm out.  Unlike those other "military" dances, however, Military Times has both dancers beginning on the same foot, the left.  The reconstruction of the dance is fairly straightforward, though some performance details have to be filled in, given the brief (Gilbert) and confusing (Lopp) descriptions available.

A quick summary of the dance is that the dancers perform four measures of gentle skipping steps followed by the lady doing two full turns of reverse waltz while holding right hands with the gentleman, who travels along with her.  This is an unusual example of an underarm turn in the nineteenth century.

The Columbia

I seem to be doing an impromptu schottische mini-series this week; here's another interesting little variation from M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and G. W. Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903).  The Columbia, like the American Gavotte, was adopted by the American Society of Professors of Dancing at their New York meeting in the September of 1886, as mentioned in my post on that dance.  Unlike the American Gavotte, it is perfectly clear that it belongs in the schottische category, and like the Schottische Gavotte, it shows distinct influence by the racket.  It is attributed to dancing master E. C. Spink.  Gilbert and Lopp's descriptions match each other nicely.

The dancers start in normal ballroom hold, the gentleman facing the wall and the lady facing the center, with the gentleman starting on the left foot and the lady on the right.  Their steps move in parallel.

The Columbia (four measures of schottische 4/4 time)
   1&234    Slide-close-slide, cut, leap (along line of dance without turning)
&1234       Close-slide, cut, cut, cut (turning halfway on the last two cuts)
&1&234    Close-slide-close-slide, cut, leap (along line of dance without turning)
&1234       Close-slide, cut, cut, cut (turning halfway on the last two cuts)

Repeat the third and fourth bars indefinitely.

Schottische Gavotte

I suppose this could be considered the next post in a very stretched-out series covering American "gavotte" variations for the late nineteenth century schottische; my first post on the topic appeared almost ten years ago.  I'm glad I put this one off a bit, however, since my experience since then with reconstructing, dancing, and teaching rackets has given me a better appreciation for how this "gavotte" variation works.  Essentially, it's two halves: a slow schottische turn and a racket.  It's kind of beautiful.

The Schottische Gavotte, like so many other variations, is found in M. B. Gilbert's book of couple dances, Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and in G. W. Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903).  Gilbert does not attribute it.  Lopp attributes it to Gilbert.  Lopp also lists it as 3/4, but since it is under schottische, notated like a schottische (in 4), and has a given metronome speed of 76 beats per minute in schottische time, I think that 3/4 is an error and it is intended to be in 4/4.  Other than that, the two descriptions agree nicely and the reconstruction is quite simple and straightforward.  The gentleman starts with the left foot, the lady with the right.

Heart Figure, 1900

Continuing the Valentine's Day theme, here's a heart-themed dance game from St. Louis dancing master Jacob Mahler's 1900 compilation Original Cotillion Figures.  I'll give the full text from Mahler first, then a few notes on the listed music.

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Heart Figure
Jacob Mahler, St. Louis, Mo.

Music -- Waltz -- "Just One Girl."

Properties -- White card board hearts about three inches wide and four inches long, tied with baby ribbon four inches long.  These hearts are handed to the ladies; they write their names upon the heart (upon one side only), the leader hangs these hearts upon a curtain at one end of the room, The [sic] written side turned to the curtain.

The Figure.

The leader calls up as many couple as he has hearts upon the curtain, at signal they all gather in front of curtain, at signal the gentlemen rush forward select a heart, and dance with the lady whose name is written upon the heart.

Favors -- Silver hearts, cupid arrow pins, links.

This figure may be made more effective by giving the gentlemen toy guns, with small arrows to shoot at the hearts, and whatever heart he strikes would be his partner.  While the figure is more exciting, I am somewhat afraid of the danger attached to the use of the gun.

The Kosmos Club's Ball, 1895

Image courtesy of The New York Times

One hundred and twenty-four years ago today, Brooklyn's Kosmos Club planned a Valentine's-eve costume ball, which was written up in the society column of The New York Times on February 12, 1895. As is often the case, there's no description of the social dance program, but there are some interesting tidbits about the overall ball format.

First, a bit about the folks putting on the ball.  The Kosmos Club was a women's club, part of a general social movement towards clubs of all kinds during the late nineteenth century.  According to the 1904 edition of the directory Club Women of New York, it was founded in 1894 with the following mission statement:

"The object of this club shall be to form a nucleus for intellectual, social, patriotic, and philanthropic development."

Further details in the listing include the meeting schedule and that the club membership was one hundred.  Club Women of New York was, literally, a listing of women who were members of New York City clubs, and Kosmos Club membership appears next to dozens of names.

The location of the ball was the (men-only) Union League Club of Brooklyn, shown above left (click to enlarge).  A dramatic building, complete with turret, it was relatively new at the time, having been built only in 1890.  According to The New York Times, the club itself was founded in the 1860s to support the Union cause during the Civil War.  More about the club and its then building may be found at The Times, here. The building, sadly stripped of its turret, still exists today; a photo is at the preceding link.  The Union League itself is long gone, however; according to the site Brownstoner, the building was taken over by The Unity Club, a Jewish organization, in 1914, and remained in their hands until they bought a different building in 1944. 

The New Side Step Polka

"There are some variations which may be introduced with advantage.  Of these the so-called 'Ostend Polka' and 'American' or 'Side-step Polka' are among the best."  -- Lilly Grove Frazer, Dancing (London, 1907), p. 421.

I'm not actually certain that Lady Frazer was referring to the New Side Step Polka given by M. B. Gilbert in Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and, more-or-less, in G. W. Lopp's  La Danse (Paris, 1903) as the Nouvelle Polka Dansée de Côté.  I don't see anything in this variation that warrants that level of praise; if anything, I find it slightly annoying.  But the way in which it is annoying is interesting, so I'll take a quick look at it just to be thorough.

The New Side Step Polka is attributed to J. G. Hoffman of Waverly, New York.  Working from Gilbert, the reconstruction is fairly straightforward, allowing for Gilbert's typical omissions.  The steps given below are the gentleman's; the lady dances opposite.

New Side Step Polka (8 measures of 2/4 time)
1       Point left foot to 2nd position
2       Hop on right and bring left to 3rd position raised
&1   Slide left to side and close right [with weight]
&2   Slide left to side and close right [without weight], making a half-turn

2b    Repeat all of the above starting on the right foot

4b   Polka

February 2019 Gig Calendar

I will spend most of February in Moscow, with one trip to Saratov at the end of the month for a weekend of classes on late nineteenth and early twentieth century dance, with an emphasis on improvisation in everything from tango and foxtrot to polka mazurka and quadrilles.  This is something of a sequel to my intensive weekend in Samara three years ago.  I'm really excited about teaching this material -- finally, back to advanced nineteenth century! -- and visiting a new Russian city!

Other than that -- my usual classes, a waltz party, and balls to attend!

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Tuesdays, February 5th, 12th, 19th  ~ Moscow, Russia
Cross-Step Waltz for Beginners: Skater's Variations (VK post - in Russian)
7:00-8:15pm; practice time 8:15-8:45pm
Concentration on "skater's" variations done with matched feet and making smooth foot changes, plus a cross-step line dance!  Pay by the week or for a full month including the waltz party on the 26th.

Tuesdays, February 5th, 12th, 19th ~ Moscow, Russia
Intermediate Cross-Step Waltz: Skater's Variatons (VK post - in Russian)
8:45-10:00pm; practice time 8:15-8:45pm
More complex figures and techniques for shifting between shadow, skater's, hammerlock, and cradle positions.  Pay by the week or for a full month including the waltz party on the 26th.

Thursday, February 7th ~ Moscow, Russia
Open Cross-Step Practice (VK post - in Russian)
7:00-9:00pm
Open dance floor for cross-step practice.  I will DJ and practice with people individually but am not doing any formal teaching.

Thursdays, February 14th, 21st, 28th ~ Moscow, Russia
Late 19th Century Polka Mazurka Variations (VK post - in Russian, second, third)
7:00-9:00pm
Three classes on improvisation in polka mazurka using steps and sequences from American variations of the 1880s.  Emphasis on musicality.  Steps work with polka-mazurka, redowa, and mazurka music.

Saturday-Sunday, February 23rd-24th - Saratov, Russia
Master Classes in XIX and XX Century Dance (VK community - in Russian)
Weekend of classes in the dances of the late nineteenth to early twentieth century; emphasis on couple dance improvisation.  Topic include: late nineteenth century waltz, polka, and polka-mazurka variations; 1840s polka figures and the Orientale; 1910s tango and foxtrot; and American-style called quadrilles (both dancing and calling).

Tuesday, February 26th ~ Moscow, Russia
Mardi Gras Waltz Party (VK event - in Russian)
7:00-10:00pm.  Waltz, waltz, and more waltz!  Light refreshments.  Purple/green/gold clothing and masks encouraged (but not required)!

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I am available for private lessons in Moscow, or while on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

Moscow, Russia: February 1-21, 25-28

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Les Cinq Parties du Monde

When I watched a performance of an unfamiliar quadrille back in December, I was informed that it was called Les Cinq Parties du Monde and was from 1876.  Both pieces of information turned out to be...not entirely accurate.  And I was far from the only person fascinated by the unusual figures; at least two French researchers and one Russian have taken a crack at them as well.  As a result, this is an interesting opportunity to compare different people's work and demonstrate why I disagree with some of their decisions.

But first, the basics: the figures were indeed published with the quadrille music "Les Cinq Parties du Monde" in 1876.  They are credited to Henri Cellarius "neveu", the illegitimate nephew of the more famous Cellarius.  The music is by Emile Kohler.  The sheet music cover may be seen above (click to enlarge).  So why do I disagree?

Well, as part of my reconstruction process, I look at other works by the same author to see if there are any clues about some of the more unusual descriptions.  I am only aware of one other publication by Cellarius neveu, another polka quadrille, Arcachon, published in 1865, with figures by Cellarius neveu and music by H[ippolyte]. Barrez.

Both sets are available online at the Bibliothèque nationale de France; look here ("Cinq Parties") and here ("Arcachon") for reference.

But when I looked at the figures included with the "Arcachon" music, hoping for some useful insights, I discovered that the figures were exactly the same as those with the "Cinq Parties" music.  Not only did I not get any new information, I got a puzzle to solve.  Two sets of quadrille tunes with the same figures published eleven years apart is somewhat odd.  Were either of the dates wrong? 

Nope!  

Here (second listing from the top in the right-hand column) is the "Arcachon" music listed in the 1865 Bibliographie de la France, and here (halfway down the left column; second listing under "Musique Pour Piano") is the "Cinq Parties" music listed in the 1876 edition.  "Arcachon" is definitely the earlier publication.  The "Cinq Parties" music must have been written, or at least arranged, specifically for these figures, since they're of unusual lengths.  But why?  The figures are certainly unusual, but were they so popular that they needed a new set of tunes?  Was Cellarius neveu so famous that it was worth republishing his figures eleven years later, but not famous enough to have any more (surviving?) published work?  I feel like there might be an interesting story here, but I don't know what it is.

Reconstruction-wise, knowing the figures are from 1865 means that figure performance needs to take into account the massive hoop skirts of the mid-1860s, such as the one shown at left (click to enlarge, or look at more illustrations here).  Even if you exclude the train, which might have been looped up for dancing, that's still a whole lot of skirt to accommodate, which affects how I choose to reconstruct and perform some figures.

 

 

 

 

 

Radcliffe girls lead, 1897

I almost passed right by the brief Boston Daily Globe article from early 1897 in my endless digging for newspaper coverage of social dance.  Although I have an interest in historical recital or performance pieces like skirt dances, they're not my major research focus.  I'm glad I took a closer look, though, because when those wild and crazy Radcliffe students drew the curtains of Fay House for an all-girl post-exam party, not only did one perform a skirt dance, they also danced couple dances...which meant that the ladies were leading!

For Radcliffe girls are nothing if not adaptable.  They can read Greek and Sanskrit, write plays, dance skirt dances, play basket ball and lead in the waltz with equal proficiency.

Whatever debate some dancing masters were having in the late 1890s about ladies learning to lead (and dance backward), the Radcliffe girls were obviously both willing and able to do so among themselves.

January 2019 Gig Calendar

Happy new year!  January is going to be a quiet month for me.  I'm going to DJ blues in Russia for the first time at a swing dance camp, which I'm really looking forward to, and restart my regular waltz and historical dance classes and parties at some point (edited 1/27/19 to add) with a waltz evening at the end of the month before beginning regular classes in February.  Most of my time after the holidays (through January 8th in Russia!) is going to be spent on some research projects and pulling together a bunch of material for my February weekend in Saratov.

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Friday/Saturday, January 4th/5th ~ Moscow, Russia area
Moscow Christmas Swing Dance Camp (January 3rd-8th)
Five-day camp covering Lindy, Balboa, blues, and more.  I will be DJing a blues set or two late (after 1:00am) the night of the 4th -- technically, in the very early hours of the 5th.

Tuesday, January 29th ~ Moscow, Russia
Winter Waltz Party (VK Event - in Russian)
7:00-10:00pm.  Waltz, waltz, and more waltz.  Light refreshments.

Thursday, January 31st ~ Moscow, Russia
Private class

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I am available for private lessons in Moscow, or while on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

Moscow, Russia: January 6-31

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Coming in February: a weekend of nineteenth and early twentieth century dance in Saratov!

"La Contre Danse", cotillion figure (1900)

There are plenty of cotillions - in the sense of "nineteenth-century dance games", not "eighteenth-century French square dances" - that are some variation on "form a square or longways set and do a quadrille figure or country dance".  "La Contre Danse" is an interesting take on this theme from W. Gilbert Newell, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was published in St. Louis dancing master Jacob Mahler's compilation, Original Cotillion Figures (St. Louis, 1900).  It caught my eye because of the unusual formation: couple facing couple across a longways set, as in the American contra "The Tempest", the English "Polka Contre Danse", or quadrille figures done in columns rather than squares.  I can't be certain that this is the only cotillion figure using this formation -- hundreds of them were published from the early nineteenth into the early twentieth century, and I can't claim to have looked at them all -- but it's the only one I've found so far.

"La Contre Danse" is relatively complicated as figures done in sets go.  It opens and closes with two-step done in couples, and in between there is a brief march to set up the longways set before the actual contra/country/contre danse figures begin.  Here's how it works:

Against the odds

I recently made note of a mailing list post that referred to dances done at American Civil War reenactments, such as the Virginia Reel, and couple-facing-couple dances like the Spanish Dance/Waltz, as "historically-flavored".  I don't think the poster meant to imply that these dances were actually ahistorical; this is someone whom I'm certain knows better.  But there's an interesting underlying point I wanted to expand on in this, which is that it's possible to have an entire ball full of historically-appropriate, accurately-reconstructed dances, and still have the ball as a whole not be convincing as a historical event.  Because having all the dances accurate to the time period is not enough.  There are at least two other external factors to consider: the geographic setting and the specific type of ball and ball attendees.  A ball held by a member of high society in New York City is not going to have the same dance repertoire as a ball set in a frontier town in Oregon, even if they are both set in 1898, and a middle-class French ball would be even more different. 

There is also an internal element, which is the mix of dances and the proportions of different types of dances.  It's fairly clear to me that the most typical ball format for an American ball in the last half of the nineteenth century included large numbers of quadrilles (choreographed classics like the Lancers and Caledonians and some that were probably called on the spot by the ball's master of ceremonies), smaller numbers of couple dances, and a modest number of contra (country) dances, which included both ones "formed as for the Spanish Dance", meaning in a "Sicilian circle" of couple facing couple, and more conventional longways proper dances.  This would vary somewhat by location and social class, of course.

Note that this applies only to balls which are actually attempting to reenact specific times and places.  Events along the lines of "everyone put on a costume and lets dance some random dances" are not what I'm talking about.

Death by Persuasion (Midsomer Murders, Season 19, Episode 5)

I'm always pleased to see any film or television production make an effort to get the historical dancing right, but it's a big surprise when it more-or-less happens in a television series, which one doesn't necessarily expect to have the budget for a dance historian as choreographer and the proper music, or anyone on staff who even knows they need such.  I plowed reluctantly through a ninety-minute episode of a television show that, on the whole, I had no interest whatsoever in only to experience the delightful surprise of just under seven minutes of historically correct music and dancing that ranged from "acceptable kludge for television" to "wow, they got it RIGHT!"

That, as they say, was unexpected.  

Spoiler: I think I spotted Ellis Rogers, who literally wrote the book on quadrilles, in the background of a couple of scenes.  His involvement would explain a lot.  Unfortunately, the credits for the episode list Jim Parker for the music (which he may have played, conducted, or arranged, but certainly didn't compose) and no one at all for dance or choreography.

"Diamond" Reel of Six

This is an interesting little reel for two gentlemen and four ladies which I would consider reasonable for anywhere from the late 1820s to, at least in Scotland, the 1870s or even later.  I'm hesitant to date it too specifically since neither of the sources I have are precisely dated, and while one is at best late 1820s and the other well into the mid-nineteenth century, this reel is perfectly compatible with Regency style.  Unless I were in a particularly strict-constructionist mood, I wouldn't blink an eye to see it performed at a Regency event.

I have only two sources for this Reel of Six: Lowe's Ball-Conductor and Assembly Guide, third edition (Edinburgh, c1830) and The Excelsior Manual of Dancing, by J. F. Wallace (Glasgow, c1875).  The dating on The Excelsior Manual is especially fuzzy.  The dances could be from as early as c1860, but the illustrations of the ladies dresses suggest the early 1870s to me.  In Traditional Dancing in Scotland, J. P. and T. M. Flett list it as c1872.  A later edition of The Excelsior Manual (datable from its contents to no earlier than the mid-1890s and listed by the Fletts as c1900) does not include this Reel of Six.  Nor have I found it in any other Scottish dance manuals of the nineteenth century, though my collection of those is thin enough that I wouldn't take that as a definitive statement about it having never appeared elsewhere.

Unlike most reels for six dancers, this reel is in "diamond" formation, like a Reel of Five.  The four ladies are at the four points of an imaginary diamond with the two gentlemen back to back in the center, and the reels are reels for four dancers rather than for three.  

In complexity, this Reel of Six falls somewhere between the simpler Reels of Five and the very elaborate one created by Regency London dancing master Thomas Wilson, which I described here.  There is no added circling or passing under arms, but it does include the fast cross by the outside dancers between the heying (reeling) dancers.  This is actually easier to pace with six dancers rather than five.  Other than that little detail, it consists of a standard alternation of heying (reeling) and setting, tweaked to accommodate the two extra ladies.  But unlike Wilson's choreographed reels, the sources for this one are impeccably Scottish.

CD Review: The Grand Victorian Ballroom

The Grand Victorian Ballroom: Waltzes, Quadrilles, Contras, Polkas, and Other 19th Century Dance Music (Gaslantern Records, 2012), with its accompanying sheet music, is the second of two CDs I received for my birthday earlier this year, along with North & South.  But unlike North & South, this album was designed for dancing, so it is both beautifully played for listening pleasure and entirely functional as dance music.  The musicians, once again, are the members of the Orchestra of the Gilded Age (I still don't know exactly who those members are) conducted by Jeffrey Hunter.

As with North & South, there are no liner notes included with the disc, but the Gaslantern website has all the details of sources, composers, dates, etc.  All of the tunes except the two contra dances are dated between 1850 and 1870, perfect for a mid-century or American Civil War-themed ball.  The contras are also quite appropriate; though their tunes are older, they were still popular and attached to common dances in this era. 

While the focus is on American composers, the album includes the two quadrilles with European connections: the Prince Imperial Quadrille (French, but popular in America) and a Lancers set adapted from Jacques Offenbach's opera, La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein.

My immediate advice: if you enjoy mid-nineteenth-century dancing, proceed directly to Gaslantern's website to order this CD.  It's not available digitally; you have to buy the actual disc.  The sheet music can be ordered in either physical or PDF format and includes dance notes for the quadrilles and contras. 

If you want more information first, a track-by-track breakdown is below.  

The Grand Victorian Ballroom: Waltzes, Quadrilles, Contras, Polkas, and Other 19th Century Dance Music (Gaslantern Records, 2012), with its accompanying sheet music, is the second of two CDs I received for my birthday earlier this year, along with North & South.  But unlike North & South, this album was designed for dancing, so it is both beautifully played for listening pleasure and entirely functional as dance music.  The musicians, once again, are the members of the Orchestra of the Gilded Age (I still don't know exactly who those members are) conducted by Jeffrey Hunter.

As with North & South, there are no liner notes included with the disc, but the Gaslantern website has all the details of sources, composers, dates, etc.  All of the tunes except the two contra dances are dated between 1850 and 1870, perfect for a mid-century or American Civil War-themed ball.  The contras are also quite appropriate; though their tunes are older, they were still popular and attached to common dances in this era. 

While the focus is on American composers, the album includes the two quadrilles with European connections: the Prince Imperial Quadrille (French, but popular in America) and a Lancers set adapted from Jacques Offenbach's opera, La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein.

My immediate advice: if you enjoy mid-nineteenth-century dancing, proceed directly to Gaslantern's website to order this CD.  It's not available digitally; you have to buy the actual disc.  The sheet music can be ordered in either physical or PDF format and includes dance notes for the quadrilles and contras. 

If you want more information first, a track-by-track breakdown is below.  

December 2018 Gig Calendar

I'll have just one short trip in December, plus a Christmas waltz party and wrapping up my classes for the year!  Plus, I'll be teaching a quick lesson in cross-step waltz (probably the standard mixer) at a Russian-organized ball.  I'm hoping to do this entirely in my still-fragmented but (hopefully) comprehensible Russian, with no English at all and without using a translator.    We'll see how that goes...

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Sunday, December 2nd ~ Moscow, Russia
Cross-Step Waltz Lesson at "Back to the USSR" Ball  (VK event - in Russian)
4:00pm (ball begins)
A brief (10-minute) introductory lesson as part of a much larger multi-teacher event to be held in a Soviet-era bunker!

Tuesdays, December 4th, 11th, 18th  ~ Moscow, Russia
Cross-Step Waltz for Beginners (VK post - in Russian)
7:00-8:30pm
Introduction to all basic figures of cross-step waltz.  Pay by the week or for a full month including the waltz party on the 25th.

Tuesdays, December 4th, 11th, 18th ~ Moscow, Russia
Intermediate Cross-Step Waltz (VK post - in Russian)
8:30-10:00pm 
More complex figures and techniques for cross-step waltz.  Pay by the week or for a full month including the waltz party on the 25th.

Thursdays, December 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th ~ Moscow, Russia
Belle Epoque (VK post - in Russian)
7:00-8:30pm
Continuing my autumn course of dances of late 19th century France.  Pay by the week or by the month.

Thursdays, December 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th ~ Moscow, Russia
Unusual 1910s Dances (VK post - in Russian)
8:30-10:00pm
My ongoing autumn course on the more unusual dances of the 1910s, including improvisation in the maxixe and hesitation waltz, the social dances of Anna Pavlova, and perhaps a few small surprises!  Pay by the week or by the month. 

Saturday-Sunday, December 15-16th ~ Vladimir, Russia
Dance Weekend (VK group - in Russian)
Classes Saturday (2:00-9:00pm) and Sunday (10:00am-12:00pm) and a "Journey Around the World" party Sunday afternoon/evening (3:00-9:00pm) (VK party event - in Russian).  Saturday classes will cover late nineteenth century French schottische and Pas de Quatre, several group dances of the era, and some American mixer dances from the 1940s.  Sunday's classes will be primarily 1910s Half & Half and sequences (tango and hesitation waltz), possibly with some French group dances spilling over from Saturday.  Party dress code: 1880s-1910s or modern formal or military uniform.

Tuesday, December 25th ~ Moscow, Russia
[Western] Christmas Waltz Party (VK event - in Russian)
7:00-10:00pm.  Waltz, waltz, and more waltz.  Light refreshments.

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I am available for private lessons in Moscow, or while on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

Moscow, Russia: December 1-14, 17-31

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Dancing to "Mr. Chivers' Whim"

I recently had a request in email for anything I had on the Regency-era dance tune "Mr. Chivers' Whim" from a questioner who had some mismatched figures (twenty-four bars) and music (thirty-two bars) but no original sources.  A little back-and-forth established that he wanted the most historical answer, which is presumably why the question came to me and not whoever popularized what they're doing under that name in eastern Europe.  This isn't the first time I've had this topic come up in conversation!

So, what's going on with "Mr. Chivers' Whim"?  Well, at some point in the last decade or two, the name became firmly attached to a twenty-four bar "Swedish dance", meaning a trio country dance.  People in Russia are mostly dancing it to the tune "Mrs. Chivers' Favorite Waltz", which is of course a different tune, and a waltz, not a reel.  Switching tunes is not inappropriate to do in a historical context, but it's incorrect to call it "Mr. Chivers' Whim" when they're dancing to "Mrs. Chivers' Favorite Waltz".  The name goes with the tune, not the figures.

To compound the problem, they're often using the Spare Parts recording of "Mrs. Chivers' Favorite Waltz" from the CD The Regency Ballroom, on which it is played with a forty-eight bar repeat structure, which means that the figures cross the music oddly; it's alternately danced to AAB and BC strains (the C strain is sixteen bars long).  That is actually wrong, from a historical perspective.  Take a look at this video and you can see/hear the problem clearly, though I am not singling out that group in particular; there are several similar videos from different groups in different cities.  That one just happened to come up first in my search results. 

I'm not sure where the thirty-two bar music comes in, but there's certainly a problem here.