Capering & Kickery

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.  

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!

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.

 

 

 

 

 

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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Giving Thanks!

It's that time of year again!  America celebrates Thanksgiving, and this American living abroad, sans turkey and trimmings, celebrates by thanking two sets of organizers who have hired me regularly for events. 

As everyone who knows me understands, I love visiting new places and teaching new groups.  But it's also a special delight to have places and events I return to regularly, making friends and developing communities and watching dancers progress over time.

First, my thanks to John and Nancy Newbold, who have hired me every year since 2007 (with me missing 2016 through no fault of theirs) to conduct one or both of their balls for the Remembrance Day Weekend in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  I just returned from Gettysburg a few days ago after conducting both balls, and I was reminded once again how wonderful it is to be welcomed year after year by the Remembrance Day Ball regulars and to be able to bring new material to such a friendly group, savor the joy of leading groups of such varied skill levels successfully through dances, and simply see everyone having such a good time.  (And those chocolate-framed favors...mmm!)

Second, my thanks to Oleksii Kryvenko and Svetlana Evsyukova, organizers of three Vintage Dance Exchanges and three Waltz Weekends in Kyiv, Ukraine, from the spring of 2016 to just a few weeks ago.  My being able to visit and teach the same core group repeatedly half a dozen times over a few years has resulted in a small group of dancers with the skill set that makes me happiest, understanding both the common and the distinct elements of modern (cross-step) and historical (19th and early 20th century) dances and being able to combine them smoothly and switch easily between different styles and types of music.  That's something I haven't had since the end of a seven-year stretch of regulars in my old Monday night classes.  It makes me unbelievably happy as a teacher to see a group of dancers really work at these fundamental skills (not always the most fun process!) until practice pays off with this level of achievement.  All credit to Oleksii and Svetlana as organizers and as teachers who review and reinforce what I teach when I visit. And extra thanks to Svetlana for her superb partnering as well!

Having events with both sets of organizers in one month this year was magic.

Thanks.

The Mid-Twentieth-Century Virginia Reel

"The chief trouble, as I said, with the Virginia Reel is the monotonous repetition and waiting for your turn on the corners. This can be obviated by a new form of the dance which is gradually growing in favor. In this form, instead of having corners bow, turn, etc., each gentleman, and all at once, crosses directly over and does all the moves with his own partner. Done carelessly, this leads to wild confusion (but fun). However, if the line of men all advance as a straight line, the ladies the same, and all return to places in straight lines it can be very effective. And everyone is active all the time up to the point when the head couple reels the set."
        -- Lloyd Shaw, in Cowboy Dances: A Collection of Western Square Dances (1939)

It's unclear among whom, exactly, this version was "gradually growing in favor", since one page earlier Shaw had also noted that he had "never seen it with the country folk.  It has strangely survived in schools and in society groups..."  Shaw's mention is the earliest reference I have to this "all-active" (for the opening figures, anyway) version of the Virginia Reel.  The earliest descriptions I have are from somewhat later, though I wouldn't want to make any promises about these being the earliest; my collection of mid-twentieth century dance books is fairly thin.  But by the 1950s, this style of dancing the Virginia Reel seems to have become well-established. 

The Game

That's what it's called among Harvard and Yale students, alumni, and associated parties: The Game.  The annual November football game between the two famous universities is one of the oldest rivalries in collegiate sports, having been played one hundred and thirty-three times, beginning in 1875; the next meeting is Saturday.  It has so much lingering cultural significance that it has its own Wikipedia page.

So, naturally, it also has its own cotillon (dance game) figure, published in St. Louis dancing master Jacob Mahler's Original Cotillion Figures (St. Louis, 1900) back when The Game was a mere quarter-century old.  Mahler attributed "Yale and Harvard Contest" to H. K. Lackland, also of St. Louis.  Interestingly, and unlike other football-related figures I've seen, it doesn't include any actual football.  I can't even be certain it's meant to be associated with The Game, as opposed to the more general rivalry between the schools.  But in November, anything associated with the rivalry becomes part of the Game-related fuss.

Before I describe "Yale and Harvard Contest", let me look at a pair of figures which definitely do involve football (of some kind), both taken from H. Layton Walker's Twentieth Century Cotillion Figures (Two Step Publishing Company, Buffalo, New York, 1912):

La Lyonnaise

Third in my impromptu mini-series of late-nineteenth century French dances based on the schottische or pas-de-quatre is La Lyonnaise, which appears to me to be unimportant in and of itself but somewhat interesting as an example of typical variations and a source for variations to use in improvisation.  Despite having been published in 1890, it does not appear in the seventh edition of Eugène Giraudet's Traité de la danse, published in the early 1890s.  It does turn up by the 58th edition (c1900), which informs us (via the extensive dance glossary in volume II) that Giraudet choreographed it himself.  I don't think it does him any particular credit; it's just a mishmash of steps.

La Franco-Russe

La Franco-Russe is another of the short French schottische-based sequences of the late nineteenth-century France.  Like La Stéphanoise, it is a double-length sequence, eight bars of schottische music, and presumably had its own special tune which has, alas not surfaced during my searches.  Unlike La Stéphanoise, it is more of the Pas-de-Quatre style of schottische (with the dancers holding only inside hands to start and coming together in the second half) and has a clearly-explained reason for its name.  It also differs in having a true "double" (AABB) schottische pattern and no ambiguity in its timing.  And, finally, it may have had a bit more success than La Stéphanoise, or at least been more favored by Giraudet himself.

Giraudet stated that La Franco-Russe was "créée en l'honneur des officiers russes à leur visite à Paris en 1893."  This visit was part of a series of negotiations between France and Russia that led to the Dual Alliance, also known in the west as the Franco-Russian Alliance and in Russia as the Russian-French Alliance.  At left, a French political cartoon from 1893 (click to enlarge) shows the French symbol, Marianne, cuddling with the Russian bear.

There was quite a vogue for things Russian, or imagined to be Russian, in Paris during the early 1890s, and La Franco-Russe is one of several dances with a Russian or Alliance theme.

La Stéphanoise

La Stéphanoise is a schottische-style sequence created and published in the late nineteenth century by French dancing master and writer Eugène Giraudet.  The first reference I have to it is in the seventh edition of Giraudet's Traité de la danse, published in the early 1890s.  Since I do not have any earlier editions, I don't know precisely when it was first included in Traité.  More specifics come from the lengthy dance list in the second volume of the gigantic 58th edition (c1900), where it is attributed to Giraudet himself, with "Hamel" given as the composer of the music and a date of 1892.  The description of the sequence is word-for-word identical in both editions.

The first publication of La Stéphanoise was probably in the form of instructions printed on the eponymous sheet music.  I believe that the full name of the composer was Camille Hamel, who composed other dance music in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including pieces associated with Giraudet, but I have not been able to locate the original sheet music, though there are quite a few pieces with a title that is some variation of La Stéphanoise.  Fortunately, Giraudet specifically stated that "Au cas ou l'on n'aurait pas la musique spécialement réservée à cette danse, il suffira de prendre la musique d'une schottisch quelconque."  (My translation: "In case one does not have the music specially reserved for this dance, the music of any schottische will suffice.")  

Giraudet, never shy about promoting his own works, helpfully explained that:

Cette danse, bien que de création récente, a obtenu dès ses débuts un véritable succès, surtout chez les connaisseurs; aussi les professeurs et artistes, l'ont-il adoptée avec un empressement significatif. L'effet produit par cette nouvelle danse est des plus gracieux, et il n'est pas de bonne société, qui ne la possède dans son répertoire. Le succès, qui l'a accueillie à ses débuts, ne fera que s'accroître, ce qui sera peut-être difficile étant donné l'engoûment actuel.

My loose translation:

This dance, although of recent creation, has obtained, since its début, genuine success, above all among connoisseurs -- also teachers and artists -- who have adopted it with significant alacrity.  The effect produced by this new dance is of the most gracious, and he who does not have it in his repertoire is not of good society.  The success which has welcomed it since its début can only increase, which may be difficult given its current popularity.

November 2018 Gig Calendar

November will be rather hectic, with a journey to Kyiv, Ukraine, for our third Kyiv Waltz Weekend and a grueling weekend trip back to the USA for the Remembrance Day Balls in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  See you on the dance floor!

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Thursdays, November 1st, 8th, 22nd, 29th ~ 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.  NOTE: no class on the 15th as I will be in Gettysburg!

Thursdays, November 1st, 8th, 22nd, 29th ~ Moscow, Russia
Unusual 1910s Dances (VK post - in Russian)
8:30-10:00pm
First in my 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.  NOTE: no class on the 15th as I will be in Gettysburg!

Saturday-Sunday, November 3rd-4th ~ Kyiv, Ukraine
Kyiv Waltz Weekend (Facebook event for weekend) (Facebook event for afterparty)
Weekend of waltz workshops and dances, primarily cross-step.  Four hours of classes per day and a Sunday afterparty with DJ music - a combination of waltz and other social dances.

Tuesdays, November 6th, 13th, 20th  ~ 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 26th.

Tuesdays, November 6th, 13th, 20th ~ 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 26th.

Friday & Saturday, November 16th & 17th ~ Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
The 16th Annual Remembrance Day Dinner & Ball (Facebook community) 
5:30pm-midnight each day.  TWO nights!  TWO formal dinners!  TWO balls!  Both evenings are formal Civil War-era events with pre-1865 costume (civilian or military) required.  Advance reservations (dinner and ball or ball-only) are needed, and this event generally sells out well in advance!  Friday night's ball is Fancy Dress/Masquerade with a Scottish/Tartan theme, complete with a piper to lead the Grand March.  Saturday will feature a patriotic theme.  I will be calling both evenings this year, with live music both nights and different dance programs!

Tuesday, November 26th ~ Moscow, Russia
Themeless Waltz Party
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: November 1, 6-14, 19-30
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA: November 17

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Coming in December: a weekend of historical dance in Vladimir!

An Incident of Parisian Society, 1885

...or, at least, a story about an incident.  I don't have any way to prove that it actually occurred.  But true or not, the story illustrates something I've been noticing about fancy dress balls over the course of the last month.  The story was published in issue #40 (March, 1885) of The Nassau Literary Magazine, which was and is associated with Princeton University and is fully indexed online.  The author was John Cass (J. C.) Mathis, Princeton class of 1886, the author of twenty-eight pieces for the magazine from 1884 to 1886.  These appear to have included fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, so it's hard to say from his publication record whether this story was memoir or fiction.  I lean toward thinking it was the latter, but even as fiction, it's an interesting example of what was seen to be realistic at the time.

The story was supposedly related to Mathis by a friend who had just returned from a tour of Europe.  While there, this nameless friend and become close to Victor, son of a prominent family.  It was ball season in Paris, between New Year's and Lent, and Mathis' friend was invited to a fancy dress ball at the home of Victor's mother, Madam de Brissac.  Apparently masks were worn as well as costumes.  Details are given only of one: a lady in Spanish costume with whom Mathis' friend was quite taken:

There was one face and form that was especially attractive from amongst them all.  She was of a southern type of beauty, dark, tall and graceful.  She wore a Spanish costume of rich black good, cut low in front, and sleeveless, with diamond ornaments.  I approached her.  We strolled into the conservatory, we promenaded, we danced.  I was struck with her beauty and many charms; but, in the whirl of excitement, soon found myself at the side of another.  Throughout the evening, however, I kept my eyes upon this lady in black.  She was always prominent, always surrounded by admirers, always smiling, always pleasing those around her.  I was deeply interested, and that night I dreamt of sunny Spain.

Mathis' friend left out a few pertinent details here, presumably for storytelling effect. 

Halloween Cotillion Figures

I'd previously avoided posting any of the actual Halloween figures given in H. Layton Walker's Twentieth Century Cotillion Figures (Two Step Publishing Company, Buffalo, New York, 1912), simply because each one is so short that any one didn't seem like enough material to make a decent blog post.  But in combination, these four figures actually touch on different elements that might be useful for anyone planning an early twentieth century Halloween-themed event.

Taking the four figures in the order in which they appear in Walker:

Say boo!

What would a Halloween ball be without some weird early twentieth-century cotillion figures?  Here's a pair from St. Louis dancing master Jacob Mahler's 1900 compilation Original Cotillion Figures.  One is, I think, genuinely creepy.  The other isn't as scary, but requires a ridiculously complex prop.  Both would require substantial preparation and stage-managing and are best suited to small events.

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Camping.
Adolph Newberger, New York City, N. Y.

Eight couple dance to the merry strains of a two-step.  Each participant selects a new partner, and the sixteen couple arrange themselves around tent.  All now dance toward tents, constructed of thin paper and erected for the purpose in the four corners of the room, the gentlemen concealing themselves within, as the ladies dance once around the tents.  Four masculine hands are thrust through the paper walls; at a given signal each lady seizes one of the protruding hands, and proceeds to draw its owner through the tent, making him captive for the dance.

Perhaps I'm oversensitive to things suddenly bursting out of walls, but I have some trouble with this figure.  Sure, why doesn't everyone just two-step merrily around the room until the ball suddenly turns into a scene out of Repulsion...

A Fancy Dress Ball, Singapore, 1884

Originally posted in substantially similar form on February 11, 2011, at Historical Fancy Dress.

As can be seen from my other posts about fancy dress and masquerade balls, newspapers from the eighteenth century well into the twentieth often published lists of the costumes worn by the guests.  The lists were often provided in advance of the actual event, so it's possible not all of the costumes worked out, as anyone who's ever tried to finish a costume at the last minute before a ball will understand. 

The costumes were evidently more important than the dancing; while lists of outfits are routine in these writeups, full dance programs are rare and any information at all is not very common.  This apparently held true even halfway around the world.  The excerpts and costume lists below are from a fancy dress ball held by British expatriates in Singapore (!) in 1884.  The sole mention of dancing is the opening quadrille.

A Calico Ball, British Columbia, 1885

As described by Lucie Armstrong in The Ball-Room Guide (London and New York, c1880):

The Calico Ball is a fancy ball at which the dresses are made of calico.  Sateen, chintz and velveteen are allowable, and any other material which is made of cotton.  The invitation, of course, states the nature of the ball.

It really seems to have been primarily about the fabric rather than any costume theme, though obviously some costumes will work better when made out of cottons than others.  She goes on to make some suggestions.  For ladies: a dairymaid, a charity girl from St. Giles', or a Dresden shepherdess.  For gentlemen: a Maltese peasant, Albanian costume, Saxon dress, or an Italian peasant.

The anonymous author of Masquerades, tableaux and drills (New York, 1906) added more details:

Gloves are mitts are seldom used at calico balls, although they are permissible.  Regarding materials for calico-ball costumes -- there are, besides calico, many dainty fabrics, cotton crêpes and the like, which may be made up most artistically; however, there is most fun when all the costumes are made of the old-fashioned calico.  Ribbon, net, and tinsel trimmings are allowable.  Among the costumes most generally chosen for calico balls are peasant and shepherdess dresses, and those for fish girls, flower girls and charity girls; poudré and watteau costumes and those for Cinderella, Mother Hubbard, waiting-maids, Bo-Peep, Dolly Varden or almost any of those suggested and pictured throughout these pages.  The men at such balls wear simply made character costumes or dress suits made of "calico"; or sometimes ordinary dress suits faced with bright cambric or flowered fabrics.  

So how did they do in Victoria, British Columbia, on the evening of Wednesday, December 9th, 1885?  As reported by the Daily Colonist on the morning of the 10th, at the calico party held by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Dunsmuir,

The Hewitts' Plant Party, 1898

Originally posted in substantially similar form on September 24, 2010, at Historical Fancy Dress.

Jumping forward in time, from The New York Times on February 18, 1898 comes a full description of a very successful themed fancy dress event: a "Plant Party".  The ladies were asked to dress in some "representative" costume, while the gentlemen were expected to appear in ordinary evening clothes and were given something like a vegetable boutonniere at the door.  Supposedly, this was copied from something that Louis XVI did it at Versailles.  I'd certainly like to see a description of that!

Sadly, very little information is given about the dancing: there was some, informal, after supper, and with no cotillion.

No full list of costumes was published, but there are some excellent examples at the end of how the ladies trimmed their gowns to match the theme.

I've transcribed the entire article below.

Mrs. Walker's Masqued Ball, 1804

Jumping from the mid-eighteenth to the early nineteenth century:

I first came across a description of Mrs. Walker's Masqued Ball as it was published in a Philadelphia journal, The Port-Folio, on January 19, 1805, with a credit to the The Morning Post, a noted London newspaper which famously covered the social activities of the upper classes in Regency England. 

For several years, I had the article filed under the date 1805, but with a suspicious note attached because the outdoor party described (with a hostess concerned about the possibility of the heat being "oppressive") didn't sound likely to have occurred in January, even in England.  I still haven't found the original Morning Post article, but I did turn up a shorter version of the same description (minus all the costume information) that was published in The Lancaster Gazette (of Lancaster, England, not Lancaster, Pennsylvania) on Saturday, July 14, 1804, with one critical word present:

on Wednesday se'nnight         [emphasis mine]

In the longer piece in The Port-Folio, this line was altered to "on Wednesday evening", presumably because it was being reprinted seven months later.  I believe that "se'nnight" would make the date of the ball Wednesday, July 4th, 1804, a much more sensible date for an outdoor event.

British newspapers covered many masqued balls, but most of the descriptions weren't quite as detailed as this one.  I've included a transcription of the entire article (Port-Folio version) below.  I'll just pick out a few of the points that really caught my eye.

The Duke of Bolton's Masquerade, 1769

On Thursday, June 1st, 1769, Admiral Harry Powlett (sometimes Paulet), the sixth Duke of Bolton, held a masquerade, or masked ball, at his Hampshire estate, Hackwood Park. 

The sixth duke, shown at left in a portrait by Frances Cotes (courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; original here), had had an exciting few years.  Widowed in 1764, he remarried early in 1765 and that summer succeeded to the ducal title after the suicide of his brother, the fifth duke.  He had two or three daughters by 1769, one from his first wife who was probably in her teens by then, and at least one toddler by his second wife.  The third daughter's date of birth is unknown, but as she was by the second wife, it was sometime after 1765, so there may have been another young girl in the family in 1769.  More biographical information and details about his naval career may be found at Wikipedia.

The ducal title went extinct after the sixth duke died with no male children -- the Lord Bolton referred to by Jane Austen in 1799 ("One of my gayest actions was sitting down two dances in preference to having Lord Bolton's eldest son for my partner, who danced too ill to be endured.") was the husband of the sixth duke's heiress, an illegitimate niece.  He was created Baron Bolton upon marriage.  The ill-dancing eldest son was William, later the second Baron Bolton.

Though it is no longer owned by Bolton descendants, Hackwood Park has survived and continues to this day to be one of England's most famous estates.  Its history goes back to the thirteenth century, with the current house having been built in the late seventeenth century and undergone significant changes to the facade in the early nineteenth.  It is particularly famous for its "garden wood", which was to have been used for the Masquerade, though the plan didn't work out due to weather.  The park was painted by Paul Sandby in the early 1760s.  More information about the estate and its history may be found here and here.  For those with money to burn, Hackwood Park has been on sale since 2016 (asking price then, around £65 million) and is currently listed by Christie's, with many gorgeous pictures, here.

The description of the Duke's masquerade was published on pages 296-297 of The Court Miscellany for June, 1769, a copy of which is held by the Watkinson Library at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.  All quotes below are from this article.  

October 2018 Gig Calendar

Back in Moscow for the school year!  I'll be doing four courses this autumn on cross-step waltz and historical dance plus a small waltz party at the end of the month.  No travel before November as I settle in!

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Tuesdays, October 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd ~ 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 30th.

Tuesdays, October 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd ~ 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 30th.

Thursdays, October 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th ~ 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, October 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th ~ Moscow, Russia
Unusual 1910s Dances (VK post - in Russian)
8:30-10:00pm
First in my 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.

Tuesday, October 30th ~ Moscow, Russia
Halloween Waltz Party (VK post - in Russian)
7:00-10:00pm.  Waltz, waltz, and more waltz.  Light refreshments.  Costumes encouraged!

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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: October 1-31

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Coming in November: a waltz weekend in Kyiv, Ukraine, and a quick trip to the USA for two Remembrance Day balls in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania!

Rothard's One-Step

This one-step sequence appears in the second edition of F. Leslie Clendenen's 1914 compilation, Dance Mad.  It is titled simply "One Step" with the attribution "by E. Clarence Rothard".  Rothard is listed in the thank-you credits in the back of the second edition, but his location is not given and a cursory search has not turned up any specific information about him.  An "Edna Rothard Passapae" was teaching dance in Newark, New Jersey, by at least 1918 and might have been the daughter of E. Clarence, since it was not unusual for daughters to follow their parents as dance teachers.  But even if she was, that doesn't necessarily mean that E. Clarence Rothard was also based in New Jersey.

Rothard's one-step is quite a lengthy sequence.  There are eight separate sections of the dance, some of which are repeated.  The overall pattern of the dance segments is ABCCDEFGHDH, each letter representing four bars of 2/4 music (eight beats) for a 44-bar (88-beat) dance.

The specified tune is "Hungarian Rag" (left; click to enlarge), a popular 1913 composition by German-American composer Julius Lenzberg adapted from Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies.  The piece is still well-known; period recordings of it may be found here and here, and a modern version here.  The sheet music is available online at the Charles Templeton Sheet Music Collection of Mississippi State University.

The sheet music is notated as 16b (repeated), 16b (repeated), 20b, 16b, and 16b.  How exactly this is supposed match up with a 44b dance is an interesting question, but since the dance is broken into four-bar units, one can make it fit by adding another repeat of one of the 16b strains for a total of 132 bars, which allows for three times through the dance.