Capering & Kickery

Branle de la Guerre

• Era: mid-1500s

Branle de la Guerre, the "branle of war," is another of the miscellaneous branles couppez (cut branles) described by Thoinot Arbeau in his 1589 dance manual, Orchésographie (available in an English translation by Mary Stewart Evans as Orchesography).  Other branles couppez include the suite of branles de Champagne couppez discussed here and branle de Charlotte, here.  Branles couppez are characterized by a mix of steps, kicks, and jumps derived from the opening set of branles, with the occasional insertion of "mesures diverses" which do not follow the regular rhythms of the opening set.

Julia Sutton, in her extensive notes on the Evans translation, suggests that this was most likely a miming dance of some kind, though Arbeau's presentation of the branle without any commentary or even a hint of any body motions or miming makes me consider this unlikely.  The tempo changes of the steps are enough to make it interesting even to modern dancers.

This branle is often taught as being divided into "peace" (the slow opening section) and "war" (the faster second section).  There is no textual justification for this; Arbeau makes no comment about this branle at all other than including it in his list of branles couppez.  Also note that while the branles Guerre, Aridan, and Charlotte are often added to the Champagne suite in the order in which they appear in Orchésographie (Charlotte-Guerre-Aridan), Arbeau does not actually describe them as part of that suite, merely as some of the "infinity of others" in the subtype of branles couppez.

Regency & Ragtime Dance Workshops, NYC (Sunday, June 28, 2009)

I will be teaching two dance workshops for The Elegant Arts Society in New York City this Sunday, June 28th.  Logistical details are below.

The first (1:00-3:45pm) will focus on the dances of the Regency era (1810-1820), including steps and figures for country dances and French quadrilles.  Specifically, we will dance and look at a step-sequences to use in Le Pantalon, L'Eté,  La Poule, and La Trenise (first through fourth figures of the French quadrille) and the first, second, and fourth figures of The Caledonians.  Depending on available time, we will also enjoy a Spanish Dance and an 1816 version of the classic Money Musk as well as the Scotch Reel for six and -- numbers permitting -- the amazing reel for nine people (and one hat) known as the Bumpkin.

The second class (4:00-6:00pm) will focus on some of the more unusual dance fads of the mid-1910s.  We'll dance the simple and delightful Lulu Fado (featuring a mix of two-step and walking sequences with finger-snapping and clapping) and work on some essential moves for the swaying Brazilian maxixe (as filtered through France and America) and the half and half, an unusual waltz in 5/4 time.

Both of the above are beginner-level classes.  No experience is needed, no partner is required, and clean leather-soled flat shoes (or low heels for the ladies for the second class; no spike heels!) are recommended.  Gender balance is not guaranteed.

The classes are held at Dick Shea's (a capoeira studio), 104 W. 14th Street at 6th Avenue, New York City.  Ring buzzer #3, up 2 flights, first door on the right.  For more information, please email EAS.

The Regency class costs $18, or $12 for people attending for the first time; the Ragtime class costs $15, or $12 if paid in advance (no later than 6/26) via Paypal cash transfer (NO CREDIT CARDS) to [email protected].

CD Review: Knockout Drops

I'm frequently asked for recommendations for period dance music, especially for the turn-of-the-century ragtime era of the 1890s-1910s.  Fortunately, there are quite a few CDs which are commercially available and useful to the social dancer, among them the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra's 1997 album, Knockout Drops.

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra is a leading exponent of vintage American popular music with the rich and varied sound of a twelve-piece orchestra (wind, brass, percussion, and strings).  Working from period orchestral scores, they play concerts, radio shows, and silent film programs as well as producing several CDs and a DVD with their accompaniment to the silent film, The Mark of Zorro.  Though as far as I can tell they do not play for dance events, they include a great deal of lively dance music in their repertoire, much of which is played in a way usable for dancing (not always a given with music played as concert pieces).  I recommend Knockout Drops for anyone searching for good one-steps and two-steps as well as for those who simply enjoy popular American music of this period.

Paragon director Rick Benjamin's liner notes contain a wealth of detail about the history of ragtime music and about the historical context of the tunes and their composers.  The title of this CD is taken from the first track, Frank Klickmann's "Knockout Drops," about which the notes say it is:

a ribald allusion to the shocking modis-operandi of the White Slaver, much in the news that year with the passage of a Federal law "prohibiting the interstate transportation of women and girls for immoral purposes."

Musically, Knockout Drops features a rich selection of popular tunes of the ragtime era.  It includes two Scott Joplin rags and a Sousa march as well as good recordings of old favorites such as "The Teddy Bear's Picnic" and "At a Georgia Campmeeting."  One-step and foxtrot medleys incorporate tunes such as "I Ain't Got Nobody" and "Ragtime Cowboy Joe," and an amazing 1905 two-step medley includes a whole cornucopia of Civil War-era songs from "Battle Hymn of the Republic" to "Dixie."

Though many of the tunes are given dance types (one-step, foxtrot, etc.), not all of them are usable as labeled.  Looking at the tunes purely as dance pieces, Knockout Drops includes:

Alternating the One- and Three-Slide Rackets

• Era: 1880s into very early 1900s

Combining the one-slide rackets and three-slide rackets previously described creates an interestingly varied dance which is referred to by the prominent late-nineteenth-century dancing master Melvin B. Gilbert simply as the Racket, with no further descriptor.  The unadorned term is used by other writers to refer to several different variations in both 2/4 and 3/4 time, however, leaving us with unwieldy labels such as Allen Dodworth's "Alternating the One Slide and Three Slide to Galop."

Whatever one may call it, the sequence is not difficult once both the one-slide and three-slide rackets have been mastered.  Conceptually, one simply alternates two bars of one with two bars of the other to build an eight-bar sequence.  For the one-slide racket, two bars will be moving to the left and right (in whichever order); for the three-slide racket, two bars means moving either to the left or to the right.  So sequences may be built as follows:

2b   three-slide to left
2b   one-slide to right, one-slide to left
2b   three-slide to right
2b   one-slide to left, one-slide to right

The sequence may be commenced at any of the two-bar moves given above, though since one generally leads off a sequence with the left foot either the first or last pair of bars are the logical starting points.  Broken down into steps (given for the gentleman; the lady dances opposite), the sequence in the order given above would be:

The Three-Slide Racket

• Era: 1880s into very early 1900s

The three-slide racket extends the two-bar repeat pattern of the one-slide racket previously described into a four-bar pattern which has a more galop-like feel and is somewhat easier to initiate.  It is described in the major dance late-nineteenth-century dance manuals of M.B. Gilbert and Allen Dodworth and in two minor compilation manuals, one of which (Cartier's Practical Illustrated Waltz Instructor) names it "The Wave."

The instructions below are for the gentleman; the lady dances opposite.  The dancers start in a normal late-nineteenth-century ballroom hold with joined hands angled forward at a diagonal along the line of dance.  Like the one-slide racket, the three-slide racket follows a zig-zag track along the line of dance; there is no turning involved.

The Galop Racket or One-Slide Racket

• Era: 1880s into very early 1900s

The galop racket or one-slide racket is the simplest of the various rackets and is described under  both names in different sources.  In one Parisian manual it is simply "La Raquette," though most other sources agree that "the" racket is a compound sequence mixing two different racket rhythms.  Prominent New England dancing master M.B. Gilbert explained it simply as "Pas de Basque sidewise" in 2/4 time.

The instructions below are for the gentleman; the lady dances opposite.  The dancers start in a normal late-nineteenth-century ballroom hold with joined hands angled forward at a diagonal along the line of dance.  The dance follows a zig-zag track along the line of dance; there is no turning involved.

Introducing the racket

The racket, or racquet, is one of the major new couple dances that began appearing in American dance manuals in the early 1880s and lingered into the beginning of the twentieth century.  It spread to France in the mid- to late 1890s.  I have found no information on its origins or reference to any creator.

The racket is a lively dance that combines sideways slides and quick cuts of the feet back and forth.  It can be danced in both galop (2/4) and waltz (3/4) time, though galop time appears to be the default.  It was one of the few of the myriad couple dance variations of the last quarter of the nineteenth century to make it into manuals like Allen Dodworth's Dancing and its Relation to Education and Social Life (New York, 1885, reprinted 1900), which for the most part included only the most commonly-found couple dances.  (He did include one of his own invention, the Knickerbocker, and the up-and-coming Boston.)

Unlike most other couple dances of the late nineteenth century, the racket has one very unusual characteristic: it seems not to rotate.  While not all of the authors who describe the dance say anything about rotation, those that do generally agree:

• Dodworth said of the racket that it "cannot be said to be a revolving dance -- say, rather, a dance of angles, there being no full turn...By simply changing the angle of the slide to every possible direction, the whole dance is accomplished."  

• M.B. Gilbert noted in Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) that the turn "is only sufficient to allow the three slides to follow the same direction each time."

• Both Edna Witherspoon, in The Perfect Art of Modern Dancing (London & New York, 1894) and Marguerite Wilson, in Dancing (Philadelphia, 1899, reprinted regularly through the 1920s) agreed that "No full turn is made" and "The slide is made in every possible direction during the dance."  

Dodworth and Gilbert were major dancing masters of this era and are particularly authoritative sources.  Witherspoon and Wilson both draw heavily on Dodworth.  

Other late nineteenth-century couple dances make a half-turn every measure (waltz, polka) or two (galop, polka mazurka) or have a longer pattern involving some straight-line travel followed by turning (schottische).  Gilbert recorded dozens and dozens of couple dances created by individual dancing masters in the 1870s and 1880s, and while he did not always specify turning (which was pretty much a given in this era), none of the others include language like the racket's.

Could Gilbert be interpreted as calling for regular half-turns in the same direction, which are what allow the slides in the galop to follow the same direction each time?  It seems unlikely to me; he did not need to change his phrasing for that.  He could simply have said that a half-turn is made at the end of a measure (or two, depending on the length of the particular racket variant), as he did with many other dances.  

Rather than make a half-turn at the end of each step-sequence, I think Gilbert was implying that you turn first one clockwise, then counter-clockwise, putting first the gentleman's left shoulder, then his right shoulder, toward the line of dance without making a complete rotation.  That would accord with Dodworth's clearer statement.  

This sort of twisting back and forth is easiest if the dancers move along the line of dance in a sort of zigzag pattern, using the cuts back and forth at the end of each racket pattern to change the angle of travel.  On the longer racket variants, this means a lot of travel toward the center of the room and out to the wall again, which can be quite dangerous in the high-speed galop, in particular, since other dancers will be taking fairly straight paths along the line of dance.

Except in Wilson's book, which was reprinted unchanged for a quarter-century despite growing more and more out-of-date, mentions of the racket peter out in the early twentieth century, along with most of the other new couple dances of the 1870s and 1880s.  But I did find one much later reference, though not to it as a current dance.  The racket appeared on a list of dances in Betty Lee's Dancing (first edition, 1934; my copy is dated 1942) which was supposed to represent a program that her mother would have danced at a ball.  It was listed in company with popular nineteenth-century dances: waltz, polka, schottische, Lanciers, redowa, mazurka, Varsovienne, etc.

The racket had five major variations and one unusual one that may have been dreamed up by Dodworth.  I'm going to post a short series on the galop-time rackets over the next week or two and continue on to the waltz-time rackets as I have time.  I don't think racket quite rates its own category, so I'll put links to each post here to provide a single central list.

Racket-related posts on Kickery (edited several times 2009-2015):
        Galop Racket or One-Slide Racket (galop time)
        Three-Slide Racket (galop time)
        Alternating One- and Three-Slide Rackets ("The" Racket) (galop time)

Racket Waltz or The Society (one-slide in waltz time)
Two-Slide Racket (waltz time)
Alternating One- and Three-Slide Rackets (waltz time)
    (this incorporates an unusual three-slide racket in waltz time)

Reconstructing a problematic racket description

Newport Vintage Dance Week (Rhode Island, July 27-August 2, 2009)

I will be teaching at Newport Vintage Dance Week, sponsored by The Commonwealth Vintage Dancers, later this summer.  There are still openings to sign up for the week, especially for couples and single men; I believe single women are currently being wait-listed.

Newport is a lovely event with formal balls in three eras: 1890s, held at the Astors' Beechwood mansion; 1860s, held at the Rotunda Ballroom (with a carousel to ride at the breaks); and 1910s, held at Glen Manor House with a dinner beforehand.  There are also three evenings of informal dancing, a silent movie showing, and a "swap and sell" for vintage clothing and other items of interest.  Typically, there is also a formal afternoon tea one day, and there is time off to tour in Newport, play croquet, or simply relax.  During the daytimes, there will be workshops in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century dance.  The dance spaces and accommodations in this year's venue (Roger Williams University) are air-conditioned.

I will be teaching the Intermediate/Advanced Nineteenth-Century Dance class.  While I haven't finalized exactly what I'm teaching, so this is subject to change, it will likely be some combination of:

- rackets and racket waltzes (1880s-1890s)
- mid- and late nineteenth-century schottische variations (probably including the gliding five-step scottische)
- two-step (c1900)

The plan for racket and schottische variations grows from one of my current dance/reconstruction interests, rhythm variations and syncopations in nineteenth-century dance; posts here on the various rackets will probably follow along in July or August.  The two-step will serve as an easy, relaxing windup to the week after I have over-filled peoples' brains and tired their legs out with jumping around for the first few days of the class.

The other members of the teaching staff this year are:
Joan Walton (Intermediate/Advanced Twentieth Century and Twentieth Century Specialty)
Marc Casslar (Basic Twentieth Century and Nineteenth Century Specialty)
Barbara Pugliese (Basic Nineteenth Century and the Prince Imperial Quadrille)

Full details about the week, including a tentative schedule, are on the CVD website.

Round Two Step: A 1903 Dance Mixer

Mixer dances, where all the participants shift partners at intervals, are useful icebreakers at dance events.  In A Complete Practical Guide to Modern Society Dancing (1903), Philadelphia dancing master Albert W. Newman offers a simple mixer for use with the then-fashionable two-step, asserting hopefully that

This dance is rapidly gaining popularity, as it is most enjoyable.

The dancers take partners and hold hands in a grand circle, with each gentleman standing to the left of his partner, and all circle to the left (clockwise).  The dance leader calls out a number (3, 7, 12, etc.), and all the dancers face their partners and begin a grand chain, giving right hands to their partners and pulling by, left to the next, right to the next, left to the next, etc.  As they move, they count people, starting with their partners as "one."  When they reach the number called out by the leader, each takes ballroom position with that person and two-step until the leader gives a signal (typically a whistle), at which point all the dancers open up into a grand circle and once again circle to the left. 

This sequence is repeated as many times as desired, with the leader calling a different number each time so that the dancers end up with new partners after each grand chain.

Newman suggests that the Round Two Step is not only a standalone mixer but also a suitable final figure for a German, or cotillion, a type of party involving a series of dance games.

This style of circle-and-chain mixer was later known as a Paul Jones, possibly after a piece of popular music.  Similar mixers remain current in some living tradition dance forms today.

Regency & Ragtime Dance Workshops, NYC (Sunday, June 7, 2009)

I will be teaching two dance workshops for The Elegant Arts Society in New York City this Sunday, June 7th.  Logistical details are below.

The first (1:00-3:45pm) will focus on the dances of the Regency era (1810-1820), including steps and figures for country dances and French quadrilles.  Specifically, we will dance and look at a step-sequences to use in Le Pantalon, L'Eté,  La Poule, and La Trenise (first through fourth figures of the French quadrille) and the first, second, and fourth figures of The Caledonians.  Depending on available time, we will also enjoy a Spanish Dance and an 1816 version of the classic Money Musk as well as the Scotch Reel for six and -- numbers permitting -- the amazing reel for nine people (and one hat) known as the Bumpkin.

The second class (4:00-6:00pm) will focus on the turn-of-the-century two-step during its period of overwhelming popularity in the late 1890s and early 1900s, when it was danced to the lively marches of composers such as John Philip Sousa.  This will include the basic step in both 2/4 and 3/4 time, simple variations, and sequences such as the Très-Chic and Tantivy which can be used to liven up the basic two-step.

Both of the above are beginner-level classes.  No experience is needed, no partner is required, and clean leather-soled flat shoes (or low heels for the ladies for the second class; no spike heels!) are recommended.  Gender balance is not guaranteed.

The classes are held at Dick Shea's (a capoeira studio), 104 W. 14th Street at 6th Avenue, New York City.  Ring buzzer #3, up 2 flights, first door on the right.  For more information, please email EAS.

The Regency class costs $18, or $12 for people attending for the first time; the Ragtime class costs $15, or $12 if paid in advance (no later than 6/5) via Paypal cash transfer (NO CREDIT CARDS) to [email protected].