Capering & Kickery

Sailing Masters of Essex Regency Ball, Essex, Connecticut (May 14, 2011)

On Saturday, May 14th, in Essex, Connecticut, I will once again be calling the dancing at the Sailing Masters of 1812 Regency Ball.

The ball is part of the annual Burning of the Ships commemoration, a larger event featuring a parade of fife and drum corps from all over the state, riverside reenactment, and children's activities at the Connecticut River Museum.

The ball itself will be held from 8:00-11:00pm at Essex Town Hall.  I will be leading a lively selection of country dances and quadrille figures (and perhaps a scandalous waltz or two) accompanied by my favorite dance musicians, Spare Parts.  This will be a very beginner-friendly ball; those intimidated by Regency-era stepwork should not worry -- with this size group, steps won't be emphasized much beyond an encouragement to skip, though fancy footwork is always welcome from those who know it.

Tickets to the ball are only $18 per person in advance, $20 at the door (space permitting).  They may be ordered in advance by phone using a credit card.

More information may be found at the ball's website here. There is also a Facebook page.

New England Folk Festival (NEFFA), Mansfield, Massachusetts (Saturday-Sunday, April 16-17, 2011)

I'll be teaching a trio of workshops this weekend at the New England Folk Festival (NEFFA), covering 1910s dance and a couple of waltz styles.

My three sessions:

- Saturday, 10:00AM Introduction to Waltz (recorded music).  Basic rotary waltz, easy modern variations.

- Saturday, 6:30PM Introduction to Ragtime Dance (with Calliope). 1910s one-step, two-step, and foxtrot basics.

- Sunday, 1:00PM Cross-Step Waltz (with Calliope).  Basics and easy variations for this flowing modern waltz form perfect for slow waltz music.

In between all this, I hope to get in some good contra and English country dance, attend some interesting dance workshop sessions (Latin Waltz, Argentine Tango) and do a little hoopdance jamming out in the hoped-for sunshine.

As always, I'd be happy to chat with Kickery readers.  The best time to catch me is right after one of my sessions.

Two Hundred Years of Waltz - Workshops, NYC (Sunday, April 10, 2011)

I will be teaching a trio of workshops sponsored by The Vintage Dance Society and Specialty Productions in New York City this Sunday, April 10th, two of which focus on nineteenth-century waltz and one on modern-day variations.

The workshops will be held at the DANY Studios, Studio 10, on West 38th Street between 8th and 9th, from 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm.  No experience is necessary and no partner is needed. 

The cost is $15 per workshop, two for $25, or all three for $35.  No pre-registration needed -- just show up!

Here's the official announcement:

Specialty Productions and The Vintage Dance Society present: a day of waltzes from the 1810s through the 2010s!

Join dance historian/teacher Susan de Guardiola for a smorgasbord of rotary waltz as a freestyle couple dance, sequence dance, and formation dance from its earliest days in the Regency era to the modern waltzes of today.

12:00-1:45 The Regency Waltz
Travel back to the 1810s and 1820s in the earliest days of the waltz’s popularity! Enjoy the beautiful “attitudes” of the arms in the Regency-era turning waltz, learn the lively leaps of the sauteuse, and enjoy a selection of Regency-era country dances and quadrille figures in waltz time.

2:00-3:45 Late Victorian Waltz Quadrilles & Sequence Dances
Jump forward to the end of the nineteenth century and the beautiful square and sequence dances that mix easy figures with whirling interludes of waltz. Review the early turning waltz and then dance waltz quadrilles and early sequence dances like the Rye Waltz and the Veleta Waltz.

4:00-5:45 Living Waltz Tradition & "The Congress of Vienna"
Waltz remains a living tradition! Working from the basic turning waltz of the nineteenth century, take it into the present day with variations suited to the modern dance floor, then come full circle to learn “The Congress of Vienna,” a waltz sequence dance choreographed by John Hertz in the 1970s and inspired by illustrations of waltzers from the 1810s and 1820s.

No experience is required, and these classes are intended to be accessible to less experienced waltzers, but previous couple dance experience will be helpful. The workshops are somewhat sequential; basic turning waltz will be taught most intensely in the first workshop and reviewed more lightly in the later ones.

No partner is required, but lead/follow balance is not guaranteed.

Flat or (for ladies) low-heeled shoes with smooth soles (leather, not rubber) are recommended -- no spike heels, please!

Workshop flyers with more details may be downloaded on my workshop flyer page.

For more information about either workshop see the flyers first, then post questions here or email me.  You may also call Marc Casslar at 860-286-9191.

Some Swell New Tangos

"There may be one hundred and sixty different Tango steps, but I doubt it. I have never seen so many, and Mrs. Castle and I do not dance anything like that number."
                    -- Vernon Castle, in Modern Dancing, 1914

I certainly don't dance anything like that number myself, but it's always interesting to look at the myriad variations that one finds in different manuals of the 1910s, and today I'll spotlight some of the more unusual ones found in Bert Milton's How to Behave in a Ballroom, published in Boston in 1914.  Along with a fascinating history of the tango and many useful etiquette tips, Milton includes twelve genuinely unique moves which truly reflect the joyful spirit of pre-World War I American culture. 

Fans of animal dances will be pleased to note their intrusion into the tango via moves such as the Shrimp Wiggle and the Kitten Kuddle, while those familiar with the Lame Duck will find a fascinating new version herein.  Enjoy!