Capering & Kickery

Steampunk Victorian, New Jersey & Maryland (May 20~21~22~27, 2011)

Over the next couple of weeks I'll be doing dance at various events in the Steampunk style, that being a deliberate "punking" of Victorian costume, fashion, and pastimes.  For me, this means tweaking Victorian dances -- altering their format, doing them to modern music, changing the moves, etc. -- while still keeping a generally Victorian framework.  I'll also be doing some lectures and workshops with straight historical material.

This weekend, May 20-22, I will be appearing at the Steampunk World's Fair in Somerset, New Jersey and doing several dance-related events: a ball, workshops, and lectures, as follows:

Friday, May 20th, 4pm-5pm
Victorian Ballroom Etiquette Talk
Victorian ballroom etiquette for beginners.  Proper bows and courtesies, how to perform introductions (and what you can do when youhave one) and the secret strategies of the dance card!

Friday, May 20th, 8pm-11pm
Formal Dance: The Big Brass Ball Part 1
Join us for a time-traveling formal evening at the Big Brass Ball!  Enjoy Victorian and Victorian-inspired set dances and spin madly with your partner to romantic waltzes and lively polkas.  No previous experience is needed; all dances will be taught by dance historian
Susan de Guardiola.  Music will be an eclectic mix of modern and nineteenth century.  Formal costume encouraged!

Saturday, May 21st, 2pm-3pm 
Germans: Silly Victorian Dance Games
What those wacky Victorians got up to in the ballroom after a few drinks too many!  Blindfolds, musical chairs, fan-slapping and more.  Freud would love it!

Saturday, May 21st, 4pm-5pm 
Victorian Dance Workshop I: Polkamania!
In-depth lesson on two popular Victorian ballroom dances, polka and
schottische and dancing to historical and modern music!  No experience
needed!

Sunday, May 22nd, 3pm-4pm
Victorian Dance workshop II: Whirl of Waltz
The secrets of how to spin madly around the dance floor in Victorian-style waltzing to a wild mix of historical and modern music!  No experience needed!

 

Then next weekend, May 27-30, I will head down to Baltimore, Maryland, for the science fiction convention Balticon, where I will do yet another Steampunk Ball:

Friday, May 27th, 10:00pm-midnight
Dancing in the Gears Steam Punk Ball
Attention all aeronauts, aethernauts, lady and gentleman adventurers, mad scientists, inventors, and other Steampunks and neo-Victorians! Join us at 10 pm  Friday night at for a time-traveling formal evening at the Steampunk Ball!  Become part of the living clockwork of Victorian and Victorian-inspired set dances and spin madly with your partner to romantic waltzes and lively polkas. No previous experience is needed; all dances will be taught by dance mistress Susan de Guardiola. Music will be an eclectic mix of modern and nineteenth century. Steampunk, neo-Victorian, or Victorian costume encouraged and admired but not required. Airships and time machines should be parked outside the ballroom. No sabers, ray guns, or clanks permitted on the dance floor.

Santa Clara Waltz Weekend, Bay Area, California (June 17-19, 2011)

This is a bit off-topic for Kickery, but may be of interest to historical dancers who enjoy seeing what's happening with the waltz in the modern social dance world.

From June 17-19, I will be the co-director (but not teaching at) Santa Clara Waltz Weekend, in Santa Clara, California.  This will be a weekend of free-spirited and creative modern social dance outside the modern ballroom/Dancesport framework.  The primary focus will be waltz (rotary waltz, cross-step waltz, fusion waltz, blues waltz, and other modern forms), and the teaching staff will include top teachers from the Bay Area (Richard Powers, Joan Walton), Seattle (Ari Levitt), and Texas (Campbell Miller and Chris Mayer).

The venue is lovely (and air-conditioned) Santa Clara University, with nice sprung-wood dance floors.

For more information, please see the event webpage, or leave a comment here with any questions not answered there.

Regency, Early Foxtrot, and Cross-Step Waltz Workshops, NYC (Sunday, May 8, 2011)

I will be teaching a trio of workshops sponsored by The Vintage Dance Society and Specialty Productions in New York City this Sunday, May 8th, two of which focus on historical dance and one on modern cross-step waltz.

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 $14 per workshop, two for $24, or -- a special deal -- take all three for only a dollar more, $25.  No pre-registration needed -- just show up!

Here's the official announcement:

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

Join dance historian/teacher Susan de Guardiola for a smorgasbord of dance classes including the lively set dances of the Regency era, the smooth moves of the pre-World War I foxtrot, and the very latest in modern waltzes, cross-step waltz!

12:00-1:45    1810s: Regency Set Dances
Learn the steps and figures of the delightful country dances and quadrilles of the English Regency era, the time of Jane Austen, Lord Byron, and the Napoleonic Wars!

2:00-3:45    1910s: Early Foxtrot
Learn the basic steps and a dozen easy variations on the popular ballroom foxtrot of the pre-World War I era, the very earliest days of the popular modern dance!

4:00-5:45    2010s: Today's Cross-Step Waltz
Learn this beautiful, flowing waltz form perfectly suited to slow waltz music. Easy to learn, endlessly innovative, satisfying for beginners as well as experienced dancers! Basic turns plus new variations to spice up your dancing!

No experience is required, and these classes are intended to be accessible to less experienced dancers, but previous dance experience will be helpful.

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!  Flat shoes are strongly preferred for the Regency class.

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.