Capering & Kickery

The Sultan Polka (a polka contra dance)

Here's an easy mid-nineteenth century American contra dance well-suited to a Civil War-era ball.  I haven't looked extensively, but the only sources I seem to have it in are two manuals attributed to Elias Howe: Howe's Complete Ballroom Handbook (Boston, 1858) and American Dancing Master and Ball-Room Prompter (Boston, 1862).

The dance is given as part of a list of "polka contra dances", and the instructions are identical in both:

First lady followed by first gentleman (with arms akimbo) polka down the centre and up the outside to place--first gentleman down the centre followed by first lady, up the outside to place--first couple down the centre, back and cast off--right and left.

My reconstruction:

8b    First lady polkas down center and up outside on gents' side to place, followed by first gent
8b    First gent polkas down center and up outside on ladies' side to place, followed by first lady
8b    First couple down the center, turn individually & back, cast off to second place
8b    Rights and lefts

The gentleman at least has his arms "akimbo", meaning hands on hips, palms outward.  The lady might as well, or be holding her skirt lightly with her fingertips.

Howe suggests that the dance could end with "all Polk round the Hall" -- break the sets and all couple polka until the end of the music.

Connecticut Workshops (August, 2011)

I'm going to be teaching five workshops in August at Vinnie's Jump & Jive covering an interesting mix of early nineteenth century dance and twentieth century line dancing, as well as cross-step waltz.  Details are below.  No advance registration is necessary for any of these -- just show up at Vinnie's.

Tuesday, August 2, 8:00-9:15
Tuesday, August 30, 8:00-9:15
Jane Austen Dancing
Learn to dance like Jane Austen!  Lively country dances and quadrilles in the style of the early 19th century, much bouncier than shown in the movies.  Beginner-friendly -- steps & figures taught.  Flat, leather-soled shoes strongly recommended -- no high heels! 
$8/class or both classes for $15 -- pay at the first class.

Saturday, August 6, 2:00-3:30
Cross-Step Waltz
Learn this stylish new waltz form with easy, flowing moves perfect for slow waltz tunes and many variations borrowed from swing and tango. Accessible to new dancers and exciting for experienced waltzers!
$10

Saturday, August 6, 4:00-5:30
The Madison
It's Madison Time!  Learn the line dance featured in the original film and Broadway production of "Hairspray", as danced by Baltimore teenagers in the early 1960s! 
$8

Tuesday, August 23, 8:00-9:15
1970s Disco Line Dancing
Come party like it's 1978!  Learn the line dances and moves of the disco era, including the Line Hustle and the Saturday Night Fever line dance,  dancing to disco hits of the 1970s!
$5

Star Schottische

One of the myriad minor schottische variations described in M.B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (1890), is notable as the earliest appearance I've noticed of what has become the standard style for the first part of modern folk schottische: three running steps forward in "military position" (as described in my previous post, "À la Militaire") rather than the step-close-step of the nineteenth century dance.

Gilbert attributes the Star Schottische to W.F. Mittman.

The steps below are described for the gentleman; the lady dances on the opposite foot.

First Part (two bars of four beats each)
(take military position, side by side)
1b    Three running steps forward, left-right-left, hop on the left foot
1b    Repeat, starting with right foot

Second Part (two bars of four beats each)
(close into a normal ballroom hold)
2b    Waltz galop (two complete turns)

Gilbert does not describe what the free foot does during the hops in the first part; it could be extended into a raised fourth position forward or simply tucked next to the hopping foot. 

At the end of the first part the gentleman must move in front of the lady quickly in order to leap straight backward along the line of dance in the waltz galop.  (See my previous description of the waltz galop for how to perform this step.)

Victorian & Ragtime-Era Dance Workshops, NYC (Sunday, July 24, 2011)

I will be teaching a trio of workshops sponsored by The Vintage Dance Society and Specialty Productions in New York City this Sunday, July 24th, focusing on historical dance ranging from the American Civil War era to the early 20th century.

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 partner is required, but lead/follow balance is not guaranteed.  Experience level needed varies somewhat by workshop -- see the details below.

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 historical dancing from the Victorian era to World War I!

Join dance historian/teacher Susan de Guardiola for a smorgasbord of dance classes including the popular Civil War-era polka, the "new" waltz of the late nineteenth century, and the hesitation waltzes of the pre-World War I era.

12:00-1:45    Victorian Polka Sets 
Learn or review the essentials of the lively Victorian polka, then apply your skills in Victorian contras and quadrilles that combine intricate figures with brief bursts of polka!  Beginner level.

2:00-3:45    Late Victorian Waltz 
The “new” waltz of the 1880s which became the basis of today’s ballroom waltzes!  Gliding and leaping versions plus easy variations.  BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE: most of class will be beginner-accessible, but later variations require leaping and cutting.

4:00-5:45    Ragtime Hesitation Waltzes
Take the “new waltz” of the late Victorian era into the 1910s with techniques for dancing in 5/4 time and at half-speed for very fast waltzes plus variations for hesitation waltz and the 5/4-time “half and half”!  INTERMEDIATE; late Victorian waltz (previous class) or modern ballroom waltz experience or solid general couple dance skills.

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 Victorian class; low heels work well for the other two.

A workshop flyer in PDF form may be downloaded here.

And for those interested in pure social waltz of any kind: join us this Friday night for the first ever Big Apple Waltz -- friendly social waltzing and other couple dances in downtown Manhattan!  Details on the Big Apple Waltz website!

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

Dance Card: Y.M.P.S. Masquerade Ball, 1900

Here's a dance card from a ball given in Wisconsin on February 10, 1900, placing it halfway between two cards I had previously posted (from 1894 and 1906).  The name of the town is cut off by damage to the card, but I'd guess it to be Westboro.  The sponsoring organization is the Y.M.P.S.  The card is printed in red with an American flag in blue (click the images at left to enlarge).  The red pencil cord is still attached, though the pencil itself is long gone.

The card evidently belonged to a lady, since the first half of the card is filled with men's names.  Most appear to be in the same handwriting and it's interesting to see that some partners are recorded by first name ("Richard") others with an honorific ("Mr. LaBeau") and others with both first and last names or initials ("Otto Rindt", "Frank H.").  Frank and Richard seem to have been particularly favored partners, having received two dances each, though Frank got two quadrilles while Richard enjoyed a waltz and a polka.  The back cover is covered with mathematical scribbles -- perhaps she used it as scratch paper later.

The dance mix on the card is typical of the late nineteenth century: seven quadrilles, five waltzes (including the final "Home Sweet Home"), three polkas, two two-steps, one schottische, the Virginia Reel, the Fireman's Dance, and a Grand March

Of particular interest are the two two-steps, a newly popular dance which appears not at all on the 1894 card but, in alternation with the waltz, dominates the 1906 one, and the interesting placement of the Grand March as the ninth dance out of the twenty-one on the card, with the first dance being a quadrille.  This might be because the card is from a masquerade (costume) ball, and such balls were sometimes opened with a special Fancy Quadrille, as described on Kickery's companion blog, Historical Fancy Dress, in which a group of dancers with costumes matching a particular theme would perform:

At some fancy balls quadrilles are arranged beforehand, in which all the dancers are to be dressed after the fashion of some particular period.  One of these quadrilles should open the ball, and others may be interspersed in the programme at irregular intervals.

      -- Armstrong, Lucie.  The Ball-Room Guide.  London and New York: Frederick Warne & Co., c1880s.

 

Alive again

My apologies to my readers -- the last six months have been the worst for me actually posting anything of substance since I started this blog in 2008.  I think I've actually managed nothing but event/class announcements and an April Fool's post this year, amid a hectic teaching/traveling/writing schedule which has been wonderful in general but very bad for my blogging.

I'm still on the road for another day or so, but I promise that the next six months will get better, with a return to fairly regular posts containing actual historical dance information.

Thanks for hanging in there during this busy period!