Capering & Kickery

December 2020 Gig Calendar

Well, here we are at the last month of this very strange 2020.  As usual, I'm wrapping up my classes for the year.  As not-usual, they are online classes.  Hoping for better in 2021...

Please note: the events listed below are hosted in different cities/countries in different time zones.  Please adjust for your own time zone before planning online attendance!

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Two Saturdays, December 5th & 12th ~ ONLINE / California-based
Low-Impact Historical Footwork 103b: Fitting Steps to Dances  (CONTINUED) (Facebook event)
for the Historical Tea and Dance Society (group Facebook page)
2:00pm-3:30pm.  The last two classes in a four-part Zoom series covering basic steps for Regency and Colonial era dance.  One-hour lesson plus after-class discussion.  Prerequisite - 101 class or permission. Continuing the HT&DS series of historical steps for country dances and related forms, this second "fitting steps" series will again focus on using steps we've learned with the specific figures of dances from different historical periods. Some previous experience required - either our 101 class or basic knowledge of steps such as doubles and singles, the chassé-jeté-assemblé Regency sequence, and the rigadaun. Other steps will be reviewed or taught briefly as needed. This is a friendly, gently-paced class going beyond the absolute basics to how to apply steps in the ballroom.  CONTINUING SERIES STUDENTS ONLY.

Saturday, December 19th ~ ONLINE / California-based
Pop-Up Class: Thomas Wilson's Sauteuse Waltz
3:00-4:30pm.  Private event.  A look at the sauteuse waltz described by London dancing master Thomas Wilson in the mid-1810s, including steps, turning technique, different time signatures, and attitudes of the arms.  $5 per person; pay by Paypal at class.  This class is limited to students of  my HT&DS 101-102-103 classes only.  Facebook link for student group only.

Sunday, December 20th ~ ONLINE / Connecticut-based
Dance Historian Meetup
11:00am-2:00pm.  Private event.

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I am available for private online lessons via Skype or Zoom (or your videoconferencing software of choice) during the pandemic; please email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

A Pumpkin Party 1890

A Pumpkin Party may seem misplaced in the calendar at this point, but this is specifically a Thanksgiving pumpkin party, taking place the evening of Thanksgiving Day, so it should be considered more like pumpkin pie and less like a jack-o-lantern, though there's definitely an element of that in the theme as well.  The overall concept is more harvest than Halloween, however, similar to the Red Ear Party except more, err, orange.

The description of the party -- possibly, but not necessarily, fictional -- was published in Demorest's Family Magazine, No. CCCXXIX, Vol. XXVII, No. 1, dated November 1890.  Demorest's began as a fashion magazine but expanded to include a wide range of material, including quite a few little dance tidbits.

The pumpkin theme began from the very start, with the invitations, which were sent on "pumpkin-colored round cards".  The party was held in a "pretty little stone barn and stable" with illuminated "pumpkin lanterns of all shapes and devices, some wearing the old familiar goblin-like 'eyes, nose, and mouth.' while others were cut in stars and flowers and geometrical designs."  This is, quite literally, a barn dance.

November 2020 Gig Calendar

November is going to feel strange this year, with no trip to Gettysburg for the Remembrance Day Balls.  Hopefully they will be back next year!  In the meantime, I'm going to spend November ping-ponging from the 17th century (unusual for me) to the early 20th, with a detour for footwork classes focusing mostly on late 18th to early 19th century dance.  I'm especially excited about both the Playford Then and Now Festival, hosted by The Historical Dance Society (formerly the Dolmetsch Historical Dance Society) in the UK with a great lineup of speakers, and the chance to repeat for the Historical Tea and Dance Society in California a lecture I gave for a university group back in September on the intertwined lives of the dancers Vernon and Irene Castle and the musician James Reese Europe.  Both the Castles and Europe are frequently discussed, lectured, and written about separately.  I'm thrilled to bring their stories together!

Please note: the events listed below are hosted in different cities/countries in different time zones.  Please adjust for your own time zone before planning online attendance!

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Saturday-Sunday, November 7-8th ~ ONLINE / UK-based
Playford Then and Now Festival (Facebook event)
for The Historical Dance Society (Facebook group page)
12:00-18:30 (UK time) Saturday / 12:00-18:00 (UK time) Sunday.  Please adjust times for your own time zone!  Online (Zoom) dance festival/conference centered around historical and modern English country dance.  I will be giving a presentation at 14:10 (UK time) Sunday on songs attached - or not - to the country dance tune "Jamaica".  Other presenters include Anne Daye, Charlotte Ewart, Jeremy Barlow, Colin Hume, Aaron Macks, and more.  More details on the event website.  Tickets £15; purchase online here.

Sunday, November 15th ~ ONLINE / Connecticut-based
Dance Historian Meetup
11:00am-2:00pm.  Private event.

Saturday, November 21st ~ ONLINE / California-based
A Ragtime Revolution: Vernon and Irene Castle and James Reese Europe (Facebook event)
for the Historical Tea and Dance Society (group Facebook page)
10:00-11:30 (Pacific time).  Online (Zoom) lecture: "For a few brief years in the 1910s, an English vaudeville actor, a New York socialite, and the son of a former slave were some of the most famous entertainers in America. Join us to explore their intertwined stories, ranging from Harlem to Broadway, from New York to Paris, from World War I’s flying aces to the trenches of France, before this magical historical moment ended in tragedy. This lecture will trace the parallel careers of James Reese Europe and the Castles, their complicated interracial collaboration, and their influence on music, dance, and entertainment."  Limited to 50 people, advance registration required, tickets $5.00/per person.  Ticket link here.

Four Saturdays, November 21st-28th/December 5-12th ~ ONLINE / California-based
Low-Impact Historical Footwork 103b: Fitting Steps to Dances (Facebook event)
for the Historical Tea and Dance Society (group Facebook page)
2:00pm-3:30pm.  Four-part Zoom series covering basic steps for Regency and Colonial era dance.  One-hour lesson plus after-class discussion.  Prerequisite - 101 class or permission. Continuing the HT&DS series of historical steps for country dances and related forms, this second "fitting steps" series will again focus on using steps we've learned with the specific figures of dances from different historical periods. Some previous experience required - either our 101 class or basic knowledge of steps such as doubles and singles, the chassé-jeté-assemblé Regency sequence, and the rigadaun. Other steps will be reviewed or taught briefly as needed. This is a friendly, gently-paced class going beyond the absolute basics to how to apply steps in the ballroom.  $20 for the series; registration link here.

Saturday, November 28th ~ ONLINE / Maryland-based
Macoronarena! (Facebook announcement)
for Chessiecon 2020 (Facebook group)
4:00-5:00pm.  A short dance class in Sidney Grant's new solo dance, the Macoronarena, a pandemic-inspired, socially-distanced variation of the Macarena.  Catchy bilingual music, easy dance, family-friendly, and lower-body-disability-friendly - can be done upper-body only!  This event is limited to members of Chessiecon, an online science fiction convention, only.  Weekend memberships $10 or free with purchase of 2021 membership - see webpage for details.

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Coming in December: I wrap up my classes for the year...and perhaps do a Jane Austen event?

I am available for private online lessons via Skype or Zoom (or your videoconferencing software of choice) during the pandemic; please email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.