Capering & Kickery

January 2018 Gig Calendar

I'll be starting off 2018 with a quick trip to London, where I'll attempt to hit several libraries and pick up a couple of sources relevant to some small projects I've been working on.  I will not have time to teach on this trip.  Afterward, it's back to Moscow and my waltz classes and a couple of Russian balls to attend as I attempt to keep warm through the worst of the Russian winter!

Other than the London trip, I am not planning to travel out of Moscow for the remainder of January, but I will continue teaching regular waltz classes on Tuesday evenings.  For the latest information on those, join my VK community (Russian).

Any groups in Moscow or elsewhere in Russia or Europe that might be interested in workshops from February through May should contact me directly. 

(Edited to add: my waltz classes have spawned a party!  See below for a small waltz event on January 20th!)

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Tuesdays, January 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th ~ Moscow, Russia
Cross-Step Waltz Series (VK post - Russian) (more information - Russian)
19:00-20:30.  Intermediate cross-step waltz; previous experience required.  Note: must pre-register to get a pass for site security!

Tuesdays, January 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th ~ Moscow, Russia
Private classes 

Saturday, January 20th ~ Moscow Russia
Waltz Party (VK post - Russian) (more information - Russian)
17:00-19:00.  Informal afternoon dance, primarily cross-step waltz with some faster waltzes.  Light refreshments, recorded music.  Must pre-register for site security if you do not already have a pass from my classes!

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I am available for private lessons in Moscow, or on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

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Comfort for misery, 1807

A couple of years ago I discussed the dance references in James Bereford's The Miseries of Human Life (1806).  I recently came across a sequel of sorts: The Comforts of Human Life (1807), by Robert Heron, which offers some point-by-point rebuttals, which are supposed to be funny, of Bereford's miseries.  Happiness not being as good a topic for satire as misery, it doesn't work quite as well, and it is mixed in with some fairly heavy-handed advice.  As one contemporary reviewer observed in The British Critic, Volume XXIX, February 1807, 

This is a grave but very dull attempt to controvert the "Axioms of Misery" detailed and exemplified in the humourous publication, called the "Miseries of Human Life," which, from its originality, and its humour, excited much of the public attention.  Instead of the miseries of the Country and London, we have here the comforts of both, the comforts of travelling, &c.  But the bolt was already shot, and so much more are the miseries of life in tune with the popular feeling than the comforts, that the former has been multiplied into seven editions, while the comforts, we fear, as in the moral order of things, will be overlooked and neglected.  These comforts somewhat resemble a fire of straw, there is so much smoke, but little warmth.  (pp. 212-213)

Ouch!

Heron, of course, disagrees; he wrote that Miseries was too much in earnest to be funny, that the "vein of irony [was] not sufficiently rich, nor sufficiently continuous."  And while he acknowledges that "John Bull" (the English) "is best pleased with those who take the greatest pains to convince him that he is Miserable -- that he is utterly undone", he hopes that "a book of Comforts may not be unacceptable, as a second course or a dessert after a book of Miseries."

Sadly, the fact that a nineteenth-century book is dull does not prevent me from dutifully reading it for the dance references.  But, having done so, I think that Heron has it exactly backwards.  While there are some flashes of humor in Comforts, for the most part it tips over into didacticism and simply giving good advice for making the best of bad situations.  That's useful, though a lot of it is restating the obvious, but it mostly fails as satire.

The dancing references are still of interest, however, even if they are among the least funny bits in the book.

Half & Half: Seven Steps

"Seven steps" is actually something of a misnomer for this variation, which actually involves eight steps taken over two measures of half and half (5/4) time.  Its original source, Frank H. Norman's Complete Dance Instructor (Ottawa, 1914) lists it only as step "No. 2" (out of two) for the half and half.  The Half and Half section of Norman's book is credited to George E Rutherford.

The basic principle of the step is to take a single slow hesitating step, lasting three counts as usual (1-2-3), and then take seven quick steps on the last two beats of the first measure and all five beats of the second (4-5-1-2-3-4-5).  Like the five-step variation, this is a very "busy" step that is best done to a very gentle tempo of half and half music.  

Rutherford's description has the gentleman starting on the right foot and going forward along line of dance while the lady goes backward.  He describes the seven quick steps as "Beginning l. take seven short running steps forward, forcing the Lady backward count 4-5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5."  That's clear enough, but not much fun to do repeatedly, even if one reverses the genders and has the man run backward.  But Rutherford gives three possible variations, one of which I want to cover here:

"The running steps may be taken -- four forward -- and three back..."

Half & Half: Pivot Turns

"If you wish to spin you must do so on the slow step, continuing forward on the last two counts."        -- from Modern Dancing by Vernon & Irene Castle, 1914

One of the basic half and half steps which I did not cover in my long-ago post on basic traveling steps for the dance was the pivot turn, as distinct from turning waltz in half and half time.  There aren't all that many sources for half and half, so it's mildly (very mildly) significant that this step is mentioned three different times.  There's the Castles' succinct description quoted above.  There's a mention of it in a list of steps, or possibly a choreography, where it is given without any detail as "No. 3. pivot turn, right and left, 8 measures."  (from "Half and Half" by J. E. Miles, in Dance Mad or the Dances of the Day, 2nd edition, F. Leslie Clendenen (editor), 1914.)  And there's a full description as part of a mini-sequence which doesn't actually work.  Here's the relevant part:

THE PIVOT TURN is made by stepping L. to side.  C. 1.
Pivot 1/2 on ball of L.  C. 2. 3.  Walk forward. 4. 5.  

(from "Half and Half" as taught by Castle Assistants, in Dance Mad or the Dances of the Day, 2nd edition, F. Leslie Clendenen (editor), 1914.)

Green Mountain Volunteers

Green Mountain Volunteers is currently fourth on my list of go-to contra dances for the 1910s, after the Circle; Hull's Victory; and Lady of the Lake.  It really ought to be sixth, after Boston Fancy and Portland Fancy as well, but the former is too much like Lady of the Lake, and the latter I'm still thinking about. 

Unlike the five dances listed above, which appear on a pair of Maine dance cards from 1918-1919, I do not have dance card evidence for this one.  The only pre-1937 source for it, in fact, is Elizabeth Burchenal's American Country-Dances, Volume I (New York & Boston, 1918), in which she lists it among the dances "half-forgotten or less used" by the late 1910s:

Some of the most widely used of the contra-dances to-day in New England are The Circle, Lady of the Lake, Boston Fancy, Portland Fancy, Hull's Victory, Soldier's Joy, and Old Zip Coon (or, the Morning Star); while among the half-forgotten or less used ones are Chorus Jig, Green Mountain Volunteers, and Fisher's Hornpipe.

This is a category distinct from dances which are "obsolete" and which she reconstructed herself from old books.  I don't consider those latter ones to be sufficiently documented for my taste.

But, frankly, I include Green Mountain Volunteers in my repertoire for 1910s primarily because it's a neat dance by virtue of its unusual figures.  Contra dances, then and now, can get somewhat monotonous, so I appreciate the ones that stand out.

Green Mountain Volunteers is unusual among 1910s contra dances in having no obvious nineteenth-century pedigree.  The only potential connection, suggested by Ricky Holden in The Contra Dance Book (1956), lies in its loose resemblance to figures listed under "Beaux of Oak Hill" in some mid-nineteenth century manuals.  I'm not entirely convinced by the association, however, and the differences are substantial enough that "Beaux" warrants a separate post. 

December 2017 Gig Calendar

Living this binational life keeps me insanely busy, but I'm thrilled to be teaching a higher-level waltz series this month in Moscow, plus private classes and a return to beautiful Vladimir for a weekend of master-classes there!  

I do not have much more availability for December, so the classes below are probably all I'll do this month.  Any groups in Moscow or elsewhere in Russia or Europe that might be interested in workshops in 2018 should contact me directly.  I'm also interested in exploring the Moscow blues community and maybe seeing about some DJing while I'm here.

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Saturday-Sunday, December 2nd-3rd ~ Vladimir, Russia
Master-classes in Vladimir (VK event - Russian)
Classes in early nineteenth century dance (unusual country dance and quadrille figures), late sixteenth century dance (Negri's La Catena d'Amore), and early twentieth century dance (American contra dance and couple dancing 1910s-1920s).

Tuesdays, December 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th ~ Moscow, Russia
Cross-Step Waltz Series
19:00-20:30.  Intermediate cross-step waltz; previous experience required.

Tuesdays, December 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th ~ Moscow, Russia
Private classes 

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I am available for private lessons in Moscow, or on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

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Aladdin Quadrille

Like the New Scotia Quadrille, the Aladdin Quadrille is one of several single-figure quadrilles found in the "New, Enlarged, & Complete Edition" of D. (David) Anderson's Ball-Room Guide (Dundee, this edition undated but probably c1886).  This is a simple, fun figure that would fit easily into a Scottish-themed ball.

Despite there being various quadrille sets called the Aladdin Quadrilles, Anderson doesn't seem to have had any specific music in mind.  He notes only that it can be danced in 2/4 or 6/8.

Aladdin Quadrille (8 bars introduction + 64 bars x4)
8b   Introduction/honors (not repeated)
8b   All promenade round
4b   Ladies advance to the center and retire
4b   Gentlemen advance to the center and retire
8b   All set to partners and turn by the right hand
8b   Head couples advance and retire, then half right and left
8b   Side couples advance and retire, then half right and left
8b   Grand chain half round to places
16b All waltz (in duple time) around (see performance notes below)

The figure is danced four times, with the head couples leading on the first and third iterations and the side couples leading on the second and fourth.

November 2017 Gig Calendar

I'm fully settled in Moscow now, and my November teaching schedule here is a pleasant mix of modern waltz and early twentieth century dance, continuing my work with Studio "Танец весны"  and teaching advanced waltz classes on my own.  I'll also be making a lightning trip back to the USA on Remembrance Day weekend to return to my long-running engagement leading 1860s dancing at The President's Remembrance Day Ball in Gettysburg!

I do not have much availability for the rest of 2017, but groups in Moscow or elsewhere in Russia or Europe that might be interested in workshops should contact me directly.

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Thursdays, November 2nd, 9th ~ Moscow, Russia
Twentieth Century American Social Dance Course (VKontakte community - Russian)
For Studio "Танец весны".  Last two classes in a six-week course covering basic cross-step waltz (1990s-present) and early ragtime dances (1890s-1910s): two-step, five-step (schottische), and 1910s-style New England contra dance.  Details (Russian) at the VK community!

Monday, November 5th
American square dance class for Studio "Танец весны". 
20:00-21:00.  One-hour workshop during part of ongoing nineteenth-century dance series of Studio "Танец весны". 

Tuesdays, November 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th ~ Moscow, Russia
Private classes

Thursday, November 16th ~ Moscow Russia
Evening of Twentieth Century Social Dance
19:00-22:00.  Dance event for Studio "Танец весны".  I will be calling a couple of contra dances but mostly just dancing!

Saturday, November 18th ~ Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
The 15th Annual Remembrance Day Dinner & Ball (Facebook community) 
5:30pm-midnight.  Formal Civil War-era dinner and ball with live music by The Fleeting Moments Waltz and Quickstep Orchestra!  Pre-1865 costume (civilian or military) is required.  This year's event is the "Prince of Wales" ball, with ladies requested to wear light-colored gowns and tiaras, and/or trim their gowns with crystal and white flowers, and gentlemen requested to wear white boutonnieres!  Reservations required (dinner and ball or ball-only).  There is a Friday night fancy dress (masquerade) ball as well, precepted by Steve Buckmiller -- see the event website or the Destination Gettysburg event page for more information!  This event generally sells out; purchase tickets in advance! 

Sunday, November 19th ~ Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Private event 

Thursdays, November 23rd, 30th ~ Moscow, Russia
Twentieth Century American Social Dance Course (VKontakte community - Russian)
For Studio "Танец весны".  First two classes in a new six-week course covering basic cross-step waltz (1990s-present), 1910s tango, and 1910s-style New England contra dance.  More details TBA.    Course cancelled.

Saturday, November 25th ~ Moscow, Russia
Waltz Kaleidoscope Class (Вальсовый калейдоскоп)  (VKontakte event - Russian)
17:00-19:00.  Workshop in combining and shifting between cross-step waltz and valse à trois temps (rotary waltz).  Basic knowledge of both waltzes required.  

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I am available for private lessons in Moscow, or on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

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Coming up in December: Moscow classes continue, with added waltz classes, and a weekend of dance in Vladimir!

"The Masked Ball", a ghost story, 1885

The Massachusetts Ploughman and New England Journal of Agriculture does not, at first glance, suggest itself as a good source for dance-related material. But apparently even the members of the New England Agricultural Society had a taste for ghost stories, since on August 1, 1885, their journal published "The Masked Ball.  An Ancient Legend of Spanish Toledo", which resembles nothing so much as the scary stories we used to tell around the campfire or at sleepovers when I was a little girl.  A good storyteller could probably do quite well with it.  As a dance source, it's rather thin -- just a reiteration of the difference between a masked ball and a fancy dress ball -- but the story makes a suitable ending for a month of Halloween-themed blogging!

The masked ball was said to have taken place in Toledo "a great many years ago", which from the lack of internal evidence could have been as far back as the eighteenth century.  One must not spoil a ghost story with too much detail.  The newly-ascended Count de Verano, Don Jayme, held a masked ball (said to be new to the people of Toledo) to present his beautiful sixteen-year-old daughter Teresita to society.  Masked balls were considered a bit risque, and Don Jayme wasn't about to let little Teresita be anonymous at her coming-out ball:

It had been arranged between the Count and his daughter that they themselves should not dress in dominoes and masks.  Don Jayme thought Teresita too young for that sort of thing...

But everyone else got into the spirit of the event, so to speak:

...all were dressed in dominoes and masks.  At midnight they were all to unmask.  The guests were more or less startled therefore at meeting, coming down stairs, a man dressed entirely in armor, with vizor down, who wore neither domino nor mask.

Who is Your Partner?

What would Halloween be without masks?  And what would a cotillion be without at least one figure where people blunder around blindly crashing into each other?

"Who is Your Partner?" is from St. Louis dancing master Jacob Mahler and appeared in Original Cotillion Figures (St. Louis, 1900), his collection of figures from himself and other dancing masters.  It is easy enough to run, but it does require props: 

A number of black masks, like those used in lodges, viz: those that have no eyes, in order to completely blindfold the wearer.

Here's how it goes:

The gentlemen are called to the center of the room, and made to join hands in a circle.  They are given the masks which they put on; they then join hands again and circle to the right; at signal from the leader, they let go hands, hunt for a lady (the ladies are in their regular seats) dance with her.  He is not to remove his mask until he calls the name of the lady with whom he is dancing. 

A Soap Bubble Party, 1884

"Our Soap Bubble Party" appeared in the January, 1884, issue of the American children's magazine, St. Nicholas; an Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks.  It describes a party for young people that combines fancy dress, party games, and a bit of dancing.  The intended audience for the magazine was ages five to eighteen, and the illustrations for the soap bubble party show children from infancy all the way through their teens.  Since the activities are described as being organized and run by the children, and among the assumed skills is that of couples waltzing, I would not classify this party as only for small children, but for a mixture of ages or even for teenagers. 

The party description is quite lengthy, so I am not going to cover in detail all the possible games one can indulge in at a soap bubble party or the details of the decorations.  I'll restrict my detailed discussion to the more dance-focused elements: the initial grand march and distribution of "team" rosettes and bubble pipes, the one cotillion-like figure described, and the final dance.  

A Fancy Dress Ball, Saratoga, 1847

Another costume-heavy description of a fancy dress ball was published in The New York Herald on August 17, 1847, in the social column "The Watering Places" on page two.  The ball was held at Congress Hall of the United States Hotel in the summer resort town of Saratoga Springs, New York, on August 14, 1847.

Sadly, no information is given about the dancing, though the writer does mention the generous size of the hall, one hundred and fifty by fifty feet, and the beautiful decorations, featuring flowers and greenery plus "miniature flags of every nation which supports a navy" hanging "just above the heads" of the dancers.

The ball was popular, but some who had recently arrived in Saratoga were unable to attend because they could not get costumes ready in time:

Among the company at Saratoga, which is the best in America, there seemed to be a general interest in this event; there were few who, if time could have been had to make suitable preparations, would not have attended that ball.  Many persons who have lately arrived did not know that such a ball was to be given until it was too late for them to prepare for it.

The "resident visitors", presumably meaning those who spent the entire summer in Saratoga, had more warning and were able to spend considerable sums on costumes:

But there were no impediments to the ardor with which the resident visitors looked forward to this carnival, as something which would be more brilliant and extraordinary than any previous party; sums which some could not lose without becoming a beggar, were expended for jewels and dresses to be worn upon this occasion, and in procuring these articles, there was all that furor and agitation and hubbub which is characteristic of the American exclusives.

The writer of the column listed quite a few costumes, though he or she noted that there were "hundreds of characters" that he or she did not include.  Most of those listed are men's outfits; for any gentlemen looking for fancy dress ideas, this is a great list:

A Fancy Dress Ball, Roxbury, 1827

It's October, and time once again to devote some attention to masquerade and fancy dress balls and other excuses to wear unusual costumes in historical ballrooms!

On January 3, 1828, The New York Mirror: A Weekly Gazette of Literature and the Fine Arts, published a description of what was supposedly the first fancy-dress ball ever held in New England, held at Norfolk House in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on "Wednesday last".  

Roxbury is now part of the city of Boston, but at the time it was a separate town.  According to the Roxbury Wikia entry on Norfolk House, it was originally built in 1781 as a private residence.  It was then sold to the Norfolk House Company in 1825 and opened as a public house in 1827 with the addition of a hall for public assemblies, which may be seen at back left in this image of Norfolk House (click to enlarge) from Roxbury, by Anthony Mitchell Sammarco (Arcadia Press, 1997), p. 17.   The original building was demolished in 1853 and replaced by a new Norfolk House, which still stands today.

The Mirror article describing the ball was reprinted from the Boston Evening Gazette, to which I don't have immediate access, so it's not clear on what date the ball was actually held.  Given the timing of Norfolk House's opening to the public, it cannot have been before 1827.  Since there is no reason to suppose the Mirror article was delayed for long, my best guess would be Wednesday, December 26th.  A fancy dress ball makes sense as part of seasonal celebrations. 

October 2017 Gig Calendar

As of October I am back in teaching mode in Moscow!  This will be a light month as I get myself settled, but I will be teaching a six-week class series on a variety of twentieth century American dances and am actively working on setting up a few more things -- check back for possible additions later in the month.  (10/29/17: schedule is now complete.)  Moscow groups interested in workshops should  contact me directly.

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Thursdays, October 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th ~ Moscow, Russia
Twentieth Century American Social Dance Course (VKontakte community - Russian)
For Studio "Танец весны".  First four lessons in a six-week course covering basic cross-step waltz (1990s-present) and early ragtime dances (1890s-1910s): two-step, five-step (schottische), and 1910s-style New England contra dance.  Some previous couple dance experience required.  Sample at the first class or take the whole course.  Details (Russian) at the VK community!

Saturday, October 21st ~ Moscow, Russia
Waltz Kaleidoscope Class (Вальсовый калейдоскоп)  (VKontakte event - Russian)
15:00-17:00.  Workshop in combining and shifting between cross-step waltz and valse à trois temps (rotary waltz).  Basic knowledge of both waltzes required.  

Saturday, October 28th ~ Moscow, Russia
Children`s Festival Competition "Planet of Arts"
Jury member plus a master-class.  Details TBA.

Tuesday, October 31st ~ Moscow, Russia
Private class

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I am available for private lessons in Moscow, or on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

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Coming up in November: Moscow classes continue, and I return to the USA briefly for a ball and a workshop in Pennsylvania!

A Different Reel of Five

This alternate reel of five comes from  Lowe's Ball-Conductor and Assembly Guide, third edition (Edinburgh, c1830), where it is the only reel of five given.  The formation is the same as that of the "common" reel for five described by Thomas Wilson during the Regency era and by me in my previous post.  Lowe's original description reads:

Reel of Five.
(Places -- one Lady at the top of the room, one at the bottom, one at each side, and the Gentleman in the middle.)  The Gentleman, with two of the Ladies, makes a reel of three, while the other two Ladies circle round them; all set, during which the Gentleman turns to each Lady alternately; he then forms the reel of three with the other two Ladies.

Although the source for this reel is about a decade post-Regency, the reel itself is in keeping with Regency style and would not be obtrusively out of place in a Regency ballroom.  And, unlike London-based Thomas Wilson's provenance-free "common reel of five", this one appeared in a Scottish dance manual and thus can be more confidently documented as actually Scottish for those concerned about authenticity of place as well as time.

Wilson's diagram for the common reel of five is so useful that I'm reproducing it at left and will use the same letters to describe the dancers in this reel.  Like Wilson's New Reel of Five and unlike his so-called common Reel of Five, this is a reel for four ladies and one gentleman.  As with those other reels, the genders of the dancers don't make any difference in the actual dancing.

Lowe's original description offers no progression, just a brief twenty-four bar sequence of hey, set, and hey again.  The most obvious interpretation of this would be that it is just as simple as classic reels of three and reels of four: alternate heying and setting indefinitely, the center dancer just shifting his or her starting direction each time.  

Common Reel of Five

Having started out with the complex "New Reel of Five" created by Regency London dancing master Thomas Wilson, it seems that it would be useful to go back and discuss the "common" reel of five which Wilson included in his books along with his own inventions "to render the work more complete."  It's hard to say how "common" this reel actually was, as I have no sources for it other than Wilson.  It's possible that it was simply so common that no one else saw any need to write it down.  I certainly see no reason for Wilson to have presented it falsely; he was not the least bit shy about taking credit for his own choreography.

The diagram given by Wilson in his  The Complete System of English Country Dancing (London, c1815) is above at left.  The original text, from the same source:

The Lady in the middle at B, heys with the Ladies at A C, then sets to them, then heys with the two Gentlemen at F D, and takes the place of the Gentleman at F, who will then occupy the centre: he then finishes the Reel by setting to the persons at F D, then hey with the Ladies at C A, and leaves one of them in the centre, so that they all progressively occupy every situation in the figure.  

That's reasonably straightforward, though his blithe assurance that "they all progressively occupy every situation in the figure", if taken to the extreme of dancing until everyone is back in their precise original places, will require an awful lot of repeats.  Wilson gives his reel specifically for either three gentlemen and two ladies or vice-versa, but the gender of the five dancers has no effect on the dance.  Any combination, or five of one gender, will work fine.

The Social Parliament, 1848

It's quite evident from the banner across the top of Act the First of The Social Parliament that it's a satire.  Victoria and Albert as the unicorn and lion supporters.  The English coat of arms replaced by, literally, cakes and ale^*, or at least drink of some sort, in the upper quarters and musical instruments in the lower ones.  And the motto of the Order of the Garter (Honi soit qui mal y pense, Middle French for "Shame on him who thinks ill of it") turned into Honi soit qui mal y danse.

The Social Parliament, Act the First, is dated August 2, 1848, and an announcement of its publication appeared in The Spectator on August 5, 1848; it can be seen near the bottom of the center column here.  It was written by humorist Albert Richard Smith (1816-1860), and its conceit was that an imaginary "Social Parliament" would address all the difficulties of society by passing its own Acts.  It's basically an extended expression of "there ought to be a law!"

Interestingly, considering how much of the dance section concerns polka, the publisher was David Bogue, who had earlier published a Ballroom Preceptor and Polka Guide (1846).

Act the First (and only; this was a one-shot joke) was "An Act to amend the Laws relating to the giving of Dinner and Evening Parties."  Conveniently for me, this included parties with dancing, aspects of which he addressed directly.  Although his tone was satirical, and occasionally mean-spirited, Smith made some very reasonable points about dance issues and dropped an intriguing hint about changing styles in waltz.

I'm not going to transcribe all of The Social Parliament, which is seven pages long, but I'll include all the dance-related sections and illustrations below.  Follow me down the rabbit hole:

Whereas, for many Years, going as far back as the Momentous Period of "Once upon a Time," it has been the Custom for certain persons to invite Certain other Persons to their Houses, for the Purposes of Eating, Drinking, Dancing, Talking, and promoting Flirtations Connexions, Proposals, Marriages, Interests, and Festivity generally: but, forasmuch as the aforesaid certain persons, at Times, err grievously in their Notions of what is Right or Wrong, to be done on such Occasions, to the Discomfort of the aforesaid certain other Persons invited...

Harvard Caprice

The Harvard Caprice was created by dancing master Melvin Ballou (M. B.) Gilbert of Portland, Maine, matching the music of the same name by Albert L. Ryser.  I don't know whether the dance was created for the music or the music commissioned to match the dance, but the earliest publication of the sheet music that I have (cover shown at left; click to enlarge) is part of a series specifically for Gilbert's dances.  This was not the only Harvard-themed dance created by Gilbert; two years later, he went on to create the Harvard Dip.

The Harvard Caprice can be dated precisely both by the sheet music (1896) and its being mentioned in newspaper articles late in 1896 as one of the dances for the upcoming season: "Five new dances will be introduced this fall and winter.  They are the Landler, Harvard Caprice, the waltz two-step, La Zarina, and a modification of the old Varsouviana...The Harvard Caprice is also danced to four-four time, and is slightly akin to the old-fashioned schottische."  ("Saturday Social Review", Indianapolis News. Indianapolis, Indiana. September 19, 1896. p. 5.)

The sheet music advertises the dance as adopted by the American Society of Professors of Dancing, New York, as was reported with some cynicism by the Los Angeles Herald on November 15, 1896, under a series of subtitles including "ORIGINALITY A SCARCITY", "Why New Creations in the Art Generally Fail", and "The American Association of Professors Convened and Added Many Tributes to Terpsichore":

NEW YORK, Oct. 30. — Every year a number of agile and graceful gentlemen composing the American Association of Professors of Dancing come together, and, after deep thought and considerable wrangling, of course, in a most polite way, decide what the fashionable dances will be for the coming year.  Each of these gentlemen is an inventor of the terpsichorean order, and he attends the conclave with elaborately drawn diagrams of the dance with which he expects to convulse society later on.

In nine cases out of ten this dance is never heard of again, although it may receive the richest possible indorsement [sic] of the American Association of the Professors of Dancing.  The fault is not with the Association.  The members certainly recognize a graceful dance wen they see it; the trouble lies with the public.

The association has just had its annual meeting for 1896 and some terpsichorean wonders are ready to be thrust upon the dancing public.  The official titles of these wonders are: The Harvard Caprice, the X-ray Lanciers, the Hanover Quadrille, the Esprit d’Amerique, the Waltz Two-Step, and La Czarina.  It will be a matter of interest for those who pay attention to such things to memorize these titles and then observe how popular they become during the approaching winter season.  

Exeter Caprice

The Exeter Caprice is one of a small number of schottisches and schottische-like dances included in the second edition of F. Leslie Clendenen's 1914 compilation, Dance Mad, for which Clendenen solicited dances from dancing masters across the United States and in Europe and South America.  One of those who responded was George F. Walters.  The Dance Mad index of dancing masters lists him as based in Waltham, Massachusetts, about sixty miles south of Exeter, New Hampshire, and the famous Phillips Exeter Academy, more commonly known just as "Exeter".  I suspect that Walters' Exeter Caprice and Exeter Waltz might be named for the school, either because he taught dance there or because he hoped to.

While the classic schottische seems to decline in popularity towards the end of the nineteenth century, dances in schottische time still turn up on dance cards and in dance manuals under names such as gavotte, caprice, barn dance, and five-step.  It's not clear to me what choreographic or musical trait, if any, distinguishes a caprice from a schottische, but I have found more than a dozen examples of them on New England dance cards from the mid-1880s into the 1890s.  "Caprice" on a dance card might refer specifically to the mazurka-like Caprice (or Caprice Schottische) described by M. B. Gilbert in Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) or to one of the occasional named caprices.  Or perhaps "caprice" was simply another term for a schottische, as implied by sheet music such as the 1906 "The Famous Princess Royal", shown at left, that listed both dances.

CD Review: Ragtime Dance Party

Ragtime Dance Party is the one and only album released by the Crown Syncopators, a San Francisco-based trio that performs at ragtime music festivals on the West Coast.  I've never had the pleasure of dancing to their music in person, which this album makes me very much regret.  Per the title, every single tune is danceable as well as a joy to listen to.  I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys American music and dance of the 1890-1920 era.

The Crown Syncopators consist of Frederick Hodges (piano), Victoria Tichenor (drums), and Marty Eggers (tuba).  They don't seem to have a website, but their appearances are listed on Hodges' event schedule here.

The CD comes with ten pages of liner notes that contain the background on each piece and reproductions of the original sheet music covers.  Along with familiar favorites like Scott Joplin, James Reese Europe, and James Scott, I was especially pleased to see in the mix a couple of less-familiar female composers, Grace Marie Bolen and Adeline (or Adaline) Shepherd, both of whose careers were cut short by marriage.

As usual with ragtime, the boundaries between dances are quite fuzzy.  The same piece played at a different speed can be a one-step or two-step, or even a foxtrot.  Style counts as well; some pieces that are in the right tempo range just don't "feel" foxtrot to me, and some pieces "feel" like cakewalks and others don't.  With an experienced group of dancers, I'd just play the tunes and let the dancers find their own way, but for those who are looking for music for specific dances or need a little more guidance, here's how I've categorized each piece.  Note that some are listed in multiple categories!

September 2017 Gig Calendar

This is my last month of mostly-hibernation!  As of September 24th, I will once more be taking residency in Moscow (Russia, not Idaho) and doing my teaching primarily there and elsewhere in Europe for eight months, with occasional brief excursions to the USA for special events.    

In the three weeks before I leave, I'll be in Chicago for a ball, the Boston area to DJ blues, and home in Connecticut for an informal Regency dance.  I'll also be in and out of New York City a couple of times.  Catch me if you can!

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Monday, September 11th ~ Oak Park, Illinois (Chicago area)
Country dance ball for Oak Park English Country Dance (Facebook event)
7:00-10:00pm.  Ball to be held in the beautiful historical ballroom of Oak Park's Nineteenth Century Club with fabulous live music by Scottish-Baroque duo Tim MacDonald and Jeremy Ward.  Program will be drawn from the dances of the Lowe brothers, nineteenth-century Scottish dance masters, one of whom was the teacher of Queen Victoria's children.

Tuesday, September 19th ~ Cambridge, Massachusetts (Boston area)
Bluesy Tuesy 6th Anniversary (Facebook event)
7:30-11:00pm (lesson then dancing).  DJing blues for entire evening, 8:30-11:00pm!

Wednesday, September 20th ~ Middletown, Connecticut
Autumn Regency Dance Party (Facebook event)
7:00-9:00pm.  Beginner-friendly social dancing.  Historical costume encouraged!

Tuesday, September 26th ~ Moscow, Russia
Course preview for Twentieth Century American Social Dance
20:00-20:30.  Quick introduction to cross-step waltz and 1910s contra dance as part of a larger sampler class (starts at 19:00) for the upcoming series for Studio "Танец весны".  

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I am available for private lessons when in Connecticut or Moscow, or on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.  

New Haven and Middletown, Connecticut: September 1-9, 13-18, 20-22
New York City: September 7, 9, 13
Boston area: September 19
Chicago area: September 10-11
Moscow, Russia: September 24-30

CD Review: The Robert E. Lee

The Robert E. Lee (1997) is a neat little album of solo piano played by the famous musician Bob Milne, who is not only a top-notch ragtime pianist, music historian, and "national treasure" who performed at The Library of Congress in 2004, but also has the astonishing ability to "play" multiple tunes at once in his head, meaning that he can do incredible tricks like playing music in 3/4, 4/4, and 5/4 simultaneously.  There's a fascinating article about his abilities at Mlive.com.

The CD title and the famous tune "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" both refer to the famous steamship which won a race from New Orleans to St. Louis in 1870.

I have had The Robert E. Lee sitting around for over a decade but only ever used one track, "Trouble in Mind", regularly, as an interesting change of style for when I DJ for modern blues dancers.  Until I started teaching ragtime more often than usual this year I hadn't really gone through the rest of the album carefully.  The CD wasn't recorded specifically for dancing, so some of the pieces don't have the regular rhythm one would desire, but about half of them are quite good for dancing, a few others are workable, and the piano playing is invariably a joy to listen to even for the less danceable tunes.

Two Easy Mixer Games, 1912

I recently had a request to teach 1910s-era dance games, so I went digging through early twentieth-century books of cotillion (or "German") figures looking for some easy mixers that could be explained in a few sentences.  I found two that fit the bill in Twentieth Century Cotillion Figures, by H. Layton Walker (Two Step Publishing Company, Buffalo, New York, 1912).  That book is one of my favorite sources for the silliest and most extreme figures, but it has plenty of simpler ones as well.

Neither of these figures require any props or preparation, and they can be taught in moments on the dance floor, a practice actually recommended in the description of the second.

Lopp's Polka Croisée

At least two dances called Polka Croisée appear in French manuals.  One is a rather banal sequence dance that appears to have a German origin (as the Kreuz-Polka) and one is a completely separate dance by American expatriate George Washington Lopp, who spent time as a dancing master in Paris around the turn of the twentieth century.  Lopp's major survey of couple dancing, La Danse (Paris, 1903) is largely a translation of M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890), which is one of two major sources for the Cross Step Polka (as previously discussed here).  But Lopp's Polka Croisée, while clearly inspired by the version that appeared in Gilbert's book, is distinctive enough to be considered a separate dance. 

The major points of difference are that while the Cross Step Polka that appeared in Gilbert, as well as in the fifth edition of William B. DeGarmo's The Dance of Society (New York, 1892), is a four-bar sequence with the lady and gentleman actually doing completely different steps in the first and third measures, with a standard glide sequence and half-turn in the second and fourth, Lopp's version is a longer, eight-bar, sequence which has the dancers matching footwork and turning only on the fourth and eighth measures.  It maintains its connection to the Glide Polka (a.k.a. Coquette), but the partners perform it in unison.

August 2017 Gig Calendar

This month is mostly about writing and non-dance-related travel, but I will emerge briefly to teach a couple of classes in Moscow (Russia) and a Regency dance class in Connecticut.  Otherwise, see you in September!

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Sunday, August 20th ~ Moscow Russia (VKontakte event - in Russian)
Фокстрот 1910-х от Сьюзан де Гвардиола (1910s Foxtrot)
4:00-6:00pm.  Workshop on the early foxtrot of the 1910s for dance studio Touch the Sky.  Taught in a mix of Russian and English.  Open to the public and beginner-friendly.

Sunday, August 20th ~ Moscow Russia (VKontakte event - in Russian)
Контрдансы и бальные игры от Сьюзан де Гвардиола (1910s Ballroom Games)
6:30-8:30pm.  Workshop on early twentieth century ballroom fun!  Includes American contra dances (1910s style), a one-step contra dance, the Lulu Fado mixer, and more!  For dance studio Touch the Sky.  Taught in a mix of Russian, English, and French (dance figures).  Open to the public and beginner-friendly.

Wednesday, August 23rd ~ Middletown, Connecticut
Jane Austen Era Dancing (Facebook event)
7:00-8:30pm.  Beginner-friendly lesson Informal dancing, no costume needed.

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I am available for private lessons in Connecticut or on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

New Haven and Middletown, Connecticut: August 1-7, 23-31
Helsinki, Finland: August 9-12
Saint Petersburg, Russia: August 14-17
Moscow, Russia: August 18-22

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How did I get here?

Certainly it’s true that when you’re dancing “Mr. Beveridge’s Maggot” or “The Duke of Kent’s Waltz”—two traditional English country dances of the early 19th century—it is natural to ask: “How the hell did I get here?”
            --  Ted Scheinman, in "Cosplaying Jane Austen", The Atlantic, July 22, 2017

I couldn't agree more with the sentiment; somehow, I regularly find myself dancing what people fondly refer to as "Mr. Beveridge's Maggot" and/or "The Duke of Kent's Waltz" and I invariably wonder, in a sort of scholarly despair, just how I ended up in that situation.  In my case, however, it's generally because I am surrounded by people who are under the delusion that these are, in fact "traditional English country dances of the early 19th century."  

Normally, I simply avoid discussing this topic outside academic circles, because people can be remarkably resistant to historical evidence when it interferes with their pleasant fantasies.  But when this misinformation turns up in the virtual pages of The Atlantic, which I read regularly and generally have some respect for, I feel like it might be useful to respond in a more public way than just a note in the comments.

I don't delude myself that they're going to issue any corrections.

Reminiscences, 1865

I have what seems like an endless collection of works of nineteenth-century women's fiction that I plow through for the dance references whenever I have the chance.  Most of them are overly sentimental and laden with heavy-handed moral messages.  "Reminiscences", which was serialized in the American women's periodical Godey's Lady's Book from February to June, 1865, was no exception to this, alas, but at least it was relatively short.

The background of the piece is a bit of a mystery.  The author is the same "Ethelstone" credited with "Dancing the Schottische" (Godey's, July 1862), which I discussed a few years ago.  I've never been able to locate any information about this author.  And "Reminiscences" adds a new element of confusion because it is written in first person and purports to be the story of one Ethel Stone.  Was "Ethelstone" actually a woman named Ethel Stone?  Is this fiction masquerading as memoir?  Or part of an actual memoir of a life that oh-so-conveniently included the elements of a mid-nineteenth-century morality tale?  That seems unlikely, so I assume that it's fiction.  But I may never know for certain.

The setting of "Reminiscences" is equally unclear; it takes place in a nameless village and nearby city, and the only clues to the time in the text are that it is before the era of hundreds of people attending "stand-up" parties and dancing the polka and schottische (dances which became popular in the 1840s), instead taking place back in the days when parties were smaller gatherings where some people would sit around the edges of the room while others danced cotillons and contra dances.  That doesn't help much; "cotillons" was used for decades in America to refer to what the rest of the world thought of as quadrilles, so the tale could take place any time from the late eighteenth century to the 1830s, or even early 1840s.

The plot is typical of the women's fiction of mid-nineteenth century.  A quick summary: Ethel ("Ettie") Stone meets a Mr. Morton at her very first adult party.  Despite the rivalry of local beauty Helen Leland for his affections, she wins his heart by her innocence.  Morton has a tragic past involving being abandoned by a mother who was corrupted by society, so his and Ettie's engagement is jeopardized when she visits the big city and enjoys its gaieties and flirtations.  After overhearing Morton's plans to break their engagement, Ettie reforms herself, returns to her village, and marries Morton.  At the end, Morton's mother, diseased and dying, shows up on their doorstep and is taken in due to Ettie's kind heart.  She reconciles with Morton's father, though perhaps not with Morton, and dies, penitent and forgiven.  

The message is not exactly subtle.

For once, however, dancing is not presented as part of society's corruption, perhaps because in comparison with the polka and schottisch of 1865, with their close ballroom hold and tendency toward romping, the set dances of the unspecified earlier era had come to seem quite innocent.

Wilson's New Reel of Five

At various points over the years I've written up descriptions of early nineteenth century London dancing master Thomas Wilson's choreographed Scotch reels for three, four, and six dancers, but, though I reconstructed and danced Wilson's new reel for five dancers several years ago, I've somehow never gotten around to posting about it.  Let me remedy that now!

 

First, it should be noted that Wilson's New Reel of Five was and is not the only reel for five dancers in existence.  Wilson himself gave the "common" reel of five alongside his own works, and another reel of five was given in Lowe's Ball-Conductor and Assembly Guide, third edition (Edinburgh, c1830).  There may be other reels of five as well; I've not made a comprehensive survey.  The appearance in the Lowe's book suggests that a reel for five dancers has legitimate Scottish roots, but Wilson's choreography is a bit more elaborate and should be considered an English creation rather than a native Scottish dance.

 

I've seen the "common" reel of five danced at balls (a video of dancers in Moscow performing it may be seen here), but never either of the others.

Ada Rehan Waltz

The Ada Rehan Waltz is a simple and graceful hesitation waltz sequence published in Frank H. Norman's Complete Dance Instructor (Ottawa, 1914), where it is attributed to John Hackett of Hamilton, Ontario.  It is named for the famous Irish-American actress, shown at left in a famous 1895 portrait by John Singer Sargent (click to enlarge).  Quite a few photographs from her theatrical career may be found in the New York Public Library's digital collection.  By 1914 she had long retired from the stage, and I doubt she had any personal or professional connection to this dance.  

Edited 6/6/2019 to add: As recorded in The Director, Volume I, No. 8 (September 1898): a dance called "Ada Rehan" was adopted as one of three new dances by the Western Association Normal School, a meeting of dance teachers which took place that year in Toledo, Ohio, for two weeks starting on June 14th, 1898.  Among the officers of the Association were John Hackett, Second Vice President.  While I have not yet found definitive proof, I think it quite likely that the "Ada Rehan" adopted there was Hackett's "Ada Rehan Waltz" published by Norman sixteen years later.  Rehan was at the height of her fame in the 1890s, so it makes considerably more sense to have a dance named after her in 1898 than in 1914.  And the style of the dance is very much that of the sequence dances of the 1890s-1900s, as noted below.  [end added material]

The starting position for the Ada Rehan Waltz has the gentleman and lady facing each other, his back to the center of the room, both hands joined, and arms extended.  The gentleman starts with the left foot and the lady with the right.  His steps are given below; the lady dances opposite.  The dance follows the classic sequence dance pattern of "go this way, go that way, waltz", similar to the Berlin, the Veleta, the Rye Waltz, and many, many, many other sequence dances.

Gone with the Wind (film), 1939

As I promised a few months ago, I recently rewatched the 1939 film version of Gone with the Wind to see how the dancing in it looked from a historical perspective.  The short answer: pretty good, with some caveats.

The novel was heavily trimmed for the screen, even though the film clocks in at close to four hours, and the dancing is cut back as well.  What remains is fairly faithful to the novel.  

For more detail on the book's descriptions, please see my previous post on the topic.  Here, I'm just going to talk about the movie.  Frank Floyd and Eddie Prinz are the known (though uncredited) dance directors.

Going through the dance elements bit by bit:

Professor Sheldon's Presidential Polka Quadrille

Professor Sheldon's Presidential Polka Quadrille was created by Washington, D. C., dancing master George T. Sheldon, who had a lengthy career as a dancing master to both children and adults and was the author of at least a couple of other quadrilles.  In May, 1898, Sheldon was discussed briefly in M. B. Gilbert's dance journal, The Director, in which it was said that he was then 72 and had been teaching for 57 years.  His most famous pupil was probably Nellie Grant, daughter of President Ulysses S. Grant.  This quadrille was said in several sources to be dedicated to her.

Professor Sheldon's Presidential Polka Quadrille seems to have first been published around 1893, possibly by H. N. Grant, and thereafter turns up in a number of midwestern dance manuals running through the early years of the new century.  It is referred to variously by its full name, by the shorter Sheldon's Presidential Polka Quadrille or Sheldon's Polka Quadrille, and, in one manual, as Williams' Presidential Polka Quadrille.  I have no idea who Williams was or why he was credited with a quadrille well documented as having been authored by Sheldon.

Like most polka quadrilles, Professor Sheldon's Presidential Polka Quadrille is primarily an excuse to polka, with just a few stray figures thrown in between polka segments.  I was drawn to it by the interesting mixer element in Figure 3 and the unusual way of performing the right and left (chaîne anglaise) around the edge of the set in each successive iteration of Figure 4.

In general, this is a straightforward reconstruction with only two real problems to resolve, which are discussed in the notes below. 

July 2017 Gig Calendar

Still in catchup/hibernation mode this month, but I will emerge briefly for a long-awaited return to DJing at Bluesy Tuesy, my blues and fusion dance home, and a Regency dance class.  Otherwise, find me online or not at all!

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Tuesday, July 18th ~ Cambridge, Massachusetts (Boston area)
Bluesy Tuesy (Facebook event)
7:30-11:00pm (lesson then dancing).  DJing blues for the second set, 9:45-11:00pm.

Wednesday, July 26th ~ Middletown, Connecticut
Jane Austen Era Dancing (Facebook event)
Beginner-friendly lesson 7:00-8:30pm.  Informal dancing, no costume needed.  

Friday, July 28th ~ Boston area
Private event. 

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I am available for private lessons in Connecticut or on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

New Haven and Middletown, Connecticut: July 1-5, 8-17, 20, 23-27, 30-31
New York City: July 6-7
Boston area: July 18-19, July 28-29
New London (CT) area: July 21

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Military Schottische Series

The Military Schottische Series is a "class dance", a practice or exercise series to work on the movements of a particular dance.  It is a particular characteristic of the Military Schottische (briefly described here) and its descendants that the first part is done side by side, both dancers facing forward, and the second turning, the dancers in closed position.  The Series doesn't follow that pattern precisely (there is no closed position turn at all), but it keeps the general concept of the first half traveling along line of dance and the second doing some sort of turn.

The Series is described in gender-neutral terms: the "dancer on the left" and the "dancer on the right".  In a dance school setting it would be quite normal to have two girls or two boys dance together.  

It would also be possible to use this as a performance or recital piece.

I have two sources for the Series, with the same general sequence of figures:

• The Director, June 1898.  This was a short-lived dance periodical edited by M. B. Gilbert.
• School Dances, 1913.  This is a posthumous publication  attributed to M. B. Gilbert but edited by Susan Hoffman Gilman.

Gilbert was a major figure in American dance of the late nineteenth century and is best known today from his collection of couple dances, Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890).  I talked a bit more about his various pursuits here.  The Military Schottische Series is uncredited, but I think it very possible that he wrote it himself.

Cross Step Polka

Here's an intriguing little polka variation from late nineteenth century America: the cross step polka, which is found in both M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and William B. DeGarmo's The Dance of Society, Fifth Edition, Revised and Enlarged (New York, 1892).  It's quite easy to do and is particularly interesting because the partners dance different steps at the same time while in a close ballroom hold, which is quite unusual in late-nineteenth century couple dancing.  

Some earlier examples of this kind of mismatched footwork include the slow French waltz and sauteuse described by Thomas Wilson in 1816, the old valse à trois temps, and Cellarius' valse à cinq temps of the 1840s.  But in all of those cases, the mismatched steps are the basic steps of the dance rather than a variation.  That suggests an unusual problem: how does one lead one's partner into different footwork for a variation when one is not doing the same footwork oneself?

Pretty easily, it turns out!  

Early Foxtrot: Catch Steps

I spent a lot of time teaching foxtrot this spring, and after going through my usual repertoire of easy foxtrot variations with several different groups, I feel I need to add a few new steps.  Nothing complicated, just something to spice up my standard set.  Both of these steps are taken from Edna Stuart Lee's Thirty Fox Trot Steps (New York, 1916).

The basic catch step is just a simple way to change the lead foot, either because it's needed for a variation or just for fun.  It's so easy I can explain it without a little numbered chart: 

Gentleman starts left forward.  Walk for awhile.  When you want to change lead foot, make a single two-step.  Keep walking with the lead (odd count; the strong beat of the music) on the other foot.  The lady does the same thing, but backward and starting on the right foot.

More formally:

The Catch Step
1234    Four walking steps (LRLR)
5&6     Two-step (LRL)
7...       Continue walking (R...)

The Scissors Catch is a more elaborate way of accomplishing the same thing, with a tango-inspired tight cross of the feet:

The Scissors Catch
1234    Four walking steps (LRLR)
5          One more walking step (L)
6&7     Cross right over left and chassé left behind right, bringing right forward again, still crossed
8...       Continue walking (L...)

6&7 are a two-step done in a crossed position.

According to Lee, this step "is attractive and has the appearance of being difficult."  She's right; it's flashy but really not that hard.  On a normal catch step (two-step), you step outward at a slight diagonal.  On the scissors catch, you step inward, crossing the feet and maintaining that cross throughout the chassé.  So instead of stepping out to the right with the right foot on 6, the gentleman steps to the left.  The lady, dancing backward, steps with her left foot to her right, crossing behind.  After the step-chassé (crossed two-step), the dancers will need to twist a bit to free the trailing foot to make the next step.

The relation between the two catch steps is the same as that of the Snake Dip to the Zig Zag in the one-step -- the Snake Dip initiates by stepping out to the left on the first step while the Zig Zag initiates with a cross by the right foot over the left on the second step.

Lee notes that you can vary the Scissors Catch (and, of course, the regular Catch Step) by doing it on the other foot, and that you can vary the Scissors Catch by doing two in a row, which will mean no change of lead foot.  This will require a noticeable twist clockwise by both dancers on the second Scissors Catch, since they have to free the crossed foot (behind for the gentleman, in front for the lady) and bring it all the way around to cross the other way (gentleman: in front, lady: behind).  This isn't all that hard, but it needs a bit more vigor, well-controlled, than a series of normal two-steps.

One can dance the Scissors Catch keeping the body facing more-or-less straight along or against line of dance, or one can do it with more turn, making small diagonals to the side and coming close to Yale position.  Either way is interesting and attractive.

For both steps, note that the four walking steps at the beginning are Lee's introduction to just about every variation in her book.  While it is nice to space out the fancier foxtrot variations with a few walking steps in between, it's not necessary to have it be precisely four or to always do a catch step on a particular beat.

June 2017 Gig Calendar

Back in the U.S.A. at last!  I'm going to be keeping a very light teaching schedule with minimal travel this summer while I try to catch up on research and writing and various things I've neglected while living in Russia, but I'll be emerging from my warm-weather hibernation for a few little events here and there.

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Friday-Saturday, June 9th-10th ~ East Durham, New York (Catskills)
Steampunk in the Catskills III (Facebook event)
Friendly, low-key steampunk weekend with two workshops in Victorian dancing at the Blackthorne Resort!

Wednesday, June 14th ~ Middletown, Connecticut
Jane Austen Era Dancing  (Facebook event)
Beginner-friendly lesson 7:00-8:30pm.  Informal dancing, no costume needed.  

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I am available for private lessons in Connecticut or on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

New York City: TBD
New Haven and Middletown, Connecticut: June 1-8, 13-30
Catskills (near Cairo): June 9-10
Lebanon, New Hampshire: June 11-12

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Megunticook Reel

Megunticook Reel is a mid-nineteenth century American contra dance that first appears in at least two editions of The ball-room manual of contra dances and social cotillons: the second edition, published in 1856, and the "Vest Pocket Edition" copyright 1862 and published 1863, which is available online here.  The original introduction was signed by "W. H. Q.", presumed to be one William Henry Quimby (1831-1857).  The posthumous Vest Pocket Edition has additional unsigned introductory material.  It is likely that the dance appeared in the first edition as well, but I don't have a copy of that one to check.

There appears to be no tune by the name "Megunticook Reel", so the name presumably belongs to the dance.  Maine is home to Mount Megunticook, Megunticook Lake, and the Megunticook River, from one or all of which the dance takes its name.  The photo at left, from SummitPost.Org, shows a view of Megunticook Lake from an overlook on Mount Megunticook.

There are three other sources for the dance, all from New England.  Eben's Order Book of Dancing (New Hampshire, 1877) is cited by Ralph Page as his source for the figures.  Page's outline of the dance was published in 1951 in Northern Junket, Vol. 8, No. 3.  I don't have a copy of Eben's either, but judging from Page's writeup, I doubt that it differs substantially from the Quimby one.  

The dance also turns up in Howe's New American Dancing Master (Boston, 1882 and 1892) with text identical to the Quimby one other than punctuaton.  The 1892 edition has only minor changes from the 1882 one.  It's interesting that, as far as I can tell, the dance does not appear in any earlier books by Elias Howe.  California Reel has the same publication history (Quimby and late Howe), though I don't know whether or not it appears in Eben's.

Laces and Graces

Laces and Graces is an American two-step sequence dance described by seminal American folk dance collector, teacher, caller, and historian Lloyd Shaw in his invaluable work, The Round Dance Book (1948).  Shaw gives no specific date for Laces and Graces, so the best I can suggest is early 1940s.  It does not appear in Shaw's earlier work, Cowboy Dances (1939).

Laces and Graces is easy for anyone who knows two-step and, importantly, has available music, including both sheet music and the very recording cited by Shaw in 1948.

Shaw called Laces and Graces a "dance built to fit an old-time piece of popular music", but didn't say anything else about the music, which was originally composed by Gustav(e) Salzer and John W. Bratton and published in 1903.  

Out in Oregon, the Polk County Observer made note of the new hit in a short article entitled "Popular New Music" on November 27, 1903:

"Laces and Graces," an instrumental novelty by Gustav Salzer and John W. Bratton, is just what its title would suggest its being; that is, a dainty, graceful melody, full of the atmosphere of the ball room and reminiscent of frills and flirtations. It is a companion piece to Mr. Bratton's "In Cozy Corner," and while it has none of tho odd little twists and turns of its famous predecessor, it yet possesses an originality and charm which is already making it a great "go," although it has only been out a few months. The title page of this composition, gotten up by the house of M. Witmark & Sons, in the most artistic manner, represents a white lace handkerchief upon a dark back ground, and the design, though simple, is so remarkably striking that it is already a prominent feature of the window displays of most of the prominent dealers.

A scan of the original article may be found at Historic Oregon Newspapers.  "Popular New Music" starts about a third of the way down the third column from the left.  Part of the same text had appeared in the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, New York, on November 15, 1903 (here), suggesting that it was at least partly copied from some major newspaper or syndicated piece.  A little digging turned up a copy of the original sheet music at the Parlor Salon Sheet Music Collection at the University of Maine, from which the image above, complete with its charmingly irrelevant picture of pseudo-1830s dancers practicing their steps, is taken.  The lace handkerchief suggests that "laces" refers to lace in the sense of trim or fabric, not to shoelaces or corset laces.

CD Review: Magnetic Rags

I snapped up Magnetic Rags: Ragtime for Brass (2000), from the Avatar Brass Quintet, years and years and years ago, but I had never made much use of it in dancing.  But this spring I've found myself needing ragtime music much more frequently than usual for classes and workshops, so I've been digging deep into my playlists for something other than Spare Parts and the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra.  Magnetic Rags was not intended for dancing, and it's certainly a dandy listening album, but it has enough tracks usable for dancing to make it a worthwhile purchase for dancers as well.  The exclusively brass instrumentation (trumpet, flügelhorn, horn, trombone, and tuba) gives it a pleasantly different sound from most ragtime recordings.  

The arrangements and one of the pieces are by noted modern ragtime composer William Ryden, who also provided the extensive liner notes, including an explanation of his selections for the album:

Ragtime is not easy to define.  Perhaps the closest I can come in a musicological sense is to call it a dance-based American folk music that features a syncopated melody against a regular accompaniment.  In another sense it is a melding of African and Western musical cultures.  These definitions apply, however, to all the ragtime songs, dances and even some marches written from the middle 1890s to about 1920.  What we think of today as classic ragtime are the more formal instrumental compositions, mostly for piano, written during that period.

The album program is all "classic rags", including works by a cornucopia of well-known composers as Scott Joplin (of course), George Gershwin, James Reese Europe, Eubie Blake, Irving Berlin, as well as a few by more obscure artists.  

Le Four Step Schottisch

Winding up my little schottische mini-series, I have a simple little variation found, as far as I can tell, only in George Washington Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903).  Le Four Step Schottische is composed solely of -- you guessed it -- sequences of four steps (walking or slide-close-slide-closing) and turning two-steps.  This is schottische deconstructed to the point of having almost completely lost any distinctive characteristics of the dance, foreshadowing the simple schottisches of the ragtime era.  The variation itself is negligible, but fitting it in among related schottisches of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century is interesting.

But first, how to do it:

The dancers begin in a regular ballroom hold, both turned slightly outwards to face along line of dance.  The gentleman begins with the left foot and the lady with the right.

Le Four Step Schottisch (four bars)
1b    Four steps forward along line of dance
1b    One complete turn of two-step
1b    Slide lead foot sideways along line of dance; close trailing foot to 1st; slide lead foot again; close trailing foot to 5th
1b    One complete turn of two-step

Most of Lopp's schottische are given a metronome count of 72, but Le Four Step gets a brisk 84, presumably because its steps are so simple that it is easy to dance quickly.  In the general theory of turning couple dances, one could reverse the direction of the turning two-steps.

This schottische looks like quite the outlier, but it's actually a fairly logical development within schottische's evolution in the last two decades of the nineteenth century and first two decades of the twentieth. 

A L'Avenir

The five-step schottische was not E. Woodworth Masters' only choreographic effort.  

Interestingly, considering its American origin, I first ran across A L'Avenir in the pages of Dancing, a London periodical similar to The Director, Galop, The Two-Step, and other efforts by dancing masters to establish dance journals.  In the December, 1892, issue, the editor notes that the November issue of their "transatlantic contemporary" included the editor's version of the "Waltz Menuet" and that (therefore?) they include in this issue instructions for a new American dance, "L'Avenir", by "Mr. W. Masters, of Boston, United States".  The editor in question was probably R. M. Crompton, creator of one of several late nineteenth-century "waltz minuets".  

I located the sheet music (left; click to enlarge) in the online collection of Goucher College.  It does not have the dance instructions, but it includes some useful background information:

• The music seems also to have been composed by Masters; no one else is credited.
• A L'Avenir (the full name) was adopted by the American National Association of Teachers of Dancing at their convention in Washington, D.C., held from June 10-13, 1890.
• The sheet music is copyright 1891.

A L'Avenir is described as "A New Round Dance, Combination of Dance Movements".  It certainly is that.  The name means "for the future" or "henceforth", which raises the terrifying possibility that this is what Masters thought dancing would or should look like in the future.  The hodgepodge of movements he created is interesting, at least: a twenty-four-bar sequence in schottische (4/4) time.  Twenty-four bars is an unusual length for a sequence dance, but a quick check of the music reveals that it consists of twelve eight-bar strains, with the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth all being the same.  So the dance done four times through would match the sheet music nicely.

Here's how to do it:

Imperial Gavotte

The Imperial Gavotte is one of the many schottische variations included in M. B. Gilbert's book of couple dances, Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and in G. W. Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903).  It is attributed to Professor A. T. Graves of Albany, New York, and noted by Gilbert to have been accepted by the American Society of Professors of Dancing in New York on September 4, 1889.  The Society endorsement gave it enough exposure for it to turn up outside Graves' own studio: in the October 26, 1890, issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri), it is listed as one of the new dances to be taught by John Mahler. 

May 2017 Gig Calendar

This will be my final month of Russian residency, continuing my regular Moscow classes in cross-step waltz and American ragtime dance, plus at least one one-shot class in Moscow in nineteenth-century American contradance before I head home.  A couple of other things are in the works and may yet be added to this schedule, so check back as the month goes on!

For Russian-language information and questions about my classes in Russia this spring, please see my VK community.

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Tuesday, May 2nd ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
Cross-Step Waltz Class (8 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  Eighth class in the ten-class course; course subscription or special permission required.  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Thursday, May 4th ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
American Ragtime Dance Class (7 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  1910s dance class, seventh in a ten-class course covering one-step, two-step, foxtrot, hesitation waltz, half & half, 1910s American contra dance, and more!  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  Course subscription or special permission required.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Thursday, May 11th ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
American Ragtime Dance Class (8 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  1910s dance class, eighth in a ten-class course covering one-step, two-step, foxtrot, hesitation waltz, half & half, 1910s American contra dance, and more!  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  Course subscription or special permission required.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Tuesday, May 16th ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
Cross-Step Waltz Class (9 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  Ninth class in the ten-class course; course subscription or special permission required.  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Thursday, May 18th ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
American Ragtime Dance Class (9 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  1910s dance class, ninth in a ten-class course covering one-step, two-step, foxtrot, hesitation waltz, half & half, 1910s American contra dance, and more!  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  Course subscription or special permission required.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Sunday, May 21st ~ Moscow Russia (VKontakte event - in Russian)
Мастеркласс от Сьюзан де Гвардиола (American Contradances - Second Half of the Century)
8:00-10:00pm.  Workshop on typical and unusual American contradances from the middle to the end of the nineteenth century for dance studio Touch the Sky.  Taught in a mix of Russian, English, and French (dance figures).  Open to the public; very beginner-friendly!

Tuesday, May 23rd ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
Cross-Step Waltz Class (10 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  Last class in the ten-class course; course subscription or special permission required.  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Thursday, May 25th ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
American Ragtime Dance Class (10 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  1910s dance class, last in the ten-class course covering one-step, two-step, foxtrot, hesitation waltz, half & half, 1910s American contra dance, and more!  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  Course subscription or special permission required.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Friday, May 26th  ~ Moscow, Russia
Private event (evening)

Saturday, May 27th ~ Moscow, Russia 
Private event (afternoon)

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I am available for private lessons in Moscow and nearby cities; outside Moscow, the student must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.  Private lessons in the USA are available from early June.

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Coming in June: Steampunk in the Catskills!

Gone with the Wind (novel), 1936

I was a young teenager and knew exactly nothing about historical dance when I first read Margaret Mitchell's famous novel Gone with the Wind (1936) several decades ago.  Rereading it recently, I was almost too distracted by the nauseating racism and the ridiculously sanitized portrayal of slavery to pay attention to the dancing.  

Many words have been written about how problematic Gone with the Wind is from a historical perspective, and I won't rehash those issues here.  But I do want to talk about the dancing, which is surprisingly accurate for a novel coming out of an era when dance history as a discipline was in its infancy.  This commentary applies only to the novel; I haven't seen the movie in decades either, though I will try to rewatch it sometime soon and see what I think of the dancing on film.  

I haven't done a lot of reading on Mitchell, but even the basic information available online reveals a few pertinent details about her life.  She was a debutante in Atlanta in the 1920s, and apparently quite a flirt.  She is said to have performed the notorious Apache dance at a 1921 ball, including a kiss with her partner, thoroughly shocking Atlanta society.  (Young, Elizabeth. Disarming the Nation: women's writing and the American Civil War. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1999. p. 243.)

As a child, she had access to firsthand accounts from relatives of the years of the Civil War and the following Reconstruction era, and for her few years in her twenties she was a journalist, writing feature stories for The Atlanta Journal.  These experiences could have given her the knowledge and research skills to write accurately about the dancing of the mid-nineteenth century, which is not always the case in historical fiction.

And, to my surprise and pleasure, the dancing in Gone with the Wind is actually within the bounds of historical possibility for the 1860s and 1870s.  In this post, I'll go through the significant dance references in the novel.  

All quotations are from the online edition at the University of Adelaide (Australia), which has no page numbering.  I'll give chapter references, and the exact quotes can be found by searching the text.

American Gavotte / Polka Américaine

The American Gavotte is another of the variations published by dancing master M. B. Gilbert in his manual of couple dances, Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and republished by G. W. Lopp in La Danse (Paris, 1903).  It was attributed by Gilbert to James P. Brooks of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (and by Lopp to "J.-D. Brooks").  Gilbert also noted that it was adopted by the American Society of Professors of Dancing, New York -- this would have been in 1886, from contemporary writeups of the event -- and published by permission of White Smith Music Publishing Co.  Lopp listed it as "Polka Américaine (American Gavotte)"

I've discussed a couple of other American "gavotte" variations before, but both of those were for the schottische.  The American Gavotte is listed as a polka, though it actually works perfectly well to schottische music and there is some confusion surround how it is notated that suggests that it might have originally been meant as a schottische; see the music note below.  It certainly has some choreographic kinship with the schottische gavottes in that it also uses the rhythm pattern "1&2&3,4" stepped as "slide, chassé, chassé, close" or "slide-close-slide-close-slide, close".  This is one measure of schottische as usually counted, but two measures of polka.  Because of the pattern of the following four beats of music, I actually prefer to break the first four up into two bars, polka style, as follows, with dancers starting on their first foot (his left, her right):

Flower Girl's Dance

Flower Girl's Dance is an American Civil War-era contra dance that I remember dancing way back in the early 1990s when I first started doing mid-nineteenth-century dance.  But the version we did does not actually match that found in any source I've ever seen.  And it's easy to see why: the versions given in the sources don't actually work very well.  And now that I've reconstructed the California Reel, I have a little theory about why that is.

The earliest sources I have for Flower Girl's Dance are Elias Howe's two 1858 books, the Pocket Ball-Room Prompter and the Complete Ball-Room Handbook.  I strongly suspect that all the later sources were copying to some degree from Howe.  So let's look at Howe's instructions:

FLOWER GIRL'S DANCE.
(Music: Girl I left behind me.)
Form as for Spanish Dance. All chassa to the right, half balance--chassa back, swing four half round--swing four half round and back--half promenade, half right and left--forward and back all, forward and pass to next couple (as in the Haymakers).

There are some minor differences of spelling and punctuation, but the wording is essentially the same across almost forty years of Howe publications.  Taken at face value with the hash marks setting off eight-bar musical strains, this yields a 40-bar dance:

8b    All chassé to the right, half balance
8b    Chassé back, swing four half round
8b    Swing four half round and back
8b    Half promenade, half right and left
8b    Forward and back, forward and pass through

40 bars is an unusual length, but not unheard of.  But there are worse problems here:

California Reel

There's the famous Virginia Reel.  There's a Kentucky Reel.  Why not a California Reel?

Unlike those other two reels, which are full-set dances, the California Reel is a normal  progressive contra dance in the "Spanish Dance" format: couple facing couple, either down a longways set or in a circle.  For this particular dance, a line of couples will work better.

I have five sources for California Reel, though two of them are simply later editions of other sources:

• The ball-room manual, containing a complete description of contra dances, with remarks on cotillions, quadrilles, and Spanish dance, revised edition, presumed to be by William Henry Quimby (Belfast, Maine, 1856; introduction signed W. H. Q)

• The ball room guide : a description of the most popular contra dances of the day, (Laconia, New Hampshire, 1858)

• The ball-room manual of contra dances and social cotillons, with remarks on quadrilles and Spanish dance, vest pocket edition, presumed to be by William Henry Quimby (Belfast, Maine, and Boston, 1863) (later edition of first source above, again signed W. H. Q.)

• Howe's New American Dancing Master by Elias Howe (Boston, 1882)

• Howe's New American Dancing Master by Elias Howe (Boston, 1892)

All of them have the same language in the description, varying only in punctuation and spelling.  I am reasonably sure that the text in most of these sources was copied from either the 1856 source or some earlier source.  

The Western Normal Newport

The Western Normal Newport was named after the Western Association Normal School Masters of Dancing, a professional organization for dancing masters in western North America.  "Normal school" sounds odd to modern ears, but historically, it didn't mean what we'd imagine today.  A normal school was a teacher-training school, where the "norms" of teaching and subject material were taught; more information on normal schools in general may be found here.  The Western Association Normal School was founded in 1894 under Canadian dancing master John Freeman Davis, its first president.

My only source for the Western Normal Newport is George Washington Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903).  Lopp was from the northwestern USA and may have been a member of the Normal School or at least aware of it.  The variation's name, as given in French by Lopp, was Le Western Normal Newport, attributed to l'Association de l'École normale des Maîtres de danse de l'Ouest.

Given that the school was founded in 1894, the Western Normal Newport was obviously created too late to appear in M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing, published in Portland, Maine, in 1890, from which Lopp cribbed so much of his own book.

In my long-ago original post on the Newport, I noted that, like other nineteenth-century turning dances, it could be done turning to the right or left (natural or reverse turns, respectively) or along the line of dance without turning.  This variation makes the left and right turns quite explicit, mixing them with simple walking steps, the gentleman moving forward along the line of dance and the lady backward.  The variation takes eight bars of 3/4 music (see note below), and the reconstruction is very straightforward.  The gentleman's steps are given below; the lady dances opposite.  The overall scheme is three bars of right-turning Newport, three walking steps, three bars of left-turning Newport, and three more walking steps.

Ripple, Ripple, Jersey

The Ripple Galop and the Jersey are two galop variations found in both M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and George Washington Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903), a French translation of Gilbert with some additions and changes.  Both variations use the late nineteenth-century American waltz-galop technique of a leap along the line of dance followed by a side step and a cut (or close of the feet) in the rhythm "1&2" rather than the slide-chassé of the galop, extending it into the "Newport" pattern of a leap along the line of dance followed by a series of side-closes, stretching the basic step-unit from one to two measures.  The key difference is where the side steps and closes fall relative to the strong beats of the music:

galop:              1 (side)                   & (close)    2 (side)
waltz-galop:    1 (back/forward)    & (side)      2 (cut/close)

The galop pattern ends in an open position.  The waltz-galop normally does as well, but it can also be ended elegantly at the end of the music by a close of the feet rather than a cut.  This alteration of the relationship of movements to music in dances of the "new waltz" family is what makes these variations interesting to me.

Please see my original posts for a little more information about the waltz-galop (here) and the Newport (here).  

April 2017 Gig Calendar

Continuing my wonderful Russian residency, this month I'll be continuing my regular Moscow classes in cross-step waltz and American ragtime dance as well as making trips to Saint Petersburg and Vladimir to teach ragtime dance in those cities as well!  I'll also have a couple of one-shot classes for Moscow studios in ragtime dance and American Civil War-era contradance.  For Russian-language information and questions about my classes in Russia this spring, please see my VK community.

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Saturday & Sunday, April 1st & 2nd ~ Vladimir, Russia (VKontakte event - in Russian)
Ragtime dance classes
Four workshops covering hesitation waltz, half & half, advanced one-step, and some miscellaneous ragtime material: the Lulu Fado mixer, short sequences, and an early 1910s American country dance.  Open to the public.

Tuesday, April 4th ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
Cross-Step Waltz Class (4 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  Fourth class in the ten-class course; course subscription or special permission required.  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Thursday, April 6th ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
American Ragtime Dance Class (3 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  1910s dance class, third in a ten-class course covering one-step, two-step, foxtrot, hesitation waltz, half & half, 1910s American contra dance, and more!  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  Course subscription or special permission required.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Saturday, April 8th ~ Moscow, Russia
2:00-5:00pm.  Ragtime Dance and 1930s Sequence Dances for Студия «Танец весны» (VKontakte event - in Russian)
Workshop on 1910s one-step, two-step, and foxtrot, plus 1930s American sequence dances.  Open to the public.

Tuesday, April 11th ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
Cross-Step Waltz Class (5 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  Fifth class in the ten-class course; course subscription or special permission required.  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Thursday, April 13th ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
American Ragtime Dance Class (4 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  1910s dance class, fourth in a ten-class course covering one-step, two-step, foxtrot, hesitation waltz, half & half, 1910s American contra dance, and more!  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  Course subscription or special permission required.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Saturday & Sunday, April 15th & 16th ~ Saint Petersburg, Russia
Ragtime dance classes for Crystal Dragon Studio (VKontakte - in Russian)
Details to be announced!

Tuesday, April 18th ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
Cross-Step Waltz Class (6 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  Sixth class in the ten-class course; course subscription or special permission required.  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Thursday, April 20th ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
American Ragtime Dance Class (5 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  1910s dance class, fifth in a ten-class course covering one-step, two-step, foxtrot, hesitation waltz, half & half, 1910s American contra dance, and more!  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  Course subscription or special permission required.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Saturday, April 22nd ~ Moscow Russia
Private event

Sunday, April 23rd ~ Moscow Russia (VKontakte event - in Russian)
Контрдансы времен войны Севера и Юга (Contradances of the American Civil War)
8:00-10:00pm.  Workshop on typical and unusual American contradances from the middle of the nineteenth century for dance studio Touch the Sky.  Taught in a mix of Russian, English, and French (dance figures).  Open to the public; very beginner-friendly!

Tuesday, April 25th ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte event - in Russian)
Cross-Step Waltz Class (7 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  Seventh class in the ten-class course; course subscription or special permission required.  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

Thursday, April 27th ~ Moscow, Russia (VKontakte discussion - in Russian)
American Ragtime Dance Class (6 of 10)
8:00-9:30pm.  1910s dance class, sixth in a ten-class course covering one-step, two-step, foxtrot, hesitation waltz, half & half, 1910s American contra dance, and more!  Taught in a mix of English and Russian.  Course subscription or special permission required.  For general discussion (in Russian) about my classes in Moscow, see my VK community.

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I am available for private lessons in Moscow and nearby cities; outside Moscow, the student must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.  Private lessons in the USA are available from early June.

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Coming in May: regular ragtime and cross-step waltz classes continue in Moscow, plus a waltz party and ragtime ball!