Capering & Kickery

Aurora Waltz / Hungarian Waltz - Contra Dance

It's been quite some time since I've added a nineteenth-century American contra dance to Kickery.  Here's a waltz contra from the ever-useful Elias Howe that, with only a few bars of turning waltz, is an easy dance for beginners.  The set of figures appears in near-identical form in at least four of Howe's numerous dance manuals: the Complete ball-room handbook (1858), The pocket ball-room prompter (1858), and the American dancing master, and ball-room prompter (1862 and 1866). 

The original text:

First couple balance, cross over and go down outside below two couples — first couple balance again and waltz up to place — down the centre, back and cast off — swing six

In the two 1858 manuals, the figures appear under the name "Aurora Waltz", and in the 1862 and 1866 books, they appear under "Hungarian Waltz".  I think that as with earlier country dances, the names actually belong to tunes, rather than the dance figures, and I have no special preference as to which tune and name should be used.  Very similar figures (minus the waltz up the center and with a right and left instead of the swing six) appear at least as far back as the 1850s as non-waltz contra dance figures (under several different names) in Howe's and other manuals.  It looks to me like Howe just made minor tweaks to a common set of figures to take advantage of the waltz music.

May 2018 Gig Calendar

A light month for me, with the first half of it taken out by Russian holidays and some private travel.  I'll only have a short cross-step course and a final party before I head back to the USA for the summer!

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Tuesdays, May 15, 22 ~ Moscow, Russia
Cross-Step Waltz Mini-Course
19:00-21:00.  Intermediate cross-step waltz; previous experience required.  Mini-course registration packaged with the party on May 29th!

Tuesday, May 29 ~ Moscow, Russia
Waltz Evening/Farewell Party (VKontakte event - Russian)
19:00-22:00.  The end of my teaching year in Moscow!  Come celebrate with an evening of waltz (cross-step and otherwise!)  Included with May mini-course.

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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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The Morrisons, 1863

I came across Margaret Hosmer's novel, The Morrisons: a story of domestic life (1863), in my endless quest for dance references in nineteenth-century fiction.  Almost four hundred pages later, I have a few new citations, the highlight of which is a mention of two women waltzing together, and a growing distaste for storylines that treat dying of consumption (tuberculosis) as a character-building experience.

According to Deidre Johnson's useful website 19th-Century Girls' Series, which catalogues said series and their authors, only basic biographical facts about Hosmer's life are known: she was born Margaret Kerr in 1830, raised in Philadelphia, married Granville Hosmer and had at least one child, bounced back and forth between Philadelphia and California several times, worked in schools, published novels and short fiction for both children and adults, and died in 1897.  The website's full biographical listing for her, from which these details are taken, may be found here.  I am not enough of a fan of her writing to have done any further research on her life.

The Morrisons was Hosmer's first novel.  It is generally listed as having been published in 1863 while she was living in Philadelphia.  I didn't look hard for an 1863 edition; the one I read was from 1864.  An 1868 edition is available online as well.  The setting is vague, both in place and time.  The city where the Morrisons live is somewhere between New York and the South.  Given the author's roots, I suppose it to be Philadelphia; the neighborhood names (West Park, Oak Hill) would make sense for that city.  There is no mention of the Civil War.  Characters visit "the South" without incident and temporarily-hired black servants make brief appearances.  The dresses are not described in detail, other than being bulky enough to make loading the women into carriages a chore.  My best guess is that it is meant to take place in the late 1850s.

The Morrisons are an Irish-American family, a widowed mother with two daughters, a son, and an elderly uncle, all living on the charity of the mother's relatively wealthy niece, Bess Saunders, whom all expect to marry the son and thus solidify their position.  It's a twisted sort of Cinderella story, since the Morrisons themselves are, for the most part, lazy spendthrifts, while the saintly Bess not only supports them (to the point of mortgaging her house and selling her jewelry) but also does all the housework as well.  It's clear from the novel that the Morrisons are not the best of society, but Bess, heiress of her successful father, is wealthy enough that they have servants and need not work for a living.  The uncle has been in business and traveled extensively, but lost most of his money and now lives modestly with his family. 

I suspect that the family being explicitly Irish would have signaled much more strongly to the nineteenth-century reader than it does to me, but the idea that most of the Morrisons are stereotypically charming and somewhat disreputable wastrels comes through pretty clearly.

The Rocker Hesitation Waltz

Montréal dancing master Frank H. Norman was last seen on Kickery when I discussed his description of the Rag-Time Crawl, from his Complete Dance Instructor (Ottawa, 1914).  The Rocker Hesitation, or Rocker Hesitation Waltz, is another easy sequence dance attributed to Norman and taken from the pages of The Two Step, a journal of "Dancing, Acting and Music" that in 1919 was based in Buffalo, New York, and edited by Layton Walker, whose delightful cotillion (German) figures have featured on Kickery several times.  The associate editors were a Who's Who list of American dancing masters with a few international names, including many well-known to dance historians today from their surviving works: F. Leslie Clendenen, Albert W. Newman, Jacob Mahler, Charles d'Albert, George Washington Lopp, Oscar Duryea, and Norman himself.

The Rocker Hesitation was published in Volume XXIX, No. 6, of The Two Step, dated September 1919.  That year, the dancing masters were still struggling with the aftermath of the first World War and the musical and terpsichorean innovations of "jazzification" and the "shimmy" vs. the more respectable waltz, one-step, and foxtrot.  Among the interesting tidbits in the pages of The Two Step that year were that the waltz was coming back at the "slow" tempo of 48 bars (144 beats) per minute, which gives you some idea of how fast they were dancing it before the war! 

In a conveniently self-serving column in the October issue (in which the Rocker Hesitation Waltz instructions were reprinted) Norman stated, while discussing the rebound of dancing after the war, that

...as we are always craving for [sic] something new, England sends us a very pretty and easy new dance, one that will, no doubt, figure on all the programs this season.  It is called the Rocker Hesitation and is an offshoot or a rebound from a dance of somewhat similar name that proved too difficult for the average dancer to master with grace.

He doesn't go into details about the antecedent dance, but a plain "Rocker", attributed to Oscar Duryea, appears on other "latest dances" lists that year and might be the basis for the hesitation version.

It was noted in the November issue that Professor Norman demonstrated the Rocker Hesitation with a Mrs. S. Wyness for the visiting Prince of Wales at the Grand Army Dance on October 30, 1919 (one of two balls the Prince attended that evening) and that the Prince remarked that it was "a dainty and pretty dance."

Maxixe Variations: Flirtation Step

Here's another easy maxixe variation: the Flirtation Step, with the gentleman shadowing the lady and peeking at her alternately from one side to the other.

The Flirtation Step appears most usefully in two sources: G. Hepburn Wilson's How to Dance the Modern Dances (New York, 1914) and in one of a series of flip-books published in 1914 by tobacco company Liggett & Myers to promote its cigarette brands, including Fatima and Sultan.  There was an entire series of ten of these, with figures for the one-step, tango, hesitation waltz, and maxixe.  These flip-books were reprinted in the 1990s, and the reprints can still be found for sale now and then.  

Wilson depicts his dancers with the lady's hands raised, elbows bent, and the gentleman behind her, as shown in the illustration at left (click to enlarge).  He describes the step thus:

As the lady and the gentleman two-step to the left, the gentleman is looking over the lady's left shoulder, and then in continuing the two-step movement to the right, the gentleman looks over the lady's right shoulder.  This step is termed the FLIRTATION STEP.

Maxixe Variations: a dip here, a heel tap there

Here's a quick pair of variations (well, a variation and an ornament) for the maxixe, both pulled from the maxixe descriptions in Albert Newman's Dances of to-day, published in Philadelphia in 1914. 

I don't use Newman as a maxixe source all that often because he really only offers a pair of possible sequences, his own and one from another instructor in his studio.  And he likes his body sway the opposite of the way I do it (toward the leading foot rather than away), so even if I were inclined to do his sequences, I'd be fighting muscle memory to do them in his style.   But even a minor source like Newman provides a few useful flourishes here and there.

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First, an interesting dip or, more accurately, a lunge.  It adds a little spice to the maxixe without any need for turning or changes of arm position.  It is easy to perform, but I would not consider it leadable unless the lady already knows the move.

Giraudet's Galopade

La Galopade is a short, simple sequence dance created by French dancing master, choreographer, and author Eugène Giraudet and preserved in the enormous 55th edition of his dance manual, La danse, la tenue, le maintien, l'hygiène & l'éducation (c1900) as well as in his 1913 Méthode moderne pour bien apprendre la danse.  A matching description appears in George Washington Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903). 

In the companion volume to La danse, Traité de la danse (c1900), Giraudet dates the dance to 1889; its earliest appearance may have been on the accompanying sheet music by composer Félix Chaudoir.

The dance itself is consistent across the sources and entirely straightforward to reconstruct.  The dancers start side by side, as shown above (click to enlarge), inside hands held high, gentleman's left hand on his hip (palm out) and lady's right hand holding her gown.  They start on "outside" feet (his left, her right).  Couple follows couple around the room in a line or circle.

Because it moves against line of dance, La Galopade is best done by the room as a whole, rather than as a variation in a normal galop or polka.

La Galopade (16 measures)
2b    Polka forward, side by side
1b    Polka in place, turning half round individually to face against line of dance, changing hands
2b    Polka forward, side by side, against line of dance
1b    Polka in place, turning half round individually and coming together in normal closed hold
2b    One bar of galop and one bar of polka (= four-slide galop); half-turn

6b    Repeat galop/polka (four-slide galop) sequence three more times; one and a half turns
2b    Polka; one complete turn

Open to original position holding inside hands and restart from the beginning.

April 2018 Gig Calendar

April is going to be a little bit insane for me with preparing new dances and classes for the Kyiv (Ukraine) dance festival and ongoing non-dance-related volunteer work.  I'll be continuing with a waltz class and hoping to get out to some of the  post-Easter Moscow balls!

Sanity and time will return in May...

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Tuesdays, April 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th ~ Moscow, Russia
Cross-Step Waltz Series
19:00-21:00.  Intermediate cross-step waltz; previous experience required.

Thursday-Sunday, April 19-22 ~ Kyiv, Ukraine
Vintage Dance Exchange 2018 (Facebook event) (VKontakte event - Ukrainian)
Four-day dance festival with two balls, three dance parties, and thirty-eight classes!  I will be teaching nine classes on dances and movement from the Regency era to the 1940s, plus a dance reconstruction class!  Festival starts Wednesday night, but I will only be there for four days.

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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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March 2018 Gig Calendar

I'm planning another quiet month in March, as I have some substantial non-dance-related obligations for the last half of the month.  I'll be continuing my public and private waltz classes, but otherwise will be fairly invisible!

Any groups or individuals in Moscow or elsewhere in Russia or Europe that might be interested in workshops from now through May should contact me directly.  American gigs can resume in June!

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Tuesdays, March 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th ~ Moscow, Russia
Kaleidoscope Waltz Series: Cross-Step/Trois Temps transitions
19:00-20:30.  Intermediate cross-step waltz; previous experience required.

Tuesdays, March 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th ~ 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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Coming in April: Vintage Dance Exchange 2018 in Kyiv, Ukraine!

Le Moulinet du Pas-de-Quatre

Like the Quadrille du Pas de Quatre, le Moulinet du Pas de Quatre is an experiment by French dancing master and author Eugène Giraudet in adapting the standard Pas de Quatre (a version of the schottische popular in Europe in the late nineteenth century) for small sets of dancers.

The Moulinet is a simple sequence dance, alternating between a short figure for two couples (done to schottische music) and waltzing. It involves only half of the standard Pas de Quatre step-sequence, which makes it a gentle and accessible introduction to the schottische for those new to the dance.

Unusually, we know not only the originator of the Moulinet but precisely when it was created: on March 10, 1897.  Giraudet wrote in a later edition of his Traité de la danse (Paris, c1900) that it was

Créée le 10 mars 1897, pendant une récréation de leçon, avec le concours de MM. et Mlles Mourets, ses élèves, qui ont aidé le maître, par leur gracieux dévouement et leur lumière élégante, ce qui a fait de cette danse la plus belle création du siècle et du maître.

My translation:

Created on 10 March, 1897, during a break in a lesson, with the cooperation of the Monsieurs and Mademoiselles Mourets, his pupils, who have helped the master by their graceful devotion and their elegant light, which have made of this dance the most beautiful creation of the century and of the master.

Giraudet also offered his "sincères hommages" to these pupils, from which I would construe that he had as much interest in the family’s continued patronage as in the quality of the dance.  "The most beautiful creation of the century and of the master" is a vast, vast exaggeration.

Was it actually danced after that one lesson?
It’s hard to say how popular any dance like the Moulinet became outside its creator’s own studio, but Giraudet certainly made an effort to promote it over the years. In the July of 1903, the Société internationale des maîtres choréographes held a congress in Westphalie. Giraudet, as president of the Société, was heavily involved, and when the dancing masters had finished making speeches bashing the “grotesque et ridicule” cakewalk and generally lamenting the state of the modern ballroom, they settled on seven more respectable dances to accept for the 1903 season. Fourth of these was the Moulinet. This backward-looking decree was reported with varying degrees of sarcasm in Parisian journals such as Le Temps and Figaro.

Nonetheless, the Moulinet seems to have achieved enough fame, at least in some circles, to be mentioned in a series of jokes about dance in late 1905:

Le Moulinet du Pas de Quatre aura pour prélude le Pas de Trois; celle-ci, sera dit-on, réservée aux mathématiciens.

My translation:

The Moulinet du Pas de Quatre [four] will have for its prelude the Pas de Trois [three]; this one, it will be said, reserved for mathematicians.

And in early 1907, the Moulinet appeared in a list of dances “en vogue” in les salons (as opposed to among “la société c’est-à-dire (la bourgeoisie) et le peuple”).

On to the practical details.

The Art of Flirting: Of the Polka, 1880

"The Art of Flirting -- A Guide for Girls -- Chapter XXII. -- Of the Polka, its rise and progress, and adaptability to the requirements of the Flirt" appeared in the pages of Judy, or The London Serio-Comic Journal, Volume 26, Feb. 25, 1880.  Judy was a British humor magazine published from 1867 to 1907; it's significance in comic history is discussed briefly here.

"Of the Polka" is a rambling article that jumps around from the history of the polka to the author's own memories of it and, eventually, to the nominal point of the article: whether or not the polka is a suitable dance for flirtation.  It's supposed to be funny, and probably was more so a hundred and thirty-eight years ago when it was published.  But even though it doesn't really work for me as humor, it contains several interesting little tidbits worth highlighting for dance research.  The image at left (click to enlarge), captioned "The Old Dance Back Again", a reference to the supposed renewed popularity of the polka which was the excuse for writing the article.

I'll include a full transcription of the article at the end of the post, but here are the parts that caught my eye:

Fessenden's "The Rustick Revel", 1806

Reading onward in Thomas Fessenden's Original Poems (1806), what should turn up but another poem about dance, even lengthier and more detailed than "Horace Surpassed"!  "The Rustick Revel" is less impressive as a poem, being made up entirely of rhyming couplets of utterly regular rhythm, but it's even thicker with dance references.  As Nathaniel Hawthorne said in his biographical sketch of Fessenden:

He had caught the rare art of sketching familiar manners, and of throwing into verse the very spirit of society as it existed around him; and he had imbued each line with a peculiar yet perfectly natural and homely humor.

Hawthorne was referring to a different poem, but it could easily serve for this one as well.  Among the highlights are the very calculated invitation list, the squire calling a dance, people messing up the figures, and trying to get out of paying the bill.

Once again, I'll give the entire poem in bold with my own commentary interspersed in italics.  Fessenden's own footnotes have been moved to the end.

Fessenden on New England country dancing, 1806

"Horace Surpassed" (lengthily subtitled "or, a beautiful description of a New England Country-Dance") was published by the American author Thomas Green Fessenden (left) in his 1806 collection, Original Poems.  Fessenden (1771-1837) was, according to the biographical notes here, a lawyer, poet, farmer, journalist, newspaper editor, and member of the Massachusetts legislature.  He was born in Massachusetts, educated at Dartmouth, and spent most of his life in New England.  His original fame as a poet grew from the 1803 work "Terrible Tractoration", a satire about physicians who refused to adopt a quack medical device.  (Yes, really!)

In his spare time, Fessenden evidently liked country (contra) dancing, and his poem is a cheerful look at the characters of rural New England society: agile Willy Wagnimble, clumsy Charles Clumfoot, graceful Angelina, etc.  The "New England Country-Dance" in the subtitle should be understood as referring to a social evening, not to an actual country-dance.

A rather catty review quoted the poem at length

not because it is superiour to the rest, but as a fair specimen of the work, and it describes an amusement which is "all the rage."
        --- The Monthly anthology, and Boston review. (July, 1806)                     

Fessenden topped his poem with a quote from Horace's Odes.  "Iam satis terris nivis atque dirae" ("Enough of snow and hail at last") is the opening line of "To Augustus, The Deliverer and Hope of the State" (1.2).  This particular Ode concerns the disastrous overflowing of the Tiber, possibly as a punishment of the gods for the ill deeds of Rome (notably, the assassination of Julius Caesar), with Augustus as its hoped-for saviour. An 1882 translation of the Ode may be found here.  I must confess that I cannot detect any thematic connection between it and Fessenden's poem, so I'll chalk it up to Fessenden's ego and desire to be recognized as a poet.  

The full original text with my best approximation of the formatting is in bold below, with a few comments of my own interspersed in italics.  In the absence of page breaks, the footnotes have been moved to the end.  

February 2018 Gig Calendar

February will be a writing month for me, staying close to home-2 (Moscow) and trying to catch up on an enormous pile of unfinished work.  I'll be continuing my public and private waltz classes and conducting another small waltz party, and might add a couple of other one-shot classes, but overall I am planning a quiet month!

Any groups or individuals in Moscow or elsewhere in Russia or Europe that might be interested in workshops from now through May should contact me directly.  No American gigs through the end of May unless accompanied by plane tickets!

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Tuesdays, February 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th ~ Moscow, Russia
Cross-Step Waltz Series
19:00-20:30.  Intermediate cross-step waltz; previous experience required.  Note: must pre-register to get a pass for site security!

Tuesdays, February 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th ~ Moscow, Russia
Private classes 

Saturday, February 17th RESCHEDULED TO SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24th ~ Moscow Russia
Waltz Party (VK post - Russian) (updated VK post - Russian)
16:00-19:00.  16:00-18:00  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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Paine's Quadrilles, Twelfth Set, 1819 (4 of 4)

(This is fourth in a series of four posts covering Paine's Twelfth Set.  The introductory post in the series may be found here, figures one and two here, and figures three and four here.)

Concluding my series on Paine's Twelfth Set, the final figure!

No. 5, tune "La Nouvelle Fantasia"
Figure.
Chassez croisez huit, les quatre Cavaliers en avant 4 mes, les quatre dames de meme, balancez tour de mains, la Cavalier seul en avant et en arriere 8 mes, la dame seul de meme. 
La Grand Promenade.

All 8 chassez across and back again, the 4 Gent: advance and retire 4 bars, the 4 Ladies the same, balancez and turn your partners, one Gent: advance and retire twice 8 bars, the opposite Lady do the same.  
Promenade all 8.

(This is fourth in a series of four posts covering Paine's Twelfth Set.  The introductory post in the series may be found here, figures one and two here, and figures three and four here.)

Concluding my series on Paine's Twelfth Set, the final figure!

No. 5, tune "La Nouvelle Fantasia"
Figure.
Chassez croisez huit, les quatre Cavaliers en avant 4 mes, les quatre dames de meme, balancez tour de mains, la Cavalier seul en avant et en arriere 8 mes, la dame seul de meme. 
La Grand Promenade.

All 8 chassez across and back again, the 4 Gent: advance and retire 4 bars, the 4 Ladies the same, balancez and turn your partners, one Gent: advance and retire twice 8 bars, the opposite Lady do the same.  
Promenade all 8.

Paine's Quadrilles, Twelfth Set, 1819 (3 of 4)

(This is third in a series of four posts covering Paine's Twelfth Set.  The introductory post in the series may be found here and figures one and two here.)

Continuing on with Paine's Twelfth Set, the next two figures... 

No. 3, tune "L’Aimable"
Figure de La Poule. -- or
Le 4 dames font le moulinet pendant que les 4 Cavaliers font la grand Promenade a droite, ils donnent les mins a leurs dames et balancez tour de mains pour se remettre a sa place, les tiroirs a quatre et restez à la place opposee, de meme les 4 autres demie Promenade tous les 8, Jusqua [sic] votre place et tour de mains en place. 
Contre Partie.

The 4 Ladies moulinet while the 4 Gent: do grand Promenade to the right, the 4 Gents: give their hands to their partners, balancez and turn them round to their places, the tiroirs 4 and stop at the opposite place the other 4 the same, half Promenade all 8 to your places, and turn your partner round to your place.  
The same again.

(This is third in a series of four posts covering Paine's Twelfth Set.  The introductory post in the series may be found here and figures one and two here.)

Continuing on with Paine's Twelfth Set, the next two figures... 

No. 3, tune "L’Aimable"
Figure de La Poule. -- or
Le 4 dames font le moulinet pendant que les 4 Cavaliers font la grand Promenade a droite, ils donnent les mins a leurs dames et balancez tour de mains pour se remettre a sa place, les tiroirs a quatre et restez à la place opposee, de meme les 4 autres demie Promenade tous les 8, Jusqua [sic] votre place et tour de mains en place. 
Contre Partie.

The 4 Ladies moulinet while the 4 Gent: do grand Promenade to the right, the 4 Gents: give their hands to their partners, balancez and turn them round to their places, the tiroirs 4 and stop at the opposite place the other 4 the same, half Promenade all 8 to your places, and turn your partner round to your place.  
The same again.

Paine's Quadrilles, Twelfth Set, 1819 (2 of 4)

(This is second in a series of four posts covering Paine's Twelfth Set.  The introductory post in the series may be found here.)

All right, let's move on to the actual figures!  In my transcriptions below of the French and English instructions, the capitalization, spelling, punctuation, and lack of accents over the French vowels are all as printed in the original.  

No. 1, tune "La Belle Flamand"
Figure de la Pantalon -- or
Quatre demie chaine Anglaise, les 4 autres demie chaine Anglaise, demie Promenade tous les 8, et tour de mains a votre place, chaine des dames celles qui ont commencez [sic], balancez 8 et tour de mains. 
Contre Partie.

Four half right and left, the other four the same, half Promanade [sic] all 8 to your place and turn your partners round, Ladies chain by those who began the dance, balance 8 and turn your partners round. 
The same again the other 4.

Paine's Quadrilles, Twelfth Set, 1819 (1 of 4)

As with my earlier reconstructions of Howe's figures for "Les Rats" and the third set of Simonet's Parisian Quadrilles, I was primarily motivated to reconstruct Paine's Twelfth Set of Quadrilles by the existence of a high-quality recording of the music.  I'm not sure what prompted Green Ginger to choose this quadrille, out of more than a dozen of Paine's other sets of quadrille music (besides his most-famous and oft-recorded first) to include on their CD of Regency-era dance music, Music for Quadrilles, but it's an excellent set of tunes played beautifully.  

I've used these recordings in the past as variant music for the standard quadrille figures, which they were structured to fit.  But Paine's original sheet music also included new figures for those who didn't want to dance the usual ones, and they turned out to have some unusual figures which I quite like.

The booklet of liner notes for Music for Quadrilles includes instructions for each dance; the quadrille ones are clearly Ellis Rogers' work.  I mostly agree with those reconstructions, but they are bare-bones figure lists with no steps or details of performance.  I have a few minor quibbles with figure interpretations and some of the musical repeats, and I think there are reconstruction issues with the fifth figure that are worth pointing out.

Larchmont Engine Company Ball, 1901

The first ball of the Larchmont (NY) Engine Company was held on Wednesday, April 17, 1901, as reported in The Larchmont Times on Saturday, April 20th.  Like the Wichita fireman's ball given in 1903, it heavily featured waltz, "deux temps" (which I believe to be two-step, rather than the older deux temps), and quadrilles, with a few other popular nineteenth century dances mixed in.  It's a bit more old-fashioned a program compared to Wichita's, which fits since it's a couple of years earlier and not as far along toward the "all waltz and two-step" programs sometimes found a few years later.  The image at left is courtesy of the Larchmont Historical Society, which has the whole front page of the newspaper up on its website.

Here's the dance list transcribed for readability:

Part First -- Grand March, Lanciers, Waltz, Deux Temps, Quadrille Waltz, Polka, Schottische, La Varsouvienne, Waltz, Lanciers, Deux Temps, Waltz.

Part Second -- Grand March, Quadrille, Waltz, Lanciers, Polka, Caledonian, Deux Temps, Schottische, Reel and Jig, Waltz, Deux Temps, Virginia Reel, Home Sweet Home.

That doesn't actually seem like a whole lot of dances for a ball that lasted from nine to midnight, then commenced again after supper and continued until "an early hour", but it's all we've got to go by.  Perhaps they took generous breaks between dances; I've seen dance programs where the dances all had dedications which probably involved toasts and speeches.

Firemen's Ball, Wichita, 1903

It's been quite some time since I discussed a dance card or program.  The image at left is not from an actual card, but rather an advance publication of a program of dances taken from a local newspaper.  The event was a Firemen's Ball, to be held in Wichita, Kansas, on Thursday, December 17th, 1903.  A short article and this program were published in the Wichita Daily Eagle on the previous Sunday, December 13th.

Firemen's balls were rather common, presumably serving as fundraisers, but they seem not to have been that popular in Wichita; the accompanying article noted that this would be the second such ball held by the department in twelve years, which does not exactly demonstrate a mania for dancing.  It seems to have been expected to be successful, however.  Although the "fireboys" had not had much time to sell tickets, since they were on duty night and day except for meal breaks, they had still managed to sell between three and four hundred.

The location of the ball was not specified, but the article did note that that the hall would be "handsomely decorated with palms and cut flowers by a committee appointed for that purpose", that Bamberger's orchestra (C. O. Alton, director) had been engaged, and that Professor Hartman would officiate as floor master.  The grand march would be led by Chief Walden and Mrs. Walden, and "the fireboys will no doubt prove as efficient in the dancing area as they are in the department work."

The program, shown in a scan from microfilm at left above (click to enlarge; sorry about the poor quality), is interesting to me mostly because it includes no fewer than four five-steps, meaning five-step schottisches.  That's quite a lot of five-step for a program with only twenty-two dances!

Ten Years

At midnight on January 1, 2008, after a couple of weeks of fussing with a name and site design, I nervously clicked "Post" and officially launched Capering & Kickery with a discussion of how many times one needed to play a country dance to dance in historical style and a plan to slowly write out everything I knew about historical dance.

It's hard to believe it's been ten years. 

Back when I started Kickery, I was warned that most individually-written blogs lasted only a year, maybe two at most, before folding.  I've personally had a couple of others that have dropped by the wayside, slain by obsolescence or by my own lack of time.  And nowadays blogs are quite out of fashion, displaced by social media platforms.  But, somehow, Kickery has endured, and from that first short article it has grown a collection of hundreds covering a potpourri of historical dance topics from the sixteenth century to 1970s disco, though with a primary focus on my current interests in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Writing Kickery has changed my life in ways I would never have imagined.  Along with improving my writing, motivating my research, and giving me an ever-growing repertoire of teaching material, it's turned into an advertisement for my work and been directly responsible for a variety of dance gigs.  It's introduced me to exciting new dance communities and wonderful new friends.  It brought me to Russia for the first time in 2011, which triggered a whole series of teaching trips and a fascination with the country that eventually led to my living here part-time.  Through Patreon, it's even become a small income stream, which is an enormous boon to a freelance dance historian.

Here's to the next ten years...

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.