Proceedings of the Known World Dance Symposium 2007 |
Say “ball” today, and we think of a large room filled with people dancing. High society in late sixteenth century Italy didn’t do it that way. Instead, the ballroom would be full of chairs, with only a small space left clear for dancing. Guests spent most of the ball sitting (gentlemen on one side, ladies on the other) and watching, as guests took turns to dance, one couple or one set at a time. Some guests danced, and others preferred to watch only. This session is not a performance, it is a dance party run using an adaptation of this format (a formal social occasion that is also an improvised series of improvised micro-performances) and a repertoire drawn from reconstructions of Renaissance social dances. If the dances on our playlist are familiar to you, you are welcome to take a place in the dancers’ area – and take your chances with the rest of us as to whether your partner, or the musicians, know the same version of the dance that you do!
By gathering at the edge of the dance floor, you declare your interest in being asked to dance. Gentlemen sit or stand on the left side (as you face the head of the hall) and ladies on the right. If you want to watch only, please observe from further away from the dance floor.
If you wish to dance, please study the playlist, and have a choice in mind for when it’s your turn to choose. You can choose a dance that’s been done already if you want to, but please choose your partner from those who have not yet chosen a dance.
When it is your turn, first invite a partner, and choose a dance. (If your chosen partner doesn’t know your preferred dance, quickly agree on an alternate.) Then tell the maestro del ballo what piece you want, so he can tell the musicians. If the dance is for a set, also invite the appropriate number of additional dancers of your partner’s gender, these will then find their own partners to fill out the set. The maestro del ballo will then announce the dance, and invite the company at large to join in if the dance is “for as many as will” – else the single couple or single set dances it alone. Your partner then gets the next turn to choose, and so it continues.
You ought to bow when inviting someone to dance, and also after finishing a dance, if it doesn’t include a bow to your partner as the final figure.
This format needs a pretty fast pace to be successful (no one likes watching people mill around), so please think ahead. If you intend to ask someone you don’t know well to dance something difficult and obscure, have an easier selection ready as a backup. Caroso expected the chooser of a set dance to invite all dancers for the set; I use the convention specified above because it’s a bit faster, and also a bit easier for a chooser who doesn’t know many of the other dancers.
Yes, the ‘chooser’s partner gets the next choice’ is the way Caroso expected a dance party to work, so ladies in period did ask gentlemen to dance! Caroso also expected that some people never got invited to dance, and others got repeated invitations. We’d rather that as many people as possible get a chance, and we have a limited time for this ball, so please try to keep track of who’s already chosen a dance, and invite a partner who hasn’t chosen yet.
My use of location/proximity to the dance floor to identify those who wish to dance is an adaptation. Caroso says that ladies who want to watch, only, should keep their mantles on, and implies that of course all gentlemen are always willing to dance, though the eager ones crowd forward to the edge of the dance floor.
A Caroso-style ball is part social occasion, and part informal performance. Please enjoy your opportunity to dance something you like, on an uncrowded dance floor, perhaps with a favorite partner. But also remember that your turn to choose a dance is also your opportunity to display your dancing skill, grace, poise, good manners, handsome garb, etc. for the admiration of your friends. Your walk across the floor to choose your partner is the entrance for your performance – make the most of it! And if the idea of performing has you a bit spooked, remember that you’re performing for a friendly audience, eager to be pleased, and generous with mistakes – and that even the simplest English country dances are quite beautiful to watch.
Adapted from KWDS 4 description by Meredith Courtney (Mara Kolarova)
Dance |
Formation |
Bassedanse (Burgundian, 1445 – 1538) |
|
Beaulte de Castille |
Procession of couples |
Danse de Cleves |
Procession of couples |
La Dame |
Procession of couples |
La Francoise Nouvelle |
Procession of couples |
Le Moi de May |
Procession of couples |
Balli and bassadanzi from Domenico (Italian, 1455 – 1510) |
|
Amoroso |
Couple(s) |
Belfiore |
Triple(s) |
Gioioso in tre |
Triple(s) |
Lauro |
Couple(s) |
Lioncello Vecchio |
Couple(s) |
Mercanzia |
3 men, 1 woman |
Petit Riense |
Triple(s) |
Rostiboli Gioioso |
Couple(s) |
Sobria |
5 men, 1 woman |
Dances from John Banys’ notebook, the “Gresley MS” (~1500) |
|
Pernes en Gre |
Couple(s) |
Ly Bens Distonys |
Couple(s) |
Dances from Thoinot Arbeau’s Orchesography (French, 1589) |
|
Branles: Cass, Pin, Charl, War, Aridan |
Dancers in a line or circle |
Branle Suite: Double, Single, Burgundian |
Dancers in a line or circle |
Hermit's Branle |
Dancers in a circle |
Horses Branle |
Longways for as many |
Jouissance vous Donnerai |
Procession of couples |
Pavan |
Procession of couples |
Pease Branle |
Couples in a circle |
Washerwomen's Branle |
Couples in a circle |
Galliard / Volta |
Individuals or couples |
Balli from Caroso and Negri (Italian, 1581 – 1604) |
|
Ballo del Fiore |
Dancers around room |
Ballo del Fiore for 3 |
Triple(s) |
Bizzaria d'Amore |
Square of 2 couples |
Celeste Giglio |
Couple(s), facing each other |
Contrapasso in Due |
Couple(s) |
Gracca Amorosa |
Couple(s), facing each other |
Il Canario |
Couple(s) |
La Castellana |
Couple(s) |
Old Measures (English, 1570 – 1675) |
|
Black Alman |
Procession of couples |
Lorayne Alman |
Procession of couples |
Madam Sosilia Alman |
Procession of couples |
New Alman |
Procession of couples |
Queens Alman |
Procession of couples |
Country Dances from Playford (English, 1651) |
|
An Old Man is Bed Full of Bones |
Longways for 3 or 4 couples |
Aye Me (The Symphony) |
Longways for 4 couples |
Dargason |
Longways for 4 couples |
Gathering Peascods |
Circle of couples |
Greenwood |
For six |
Hearts Ease |
Square of 2 couples |
If all the world were paper |
Circle of 4 couples |
Jenny Pluck Pears |
Circle of 3 couples |
Kemp's Jegg |
Circle of 3 couples |
Lord of Caernavon's Jig |
Longways for 4 couples |
Lord of Carnarvan’s Jegg |
Longways for 4 couples |
Mill-Field |
Longways for 4 couples |
Newcastle |
Circle of 4 couples |
Old Mole |
Longways for 3 couples |
Prince Rupert's March |
Longways for 4 couples |
Row Well ye Mariners |
Longways for 4 couples |
Rufty Tufty |
Square of 2 couples |
Upon a Summer's Day |
Longways for 3 couples |
Whirligig |
Longways for 3 couples |