 PART A: Introduction to the series ~ 10 Plea and acknowledgements ~ 11 Plea ~ 11 Acknowledgements ~ 12 Notes on need ~ 14 The need to compensate for relative neglect ~ 14 The need to bridge the scholarly/practical divide ~ 15 The need to better understand and preserve our dance heritage ~ 15 The need to better value source material ~ 16 The need to better involve young people ~ 17 Approaches and limitations ~ 19 A ‘Natural History’ of dance ~ 19 Approach to the subject ~ 19 Approach to sources ~ 19 Approach to presentation ~ 20 Note on limitations ~ 20 Structure, formatting and language ~ 22 Structure ~ 22 Formating ~ 23 Transcriptions ~ 23 Translations ~ 24 Abbreviations ~ 24 Orientations ~ 25 On reconstructing dances ~ 27 Understanding our purpose ~ 27 Understanding the written and notated source ~ 29 Understanding the pictorial sources ~ 31 Understanding the music ~ 34 Understanding persistent dance traditions ~ 35 Understanding wider historic and artistic influences ~ 35
PART B: The path to the ballroom ~ 36 Earliest Times ~ 38 Origins ~ 38 Egyptian dance ~ 39 Phoenician dance ~ 39 Minoan dance ~ 42 Mycenaean dance ~ 45 Classical Greek times ~ 48 Dance in Greek mythology and the development of Greek poetry ~ 48 Pythagorean concept of celestial harmony ~ 49 The dance according to Plato ~ 50 The dance according to Aristotle ~ 52 Ritual and ceremonial dance ~ 54 The dance of the maidens ~ 54 The maenads ~ 56 The Pyrrhic ~ 58 Theatrical dance—the high-brow Emmeleia, and low-brow Kordax and Sikinnis ~ 60 Private dance ~ 63 Competitive dance ~ 66 Processional dance and song dance ~ 67 Partnered dance ~ 68 The Hormos / Geranos dance ~ 70 Etruscan times ~ 76 Roman times ~ 80 A mixed heritage ~ 80 Combat-related dance— echoes of the Pyrrhic ~ 81 Ribald dance—echoes of the Sicinnis ~ 84 The Pantomime ~ 85 The remembering of Homer’s Hormos ~ 87 Dancing at private parties ~ 88 Plutarch’s Ammonius on dance theory ~ 90 Lucian’s Lykinos on dance history~ 92 Plotinus on God and celestial dance ~ 95 Victorinus on Theseus imitating both the labyrinth and celestial dance ~ 98 Dance at the beginnings of Christianity ~ 99 The Dark Ages ~ 101 Dance under the early church ~ 101 The dance of northern Europe ~ 102 The dance of Carolingians ~ 104 Early Medieval times ~ 105 11th-12th centuries ~ 105 13th century ~ 106 Late Medieval times ~ 109 Changing words for dance ~ 109 The solo woman’s dance ~ 110 Women’s group dance ~ 111 Mixed group dancing ~ 112 Dance in Dante’s Divine comedy ~ 113 Dance in literary works such as those by Boccaccio and Chaucer ~ 115 Dance and Romance ~ 118 Dance in illustrations ~ 119 Dance as allegory ~ 124 Mummery ~ 125 Dance and music ~ 128
| PART C: The persistence of forms ~ 131 Persistence of imperatives ~ 133 1&2—The man having the woman on the right and sense of leading her ~ 133 3&4—Fitting the space and accommodating the numbers ~ 133 5&6—Courteous behaviour within politic parameters ~ 134 7&8—Enjoyment of the other and of the new ~ 135 9&10—Partnering and the enjoyment of life ~ 136 Change and continuity ~ 138 Ways dance forms change ~ 138 Dances not tabulated in the sections that follow ~ 140 1) The follow-the-leader or circle dance ~ 141 From carol to branle to gavotte and farandole ~ 141 Sections relevant to follow-the-leader / circle dances ~ 143 2) The processional couple’s (& trio) dance ~ 145 From basse dance to pavan to Almain, late courante and Polonaise ~ 145 Sections relevant to the processional dance ~ 148 3) The facing couple’s dance ~ 150 From balli and cascarde to minuet to cut-in jig ~ 150 Sections relevant to the facing couple’s dance ~ 152 Galliard sequences in balli ~ 153 4) The playful dance ~ 158 From competition dances, early courante, relay mixer to cotillon dance games ~ 158 Sections relevant to the playful dances 159 The new cotillon ~ 161 Cotillon medley (1)—early 1820s ~ 162 Cotillon medley (2)—late 1820s-1840s ~ 163 Cotillon medley (3)—late 1840s ~ 164 Cotillon medley (4)—late 19th century ~ 165 5) The whole-set longways finishing dance ~ 167 The whole-set longways finishing dance ~ 167 Sections relevant to the whole-set longways finishing dance ~ 168 The whole-set longways finishing dance by ideas ~ 170 The whole-set longways finishing dance by Volume, entry and changes ~ 171 6) Progressive or fancy longways dance ~ 173 From country dance to contredanse Anglaise and Écossaise ~ 173 Sections relevant to the longways dance ~ 176 Corner stealing / La Triumph ~ 181 7) The square set dance ~ 182 Origins and early small squares ~ 182 From cotillon/contredanse française to potpourri, douze, quadrille and early cancan ~ 182 Sections relevant to the square set dance ~ 185 The Quadrille Français ~ 187 The Lancers ~ 188 Mazurka Quadrilles ~ 189 8) The turning dances 191 Origins ~ 191 The Allemande ~ 191 The waltz ~ 192 The mazurka ~ 192 The galop and polka ~ 193 The hybridising of couple’s dances ~ 194 Sections relevant to the turning couple’s dances ~ 195 Mazurka couples dance ~ 197 9) The hybrid sets ~ 199 Hybrids of longways dances with quadrilles and couples dances ~ 199 Sections relevant to post-1750 hybrid sets ~ 201 La Tempête / The Tempest ~ 202 The Waltz Country Dance and Spanish Waltz ~ 202 The Galopade Country Dance ~ 204 The persistence of ball format ~ 206 The persistence of dance order within balls ~ 206 Persistence of particular types of balls ~ 209 The most popular dances ~ 210 When might a dance be judged to have been popular ~ 210 Some early often-described country dances ~ 215
PART D: The persistence of ideas ~ 221 Persistence of literary topoi ~ 223 Persistence of propensities ~ 227 Appreciating the curve and counter curve ~ 227 Providing an opportunity for one sex to regard the other ~ 228 Taking figures from one formation or ‘genre’ or rhythm to another ~ 228 Having some figures overlapped or ‘canonised’ ~ 228 Transforming the shape of the set ~ 229 Reusing patterns for larger formats ~ 229 Reusing patterns in different formats ~ 230 Reusing patterns in different formats ~ 230 Taking dances from one milieu into another ~ 231 Expecting improvisation ~ 231 Making long sequences ~ 232 Reusing common step patterns ~ 232 Persistence of devices ~ 234 Promenading up and back, or in an oval ~ 234 Codifying then repeating figures ~ 234 Taking turn leading a figure ~ 235 Making suites that progress from simple to more flashy figures, steps or holds ~ 235 Randomly changing partners or cutting-in ~ 235 Slipping away from a set ~ 236 ‘Snowballing’ a two-person dance sequence ~ 236 Visiting ~ 236 Having a leader choose those to participate ~ 236 Following a graceful step-sparse group-oriented ‘low’ processional dance with an exuberant step-busy couples-oriented ‘high’ dance ~ 236 Taking a turn leading a dance ~ 237 Starting a multi-part couples dance side-by-side, with symmetrical figures move toward presence, separate, reunite and return to starting point ~ 237 Having the man go up toward the present, woman go down 237 Having the 1s start improper in a longways set ~ 238 Claps, stamps, jumps, kisses and gestures ~ 238 Persistence of figures ~ 240 Following the leader into and out of knots ~ 240 Having a follow-the-leader line bend back on itself ~ 240 ‘Stripping’ a set or ‘bootlacing’ 240 Making a reverse ‘S’ ~ 240 Chasing the opposite sex ~ 241 Partner’s backing or chasing each other ~ 242 Chaining / weaving / ‘dip&diving’ down a longways set 242 Teasing the opposite gender ~ 242 Turning back on opposite gender then facing them again ~ 243 Stealing corners ~ 243 Taking another man’s partner and advancing 3-a-breast on the one left alone ~ 243 Miming a joust ~ 244 Weaving one line through another ~ 244 The cross-over hey and contra-corners ~ 245 Going from column or square to one horizontal or vertical line ~ 245 Competing men ending in exchanged places with woman in between ~ 246 Persistence of figure orders within dances ~ 247 Starting with introductions ~ 247 Promenading, then cross then set then cross back then set ~ 247 Promenading then gypsy then single hand turns and/or two hand turns ~ 248 Promenading then reverse S then left, right and two hand turn ~ 248 Set then turn single ~ 248 Set then turn by hand~ 249 Feigning then the full ~ 250 Finishing with weavings or heys ~ 250 Finishing with most promiscuous all-involving and quickest mixing ~ 251 Persistence of musical ideas ~ 252 The persistence of tunes ~ 252 The persistence of scores ~ 254 The persistence of arrangements ~ 256
PART E: 259 Storyline in dance 259 The appreciation of storylines in dance ~ 260 By dancing masters ~ 260 By non-dance writers ~ 261 By visual artists ~ 261 Ways in which a storyline is suggested ~ 263 By the combination of title and figures ~ 263 By figures and/or formation without the assistance of title ~ 265 By the order of figures within dance ~ 266 By the order of dances within suites or medleys ~ 268 By music ~ 269 The allusive storyline ~ 270 Storyline themes ~ 271 The factal nature of dance and the real business of a ball ~ 271 To find a wife ~ 272 To look after a wife ~ 272 To look after someone else’s wife ~ 273 Exceptions that tend to prove the rule ~ 273 Storyline through the century ~ 274 15th century ~ 274 16th century ~ 274 Late 17th and early 18th century ~ 274 Late 18th and early 19th century ~ 275 Mid and late 19th century ~ 275 The importance of understanding storyline ~ 276 Storyline and dance reconstruction ~ 276 Storyline and dance performance ~ 276 Storyline transformation and loss ~ 277 Beyond storyline ~ 277 PART F: 279 The ball beyond 1900 279 New developments and continuing heritages ~ 281 New developments ~ 281 Publications facilitating continuity ~ 282 Nostalgia and the persistence of some ball dances into the 20th century ~ 283 The continued interest in inventing dances in 19th century forms ~ 289 New dance genres facilitating continuity ~ 289 Le Bridge ~ 292 Figure 1 ~ 292 Figure 2 ~ 294 Figure 3 ~ 294 Figure 4 ~ 295 Figure 5 ~ 297 Lulu Fado ~ 307
PART G: 318 Consolidated contents 318 Volume I: 1400-1550 319 Volume II: 1550-1600 321 Volume III: 1600-1650 323 Volume IV: 1650-1700 325 Volume V: 1700-1750 327 Volume VI: 1750-1800 330 Volume VII: 1800-1825 333 Volume VIII: 1825-1850 336 Volume IX: 1850-1875 337 Volume X: 1875-1900 339 PART H: 342 Series bibliography 342 Primary sources ~ 343 Table showing certain primary sources in context ~ 343 Post-1900 secondary sources ~ 348 Electronic resources ~ 348 Anonymous writer, editor or translator ~ 348 Pseudonym used by author ~ 349 Personal name of author, editor or translator ~ 349 | PART E: Storyline in dance ~ 259 The appreciation of storylines in dance ~ 260 By dancing masters ~ 260 By non-dance writers ~ 261 By visual artists ~ 261 Ways in which a storyline is suggested ~ 263 By the combination of title and figures ~ 263 By figures and/or formation without the assistance of title ~ 265 By the order of figures within dance ~ 266 By the order of dances within suites or medleys ~ 268 By music ~ 269 The allusive storyline ~ 270 Storyline themes ~ 271 The factal nature of dance and the real business of a ball ~ 271 To find a wife ~ 272 To look after a wife ~ 272 To look after someone else’s wife ~ 273 Exceptions that tend to prove the rule ~ 273 Storyline through the century ~ 274 15th century ~ 274 16th century ~ 274 Late 17th and early 18th century ~ 274 Late 18th and early 19th century ~ 275 Mid and late 19th century ~ 275 The importance of understanding storyline ~ 276 Storyline and dance reconstruction ~ 276 Storyline and dance performance ~ 276 Storyline transformation and loss ~ 277 Beyond storyline ~ 277 PART F: The ball beyond 1900 ~ 279 New developments and continuing heritages ~ 281 New developments ~ 281 Publications facilitating continuity ~ 282 Nostalgia and the persistence of some ball dances into the 20th century ~ 283 The continued interest in inventing dances in 19th century forms ~ 289 New dance genres facilitating continuity ~ 289 Le Bridge ~ 292 Figure 1 ~ 292 Figure 2 ~ 294 Figure 3 ~ 294 Figure 4 ~ 295 Figure 5 ~ 297 Lulu Fado ~ 307
PART G: Consolidated contents ~ 318 Volume I: 1400-1550 319 Volume II: 1550-1600 321 Volume III: 1600-1650 323 Volume IV: 1650-1700 325 Volume V: 1700-1750 327 Volume VI: 1750-1800 330 Volume VII: 1800-1825 333 Volume VIII: 1825-1850 336 Volume IX: 1850-1875 337 Volume X: 1875-1900 339 PART H: Series bibliography ~ 342 Primary sources ~ 343 Table showing certain primary sources in context ~ 343 Post-1900 secondary sources ~ 348 Electronic resources ~ 348 Anonymous writer, editor or translator ~ 348 Pseudonym used by author ~ 349 Personal name of author, editor or translator ~ 349 |
Books & CDs >
Dancing through the Ages Book 1: Orientation and Overview
The latest edition of Dancing through the Ages will be available to order in late August 2020.
By all means peruse the covers and contents shown below and on the other related Books & CDs menu webpages, but please hold off ordering till the final proof of the work is o.k.ed, the information on the publisher's site is updated and this sign disappears— all due to happen in mid-August.
To receive advice of a launch special email us
Dancing through the Ages is work consisting of 31 books. Each book consists of between 300 and 460 (average 350) double-sided A4 pages. The 10,800 pages of the work offer background on, reconstruction of, and chorded music for nearly 1,000 dances from between from 1400 to 1900, as well as extensive notes analysing links between these dances, the evolution of dance forms, movement ideas and notation systems through this 500 period, and the changing nature of ball culture and dance sources in countries across the old and new word. The whole is supported by thousands of quotations, diagrams and illustrations from original sources.
Here below is the front cover and contents to Book 1: Orientation and Overview that includes full acknowledgments, a consolidated contents, a bibliography of secondary scholarship, a history of dance leading up to 1400, and sections on the purpose of dance and scope of this work, on story-lines and ideas that have persisted through 500 years of dance, and on continuities and changes in the nature of balls and dance forms.
For the covers and contents of the next 30 volumes see the subpages that follow under this menu.
To order any or all of the books in this 31-book series go to (PUBLISHER's WEBSITE ORDER PAGE LINK TO APPEAR HERE MID AUGUST 2020 when grand work is finally available!). The cost per book will be AUD$35 (about USD$25) - plus postage, which will diminish with the more books in your order. As your books will be sent from the nearest Lulu printer on your continent, you will not be paying for overseas shipping and will not be waiting long for the books to arrive. Orders are normally filled at local postage rates within a week.
N.B. I recommend that in addition to ordering the books pertaining to the period you first think of, you also order books from the adjacent period collections plus the invaluable Book 1: 'Orientation and Overview'. Indeed, because of the interconnectivity of dance over the 500 years covered by this series (and the cross-referencing between books in the series), I highly recommend the full set!
If you are able to collect from our home in Canberra Australia, I may be able to offer you a special no-postage price on a full-set. Phone 62811098 or email us.
