2 fun rarely-danced Playford-published English country dances: ‘The Country Coll’, ‘The London Gentlewoman’ 

2 country dances from 17th/18th century manuscripts, ‘The Maurice Daunce’, incorporating lively kicking, and ‘Aly Grogan’, an amazing Welsh dance to some fabulous tunes. 

From Jane Austen’s day dances that we haven’t done before will include the 4 longways dances from England ‘Ah ça Ira’ as a country dance, ‘La Belle Annette’, ‘La Batteuse Country dance’ and ‘The Russian Ambassador’s Waltz’, and 3 dances from Parisian manuscripts ‘The Graces’ (that became a figure of the Lancers), ‘La Trompeuse’ and the ‘Großvater’ (inspired by the German end-of-evening dance). 

We are also going to debut 2 fantastic quadrilles suites that Sally and band have prepared, Joseph Hart’s c.1820 ‘The Hussars’ and Johann Strauss junior’s 1860 ‘Orpheus Quadrille’ based on Offenbach’s Orpheus of the Underworld opera- with its the thrilling ‘Can-can’ tune. To the former we have set the best known quadrille figures of the Regency period and to the latter the wild-style of quadrille dancing that developed in public dance halls in Paris during the 1830s&1840s and that evolved into cancan-ing! 

In the breaks you will be able to enjoy a free mazurka or hambo. Those who don’t know these dances will be welcome to waltz, and/or join in on an 1820s/30s style mazurka quadrille where all can improvise their own mazurka steps while echoing figures the lead couple introduces. 

As our Bordonian-fix, we will enjoy ‘The Great Roundabout’ (Town 12)- and have the whole hall turning like heavenly cogs! 

And as if that isn’t enough, we are planning a big after-supper cotillion—a medley dance craze born in central Europe from all the mixing of national influences that happened immediately after the Napoleonic wars —figures inspired by dance games, end-of-evening column dances, quadrilles, mazurka-figures set to waltzes and gallops. We’ll enjoy a dozen figures from 1820s French, German, Russian and Scottish manuals (with names such as ‘The deception’, ‘The pay-back’, ‘The cross’, ‘The re-accomodation’, ‘The hat’, ‘The luckless knight’, ‘The hankerchief’ ‘The prisoner’, ‘The flowers’, ‘The candle & fan’, and jump forward to the 1850s to enjoy a cotillion figure called ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’. I hope we survive!

Monday 17 July, 6-7:30pm at Woden Library  
John presented a free participatory workshop on favourite dances of Regency England as part of
Libraries ACT commemoration of 200 years since Jane Austen’s death. 
They have a Facebook page or to reserve your FREE ticket go straight to their event-brite page

Promotion:

Join us Saturday week as we kick off our 5 ball-time traveler series with a Renaissance ball.

 ·         From the 15th century we’ve chosen lots of playful 3-person dances—‘Vita di Colino’, ‘Gioioso’, ‘Voltati in ca Rosina’ and Ingrata (‘The ungrateful one’- a repeat from last month) where two dancers compete for the attention of the middle dancer. We’ll also lead the couples dance called ‘Angeloso’, that together with ‘Rostiboli Gioioso’ were so popular that they lasted into the 16th century and develop ornamented (fiorito) versions that we’ll show.  Stand back at some stage for a display of Tesara, a spectacular scarf dance for 10 dancers!

·         From the 16th century will have lots of figures from the longways country-dance-like ‘Chiaranzana’, ‘Catena d’Amore’ and ‘Caccia d’Amore’. Continuing our theme of 3-person dances we’ll also show a ‘Spagnoletta’ for 3 and snowball everyone into a double-partner ‘Ballo del Fiore’ (‘The Flowers dance’—the hardest bit being deciding who to give the flower to and who to kiss). We’ll go to France for some circle dances—in addition to re-dancing ‘Branle de Charlotte’ and ‘Aridan’ from last month, we’ll dance the branles ‘Cassandre’, ‘Pinagay’, ‘de la Guerre’ and ‘de Bretaigne’.

·         We’ll get everyone improvising kicking in the Galliard—the big couples dance of the renaissance. We’ll enjoy it in the ‘Piantone’ mixer, in our ‘Galliard dating’ dance and in the fun self-eliminating ‘Egg dance’ (a must!) If you’ve been to some classes in the last few weeks you might also want to come out for an uncalled flamenco-like ‘Canario’, and the ballet ‘Bassa Toscana’ that we’ve taught the Saturday group and ‘Bellezze Olympia’ that we’ve taught the Wednesday group.

·         After the supper, we’ll branch off into later material—the fabulous Polo quadrille, a polka and mazurka, plus some Bordonian lost dance… including the really fun ‘Ariadne’s Thread’ that we haven’t done at a ball for nearly 10 years!

PLEASE bring friends and family along as they will be able to join in dancing nearly everything, and our JAFA friends from outside Canberra will also be welcome if they can make it. Please bring a contribution for the supper table.

Program actually danced:

Friends and family all welcome aboard our time-machine—eat dinner early so you can be at the hall to all board by 7pm, and please bring a pot-luck supper contribution. Great dances led for all!

We’ll land first in Northern Italy c.1450 playing hard-to-get in a dance called ‘Ingrata’ (the ungracious one) and capturing each other with a dance called ‘Prigionera’ (‘The prisoner’) - two fun dances by Domenico da Piacenza who left us the worlds earliest surviving dance manual. We’ll then have an uncalled ‘Castelana’, a beautiful bassadanza (‘low dance’) from a c.1500 Giorgio (Guglielmo Ebreo) manuscript. Off to France for two circle branles, Charlotte & Aridan, from Arbeau’s 1589 Orchesography. Back to Italy for some two-on-one jousting (and they use the Italian word for joust in the instructions) with Fabritio Caroso’s Squilina cascarda, published 1581, and then an called ballet illustrating all the most popular rhythms of the c.1600 Italian ballroom with Caroso’s Forza d’Amore (‘All power to lover’). Over to England for what ‘Parson’s Farewell’ from John Playford’s 1651 ‘English Dancing Master’—followed by the French dance that we now know inspired it, Antoine Emerauld’s c. 1610 Bourrée in six parts—it will feel like a proto-Congo minuet, one of the hits of our recent JAFA! Travelling another 50 years on let’s enjoy a longways English country dance to one of that repertoires most beautiful, the c. 1700 ‘The Punch bowl’. Jumping forward to c.1800 let’s sample the Irish influence on English country dance with ‘Drops of Brandy’ and a French square set cotillion that went to the tune from which the Downfall of Paris may have been derived, ‘Carrillon National’.  Come the 1820s the newly fashionable quadrille was being crossed with the still beloved country dance to give rise to ‘Quadrille Country Dances’. To familiar quadrille tunes let’s dance longways versions of ‘Le Pantalon’, ‘La Poule’ and ‘Les Lanciers’ courtesy of the Lowe brothers manual from Scotland. To the 1850s and the fabulous ‘Prince Imperial’ quadrille devised by Parisian dancing masters but lasting longer in Australia than in France, and a free uncalled Esmeralda / Coquette polka—a simple polka sequence that was again invented in Paris but lived on till the end of the century in Australia and is simply to catch onto. With Sally back we’ll take the opportunity to enjoy another full-piano score quadrille, Francois Paul c.1880 ‘Le Polo’, a dance with a very modern feel which spread quickly from France to Scotland, America and Australia and is in the 9th edition of Mrs Read’s Sydney c.1884 Ball Room Guide. We’ll use some great music written for it in America. We’ll finish with Lost Bordonian dances, discovered only in the late 1900s, ‘Birthday Treat’ a waltz for 4 couples, ‘The Giant’s Backbone’, a longways set for 8 couples and ‘Courtly Acrostic, a matrix dance for 18 couples! 

Program actually danced:

Chastelana (I)
Ingrata (I)
Prigionera (I)
Branles - Charlotte & Aridan
Squilina (II)
Forza d’Amore (III)
Bourrée à six pass. (III)
Parson’s Farewell (IV)

The Punch bowl (V) 
Carillon National (VI)
Drops of Brandy (VI) 
Pantalon (VII)
Poule (VII)
Les Lanciers (VII)
Prince Imperial (IX)
Le Polo (X) - first 2 figures
Free mazurka or Washing machine Mazurka medley (to tune set Court 12)

Wind-up Galop (in Odd Delights) – to its signature tune– just x 2 for an opening then into…. 

Waltz medley - Alexandrina Waltz (Town 9), Hands off Waltz (Village 10) Even Handed Ländler (Vill 12), I wonder as I wander (CCDB) – all to the Village 10 set but with each tune/dance played just x 1 and back to first tune x1, then form one square set of 4, 6 or 8 couples for….

Galopade Quadrille –to ‘the can-can’ music' there offered – just x 3  - figure 1) W in M in All W chain 2)  gallop back-to-back, 3) gallop through opposites

For participation:

Spanish Waltz (2) in Vol. VIII- to music there offered.

Swedish Dance (1a)  - ranks of 1 man between 2 women – to the tune for La Poule (1) in Volume VII played ABCC x n

medley of Fan to Autumn 3 (Secret Liaison Waltz set- x1 on ea. tune then x1 first tune) and Scarf cotillions to ‘Queen of the Ball’