Blog – Page 2 of 3 – The Historical Dance Society

16Feb 2020 by EmilyBowen

Live music for early dance

The question has occasionally been voiced: “Why are historical dancers so reluctant to use live music?” So often they seem to prefer the recorded sound that emanates at the touch of a button, or click of a mouse, from their digital sound system. For musicians, who spend so much of their time, money and energy on practising their obscure but ‘authentic’ instruments, this rejection is both puzzling and hurtful. Why don’t they like us? What do we have to do to make them like us, at least to the extent that they are willing to let us join in their jolly dancing games? This note is a partial attempt at trying to understand the conundrum. Firstly, is the complaint true? To some extent, yes. At the most recent EDC festival…

16Feb 2020 by EmilyBowen

Tips to encourage the use of live music for historic dance

Education, For dancers, For musicians

Many historical performances of dance impress greatly with the meticulous research, careful practice, attention to style, and accurate costumes only to disappoint when a member of the group (or if lucky, a clued in helper) rushes over to press the button for music. Sometimes there ensues a ghastly pause, or even the strains of the wrong music; if correct, at a volume too loud or soft, or distortion from a less than perfect sound system for the performance space. Music is integral to dance, and for historic dance, that meant live musicians, so to present a performance with canned music is clearly an anachronism. The following tips are intended to try to address some of the issues that lead to this being such common situation – the perceived lack of…

04Jan 2020 by EmilyBowen

What are the objectives of HDS?

Important

The main objective of the Society as set out in the constitution is the promotion of the study, practice, education, and public engagement in the performance, music, and costume of European and other dances from the 15th to 20th centuries as recorded in the sources of the period. We achieve this by: Conducting and promoting original research into treatises on dancing and other references in the literature, drama and dance music of the various periods. The organisation of workshops for the education of dancers, teachers, actors, musicians and the general public in historical dance and its associated dance music. Holding conferences at which lectures, demonstrations and opportunities to participate in historical dances and their music are given to members of the society and others. Publishing articles conducive or incidental to…

16Nov 2019 by David Parsons

Stepping On: A Conference on Stepping in Dance across the British Isles and Beyond

Conference publications, For dancers, For musicians, Other, Past events

16 - 17 November 2019 Cecil Sharp House, London, UK The British Isles have a rich history of step dancing in many forms and in many forms and contexts, spanning centuries and linking with traditions across the world. Some of these dances and their histories are relatively well-known, others largely lost. The aim of the conference was to further our knowledge and understanding in these traditions and to stimulate debate. Download the proceedings from the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library Download PDF Buy the printed proceedings from the EFDSS Buy Papers In Search of ‘Street’ Clog Dance. Alexandra Fisher Ontario Old–Time Step Dancing and its Connections to the British Isles. Sherry Johnson How fast should we dance: An investigation using recordings. Sean Goddard Hornpipe stepping at barn dances and ceilidhs in…

17Jul 2019 by EmilyBowen

What is historical dance?

Education

Historical Dance, or Early Dance, embraces social dancing of the courts and ballrooms of Europe, and choreographies from theatre and court entertainments. The periods covered range from the fifteenth century to the twentieth. Within this span, periods are often identified by slightly arbitrary titles, such as: Renaissance dance (in England, Elizabethan dance and Tudor dance) Baroque dance Regency dance and Victorian dance Some typical dance forms, in approximate chronological order, are: Basse danse, Bassa danza, Ballo Tourdion, Pavan, Almain, Galliard, Canario, Passomezzo (or Passo e mezo) Country dance, Gigue, Sarabande, Rigaudon, Minuet (or Menuet) Cotillion, Quadrille, Mazurka, Waltz Early Dance is based on careful research into original dance sources. Dances are taught at many practical courses. Occasions such as revels, balls and assemblies provide opportunities for social dancing. Find out…

28Jun 2017 by EmilyBowen

Conference: Histories of the Morris in Britain (2017)

Conference publications

Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regents Park Road, London NW1 7AY, 25-26 March 2017 Morris dance has been an enduring feature of British culture for more than six centuries. The Histories of the Morris in Britain was a two-day conference held at Cecil Sharp House on the 25th and 26th March 2017, organised by the Historical Dance Society and the English Folk Dance and Song Society. The full proceedings or individual papers can be download free of charge from The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Edited by Michael Heaney, papers cover the latest in morris dance research and are an invaluable addition to our understanding of this enduring feature of British culture. Topics ranged from the early days of morris dance as found in the Jacobean court, to revival and formation of…

24May 2015 by EmilyBowen

Study Forum 2: Dance Disguised & Obscured (2015)

Conference publications

Dance Disguised & Obscured, at Goldsmiths, University of London, 21-22 March 2015 The event consisted of a stimulating programme of papers, workshops and discussion led by researchers, teachers and practitioners relating to theatrical, social and traditional dance and performance from the 15th century to now. This paper presented the Noveli manuscript, written at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The manuscript has been discovered recently in the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando of Madrid. The text is rather peculiar, as it proposes the Beauchamps-Feuillet chorographical notation system to represent the Spanish dance steps described by Juan de Esquivel in his Discursos sobre el Arte del Danzado of 1642. Apart from that, it contains the verbal description of a collection of dances from the seventeenth century Spanish school.…

28Jun 2013 by EmilyBowen

Study Forum 1: Reconstructing Technique – Creating Performance (2013)

Conference publications

Goldsmiths, University of London, 23-24 March 2013 Two days of practical workshops and presentations, guided by leading researchers, teachers and performers. Due to the practical nature of most of the sessions, the proceedings were not published. One of the papers is available to download Roger Clegg, Lucie Skeaping and Anne Daye – Singing Simpkin and other Bawdy Jigs: Recuperating the Song-and-Dance Comedies on the Shakespearean Stage (paper and workshop) Paul and Ann Kent – Ever to Endure: Recreating Dances from the Gresley Manuscript (workshop) Ilona Taure – Bringing the Castle to Life: dance at Bauska Castle, Latvia (presentation) Download Jennifer Kiek – "... and winding heys to tread": an Exploration of Possible Interpretations of the S. Hey in Country Dances from Playford 1651 (workshop) Jennifer Thorp – Revisiting Le Palais…

28Jun 2009 by EmilyBowen

On Common Ground 7: Kings and Commoners: Dances of Display for Court, City and Country (2009)

Conference publications

All Saints Pastoral Centre, London Colney, St Albans, 28-29 March 2009 All the papers are available to download. Anne Daye – Dancing for King and Country: the Jacobean Court Dancer Download Hazel Dennison – Dancing the Barbarian (workshop) Download Maëlle Amand – The Distorted Representations of Dance in Eighteenth-Century Britain: a Study of Parody and Caricature Download Moira Goff – Edmund Pemberton and the Improvement of Dancing Download Barbara Segal – The Hornpipe: a Dance for Kings, Commoners and Comedians (workshop) Download Ann and Paul Kent – Bransles for Display? Download Jørgen Schou-Pedersen – Dances for a Royal Danish Masquerade Download

28Jun 2007 by EmilyBowen

On Common Ground 6: The Minuet in Time and Space (2007)

Conference publications

All Saints Pastoral Centre, London Colney, St Albans - 10-11 March 2007 The conference explored the essential dance of the 18th century, as a solo and a duet, from the 1700s to the 1900s, from the ballroom to the stage and even the silver screen. As well as listening to papers, participants experienced the variety of the minuet in several workshops. Most of the papers are available to download. Teresa Buckland – Keynote Lecture: The world we have lost: minuets and the past in late Victorian culture (not published in proceedings) Moira Goff – Seductive Decorum: the Solo Minuet for a Girl (Workshop) Download Grainne McArdle – The Minuet in Early Eighteenth-Century Dublin Society Download Giles Bennett – The Minuet in 18th-Century Dance Treatises (Workshop) Download Elizabeth Aldrich – Drooping…

28Jun 2005 by EmilyBowen

On Common Ground 5: Dance in Drama, Drama in Dance (2005)

Conference publications

Cecil Sharp House, London, 12 March 2005. All of the papers are available to download. Jeremy Barlow – But at present keep your own secret: Dances in The Beggar's Opera Download Anne Daye – Character in action in the seventeenth-century antimaque Download Hazel Dennison – The significance of drama created through gesture in European dance sources 1450-1720 Download Moria Goff – Weaver, words and dancing in The Judgement of Paris Download Jennifer Kiek – We'll have a crash here in the yard! English country dance in early modern stage plays.Not included in the printed proceedings Download Cecilia Nocilli – La presa di Granata and Il Tronfo de la Fama: the dance in the farces of Iacopo Sannazaro (1492) Download Jennifer Thorp – Drama and dance in Le Ballet de la…

28Jun 2003 by EmilyBowen

On Common Ground 4: The Problems of Reconstruction and Re-creation in Dance (2003)

Conference publications

Cecil Sharp House, London, 29 March 2003 The conference provided an opportunity for scholars and practitioners to discuss with colleagues the issues strategies, results and rationales for reconstruction and re-creation in historical dance. The one-day conference attracted over 60 participants from Britain, continental Europe and the USA to explore the problems of reconstructing dances from verbal descriptions and notated scores, and the value of re-creating dances from contextual information. The speakers presented case studies spanning the period from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century. Most of the papers are available to download. Patri J. Pugliese – Dancing and fencing from the Renaissance to the 19th century Download Diana Cruickshank – Theres many a slip: the interpretation of 15th-century Italian dance Download David Wilson – Problems and possible solutions in…

28Jun 2001 by EmilyBowen

On Common Ground 3: John Playford and the English Dancing Master (2001)

Conference publications

Cecil Sharp House, London, 24-25 March 2001 Jointly organised with the English Folk Dance and Song Society Over 200 people from both the historical dance and folk dance worlds in Austria, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Sweden and the USA gathered in London for this event jointly organised by the HDS and The English Folk Dance and Song Society. The formal paper presentations were divided into five sessions over the two days. All of the papers are available to download. Jennifer Kiek – 'That againe': an Exploration of the Formulaic Sequences in early English Country Dance Download Anne Daye – Taking the Measure of Dance Steps 1650-1700, through the Publications of John Playford Download Jeremy Barlow – Tunes in The English Dancing Master 1651: John Playford's Accidental Misprints?…

06Sep 1999 by David Parsons

Historical Dance Volume 3

Journal

Historical Dance – The Journal of HDS (ISSN 0261-0965) The opinions expressed in articles and reviews are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor of Historical Dance or the committee of HDS. Volume 3, Number 6, 1999 Dance Steps and Music in the Gresley Manuscript Jennifer Nevile Page 2-19 Download Performing Gresley Dances: the View from the Floor David Wilson Page 20-22 Download The "London" Dupré Moira Goff Page 23-26 Download On the Setting of Music to the 15th Century Italian Dances Basil Lewin Page 27-29 Download Volume 3, Number 5, 1998 Viganò, the Coreodramma and the Language of Gesture Giannandrea Poesio Page 3-8 Download Resources for the Study of 19th Century Social Dance Ellis Rogers Page 9-12 Download 'Sò ben mi chi ha buon tempo' by Cesare Negri David R. Wilson Page…

28Jun 1998 by EmilyBowen

On Common Ground 2: Continuity and Change (1998)

Conference publications

London, 14 March 1998 The conference explored the concepts of continuity and change as seen in the sources for historical dance, and in current research, re-creation and performance. All of the papers are available to download. Barbara Sparti – Early Dance research and performance: past, present and future (Keynote paper) Download Hazel Dennison – Beyond the ballroom: dance as theatre art in 15th-century Europe Download Michael E. Lutz – Continuity and change within the two dance treatises of Fabritio Caroso Download Diana Cruickshank – Caroso's two versions of 'Allegrezza d'Amore' Download Jennifer Thorp – The effectiveness of Beauchamp-Feuillet notation as a means of recording dance in the eigtheenth century Download Helene Kázarová – One music - two dances: Sarabande by Lully Download Madeleine Inglehearn – Queen Anne's dancing master Download…

22Feb 1996 by EmilyBowen

On Common Ground (1996)

Conference publications

Middlesex University School of Dance, incorporating The London College of Dance, Bedford, 24 February 1996 On Common Ground was organised by the HDS, with the assistance of Middlesex University School of Dance, as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations. The aim of the conference was to explore the common ground of the principles and concepts of historical dance shared by researchers and practitioners in the field by bringing together people who value a valid and informed representation of dance of the 15th-19th century in their work and study. It was attended by teachers, researchers, performers, choreographers and students. The common ground was marked out by the sources they all share in arriving at a representation of dancing in the past. All of the papers are available to download. Ivor Guest…