DHDS day 2 - Classes begin

Today I had my first classes with Stuart Marsden, where our class started learning a cotillion called La Comtesse du Nore from c. 1797. The Comtesse du Nord was a pseudonym for the Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna when she travelled inconspicuously.

As a cotillion, the dance features changes and a chorus. The changes (with a balance and pas de rigadon) include:
1. Grand rond
2. Right and left hand turn partner
3. Ladies right and left moulinet (star)
4. Men do the same
5. Ladies circle left and right
6. Men do the same
7. Grand chain
8. Grand rond

It was quite a lot of dancing with the pas de rigadon and Demi-contretemps. Our group will be performing that tomorrow for the other dancers! Fingers crossed. I will post videos of the footwork when I get home.

We had a bit of a breather with Lady Charlotte Campbell's Waltz, which featured a lovely turn under the arm for the lady before casting into 2nd.

In the afternoon, we did a lively reel called Miss Vickor's Delight and then another waltz called Madame Saqui's Waltz which included slow waltz and sauteuse steps, so we are beginning to work on that! We will be presenting a few dances from Stuart's class tomorrow evening.

Then, for the optional course, I did Irish steps with Anne Daye and I learned to do a back step, single footing, double footing and forwards/sideways travelling steps in 9/8 time. Maybe one could work some steps into Physical Snob? It was really fun to do and I will make some videos for these different steps. We then incorporated them into Lord Grantham's Whim from 1810. It was both invigorating and exhausting!

In the evening after dinner, we had a Regency At Home led by Stuart, where we had silhouette cutting, cards, embroider, dancing, letters (like Emma and the infamous "blunder"), and several people "took a turn" by performing songs, Highland dances and exhibited on the piano. At the end of the evening, we played Snapdragon, which is a game that features a burning bowl of brandy-soaked raisins... You have to quickly snatch them out with your fingers and eat them! I was observing off to the side, when Stuart insisted that I try... And I did it! It was a lot of fun! I am so glad I did it.

That's me, after having eaten the flaming raisins!

Then we played Bullet Pudding, which consists of a pile of flour with jellies (the bullets) hidden inside. Each person took a turn cutting away the flour. If a jelly showed, you had to get the jelly out of the flour with your mouth - no hands! There were quite a few flour-covered faces by the end of the evening.

Well, that's all for now. More to come tomorrow! Happy dancing!

A Recap

Hi everyone,

Today I'll be recapping some basics of English Country Dance and preparation for the Duchess of Richmond's Ball!

English Country Dance

This dance form can be danced in duple minor sets (2 couples performing the figures), triple minor (3 couples performing figures, or triple sets (only 3 couples do the entire dance). See my post on progression for more details!

In ECD, the 1s always progress DOWN the set, while 2s and 3s (in a triple minor dance), work their way UP the set to eventually become 1s.

To get familiarized with some of the figures used in English Country Dance, I would recommend Thomas Wilson's "An analysis of country dancing, wherein all the figures used in that polite amusement are rendered familiar by engraved lines. Containing also, directions for composing almost any number of figures to one tune, with some entire new reels; together with the complete etiquette of the ball-room."  This book is really good because it provides bird's-eye view diagrams of the individual figures and traces the path performed by each dancer!

Some basic figures we covered for the Duchess of Richmond's Ball include: 

• pousette
• 1st couple leads down and back to 2nd place OR casts into 2nd place
• swinging (turn by 1 hand)
• turning (by 2 hands)
• circles (for 4 and 6)
• changes of rights and lefts
• stars
• allemande

More complex figures: 

• promenade
• Triumph
• circle for 3 with 2nd woman or man going under the arch made by 1st couple

Footwork: skip change, slipping step, jete assemble for those who want to do more advanced footwork. Country dances can also be danced in 3/4, so you can use a waltz

Cotillion

A dance involving 4 couples in a square formation.

This style of dance includes a "chorus" figure that repeats throughout the dance, and a series  of "changes" (ie. circle for 8, ladies' star...).

The German "quadrille" for the Duchess of Richmond's Ball is more similar to the cotillion, with its repeating grand chain, than the quadrille itself! You can use a basic skip change for this dance.

Quadrille

Another dance involving 4 couples in a square formation.

This dance evolved from the cotillion, keeping "chorus" figures and removing all of the extra changes. This made the dance shorter and more concise.

The 5 parts of Paine's 4th Set of Quadrilles are a great example!

Quadrille Figures: 

• chaine anglaise (changes of rights and lefts)
• balancez (facing partner, chasse right and left)
• tour les mains (turn your partner)
• chaine des dames (ladies' chaine - Pantalon)
• demi-promenade (promenade halfway to the other side of the set)
• en avant et en arriere (advance and retire)
• traversez (cross set)
• chasse (slipping step right and left)
• dos-a-dos (back-to-back - Poule)
• chasse croise (couples chasse - women left and in front, men right and behind, and set to corner, and back - Finale)
• grand promenade (skater's hold around the set - Finale).

Basic footwork: skip change, slipping step, jete assemble.

Polonaise

This dance is performed in 3/4 time with a strong emphasis on the 1st beat of each bar.

This dance was used to open balls in Europe, less so in England.

Couples form 2 lines (as in English Country Dance) and follow the head couple around the room. In playing follow-the-leader, the couples will create patterns on the dance floor (ie. couples lead to the top of the room, women split off and go one way, while the men go the other way... something like that).

If you are interested in learning more footwork, check out my polonaise post to see my video on the polonaise step.

Footwork: Polonaise step.

Ecossaise

This dance is interesting because its form changes depending on the country.

In England, this is a duple minor dance in which 1st couple is improper (on opposite sides).

In Europe, and for the Duchess of Richmond's Ball, we will be dancing in triple SETS with 1st couple on their proper sides. The version to be danced at the ball seems less interactive, in terms of dancing with a partner, as each dancer keeps changing sides and positions throughout the dance!

If the music is in 4/4, I would suggest skip change, if in 3/4 a waltz time step.

Waltz

The Regency slow waltz is in 3/4 time and features couples rotating in a circle.

The waltz was more common in Europe and was slowly adopted in England by the bon ton!

See my video on the Regency waltz to learn how to do this dance!

That's all for now - now I need to focus on getting some sewing done! After the weekend, I will (hopefully) update the German quadrille and Paine's quadrille pages with videos from our dance practice. Until then... Happy dancing!

Prince Wm of Glos'ter's Waltz

Hi everyone!

Like yesterday's post, Prince Wm (William) of Glos'ter's (Gloucester's) Waltz was not on the Facebook list of dances, but was included in the figures sent out by Mr. Baert, so I will break down another waltz country dance for you! Maybe he will use this music for a turning waltz (since he posted a French image of a couple waltzing beneath it), or maybe we will be doing the figures paired with this dance... I don't know. I guess we'll find out!

Prince William of Gloucester was the son of the Duke of Gloucester, who was King George III's younger brother. In 1816, Prince William of Gloucester married his cousin Mary (daughter of George III and Queen Charlotte). He was also known as "Silly Billy" by his contemporaries - however, the music for this country dance is lovely!

Prince Wm of Glos'ter's Waltz

This dance is a duple minor dance... See my post on progression!

A1: 1st lady sets to 2nd man (4 bars) and changes places with him (4 bars).

• I would recommend always crossing by right shoulders so that there is no confusion.

A2: 1st man sets to 2nd lady (4 bars) and changes places with her (4 bars).

B: 1st and 2nd couple pousette 1x around back to 2nd place (8 bars).

C: "Right and left quite round" (as found in the original instructions - 8 bars).

• Now, one reconstruction has right- and left-hand stars (4 bars each), but I would think they would do circles for 4 (due to the use of the work round), using 4 bars to circle left and 4 bars to circle right.
• Maybe it's 4 changes of rights and lefts (2 bars per change of hands)

NOTE: Now, this dance does pose an interesting problem... getting back to place. 1st and 2nd couples never cross back to proper sides, even in the original instructions! This is what would happen for the next repetition of the music...

So, the women and men would be setting to each other and changing places... I'm pretty positive that this would not happen. All couples HAVE to get back to proper place. Here's what I recommend (hopefully Mr. Baert will have figured out how to fix this problem for the ball!)...

1) Here's a reconstruction to get back to place!

A1: 1st lady sets to 2nd man (2 bars) and changes places with him by right shoulders (2 bars); 1st man sets to 2nd lady (2 bars) and changes places with her by right shoulders (2 bars).

A2: Repeat back to place (8 bars).

B: 1st and 2nd couples pousette 1.5x to progress (8 bars).

C: Star right and left OR circles left and right OR 4 changes of rights and lefts (8 bars).

2) Here's another possibility...

A1: 1st lady sets to 2nd man (4 bars) and changes places with him (4 bars).

A2: 1st man sets to 2nd lady (4 bars) and changes places with her (4 bars).

B: 1st and 2nd couple pousette 1x around back to 2nd place (8 bars).

• NOTE: at the end of the pousette, both couples will keep hands and do a 2-hand turn halfway to place.

C: "Right and left quite round" (as found in the original instructions - 8 bars).

I think that the 1st option would be most correct, since everyone would be back to place BEFORE starting another figure.


That's all for now - until next time... Happy dancing!

Lord Castlereagh's Waltz

Hi everyone!

This time I will be looking at another waltz country dance: Lord Castlereagh's Waltz in honour of the British diplomat involved in the Congress of Vienna. Now, this dance wasn't listed on the new dance list on Facebook, but when Mr. Baert sent out figures, this one was included as well... Maybe he will use this music for a turning waltz, or maybe we will be doing the figures paired with this dance (I don't know)... I figure it's better to be safe than sorry!

Like so many other waltz country dances illustrated on this blog, this one has 2 sets of figures: Waltz and Country Dance.

Lord Castlereagh's Waltz

WALTZ FIGURE

A: 3 ladies join hands and 3 men join hands along the sets. The 2 lines advance towards each other and retire (8 bars).

• 4 bars to advance, 4 bars to retire.

B: 1st and 2nd couples whole pousette 1.5x to progress (8 bars).

C: 3 couples circle for 6 all the way around (8 bars).

COUNTRY DANCE FIGURE

A: 1st couple circles for 3 with 2nd woman (4 bars); 1st couple circles for 3 with 2nd man (4 bars).

B: 1st couple leads down the middle and up again (4 bars); allemande (4 bars).

• An allemande, according to Wilson, could be a back-to-back. See my Duke of Wellington's Waltz page for other "allemande" options!

C: 1st couple turn corners (8 bars).

• 1st couple crosses set by right shoulders and 2-hand turns right-hand corner. Repeat with the left-hand corner.

That's all for now - until next time... Happy dancing!

Miss Bedford's Waltz

Hi everyone, 

Mr. Baert sent out dance figures yesterday to those who were interested, so now we have more figures for the ball! I'm currently working on reconstructing the quadrille and ecossaise from the German sources, so those will be posted later on once I've had a chance to work them out. They are more complicated than Paine's 4th Set of Quadrilles and the English version of the Ecossaise. Until then, I will post figures for Miss Bedford's Waltz from Thompson's 1813 dance manual! 

Miss Bedford's Waltz

A1: 1st couple circles for 3 with 2nd woman (4 bars). 1st couple forms an arch and the 2nd woman passes under it and casts back to place. 1st lady can also keep hands with 2nd lady so that she can also turn clockwise under the man's arm (4 bars). 

A2: 1st couple circles for 3 with 2nd man (4 bars). 1st couple forms an arch and the 2nd man passes under it and casts back to place. 1st man can also keep hands with 2nd man so that he can turn anti-clockwise under his partner's arm (4 bars).

B1: 1st couple leads down the middle (4 bars), comes back and casts into 2nd to progress (4 bars).

B2: 1st and 2nd couples do 4 changes of lefts and rights (8 bars).

C1: 1st couple turn corners (8 bars).

• 1st couple crosses set by right shoulders and 2-hand turns right-hand corner. Repeat with the left-hand corner.

C2: Couples balance with the right hand and change sides. Repeat with the left hand (8 bars).

• You take right hands with your partner, and step in towards each other, out and the woman turns anti-clockwise under her partner's arm. You end up on opposite sides of the set. Repeat with the left hand, but turn clockwise under your partner's arm, returning to place. See the video below.
• NOTE: this is from Mr. Baert's reconstruction of the figures, not the original, for timing purposes.

So, that's another waltz country dance for the Duchess of Richmond's Ball! That's all for now (I'll keep working on those other reconstructions...) - until next time! Happy dancing!

An updated ball list + Northdown Waltz

Alright, we have an updated dance list for the Duchess of Richmond's Ball! I've included a chart to show the difference between the old list and the new list:

Old Dance List	New Dance List
Paine’s 4th set of Quadrilles (1815)	Paine's 4th set of Quadrilles 1815
Brussels Waltz 1815	REMOVED
Russian Waltz 1815	Common Waltzing for Couples around 1815
Duke of Wellington Waltz 1815	Duke of Wellington Waltz 1815
Leamington Dance 1811	Leamington Dance 1811
The Triumph 1816	Triumph 1816
3 Anglaises/Almanach Geselligen Vergnügen : Tanztouren Roller 1814	3 Anglaises from Almanach Ges. Vergnügen 1815
3 ecossaies/Almanach Geselligen Vergnügen : 1815	3 ecossaises from Almanach Ges. Vergnügen 1815
Quadrille 1/Almanach Geselligen Vergnügen : 1815	2 Special Quadrilles from Almanach Ges Vergnügen 1815 and from Tanzmeister Helmke.
Polonaise/Music from Pamer.	Polonaise
Opera Reel	REMOVED
Reel for 5	REMOVED
	ADDED: Miss Bedford Waltz
	ADDED: Northdown Waltz
	ADDED: Sir Roger de Coverley

So, over the next few days I will look at the few dances that were added. I've already looked up the Miss Bedford Waltz in my personal collection, Regencydances.org, the Colonial Dance and Music Index and Google in general and haven't had any luck in finding the original music or figures, so I will move on to the Northdown Waltz, which was published in Goulding's 1820 publication. Here are the figures:

The Northdown Waltz

A1 & A2: 1st lady and 2nd man change place; 2nd lady and 1st man change place (8 bars). Repeat to places (8 bars).

• The modern reconstruction for the figure includes a balance, in which 1st corners take right hands, balance forward and back and change places.
• One can use the balance and turn under the arm version, but one only starts with the right hand and crosses diagonals, instead of finishing with the left hand. See video:

• For those of you who have seen the BBC production of Wives and Daughters, Miss Cynthia Kirkpatrick and Mr. Preston dance this one together at the Easter ball.

B: 1st couple lead down the middle and back to 2nd place to progress, and the 2nd couple moves up (8 bars).

C: 1st and 2nd couples pousette once around (8 bars).

The recording for the Northdown Waltz can be found on the Volume 6: At the Ball CD from the Country Dance and Song Society.

That's all for now - until next time... Happy dancing!

Beautiful Brussels...

As the Duchess of Richmond's Ball was held in Brussels before the Battle of Waterloo, it is no surprise that the city is being remembered in the ball's dance list! Like yesterday's post on the Duke of Wellington Waltz, the Brussels Waltz also has a Country Dance Figure and a Waltz Figure, so I'll go over them both...

Brussels Waltz (1815)

Here's the sheet music, which was published in Paine of Almack's 4th Set of Quadrilles, which will also be performed at the ball (but more on that dance later)...

COUNTRY DANCE FIGURE:

A: 1st and 2nd couples set and do a right-hand star all the way around (8 bars).

B: 3 couples promenade (8 bars).

C: 1st couple lead down and back to 2nd place to progress (4 bars), 2-hand turn partner (4 bars).


WALTZ FIGURE:

A: 1st couple swing right hands around one couple, then swing left (8 bars).

• 1st couple does a right-hand turn, casts around 2nd couple to progress (2s move up), and do a left-hand turn.

B: 1st couple swing corners (8 bars).

• 1st couple turns each other part-way by the right hand, then turns their right-hand corner by the left hand; meets partner and turns part-way by the right hand, and turns left-hand corner by the left hand.

C: 2-hand turn partner and lead through the top couple (8 bars).

Seems pretty straightforward. That's all for now - until next time where I will tackle the Regency turning waltz... Happy dancing!

Honouring "Old Nosey"

Hi everyone,

Today I will be looking at another English Country Dance, called the Duke of Wellington's Waltz, which was published in Thomas Wilson's Le Sylphe, An Elegant Collection of Twenty Four Country Dances from 1815. As the Duke of Wellington was the most anticipated and sought guest at the Duchess of Richmond's Ball, it seems suitable that we honour "Old Nosey" before his great victory.

This dance, among others from the mid-1810s, features 2 sets of figures: a Waltz Figure and a Country Dance Figure. The figures in either set seem to be drawn from the same repertoire of figures used in English Country Dances... so I'm not sure if there would have been a difference in the way the figures were performed historically, depending on whether the "Waltz" or "Country Dance" figures were called. Any thoughts?

Either way, the figures look pretty simple.

Duke of Wellington's Waltz (1815)

COUNTRY DANCE FIGURE:

A1: 1st woman leads down 2nd man (4 bars); 1st man leads down 2nd woman (4 bars).

B1: 3 couples promenade (8 bars).

• Take a skater's hold, or promenade hold (man's left hand takes the lady's left hand; man's right hand takes the lady's right hand)

C1: 1st couple swing right hand around one couple, then left hand (8 bars).

• 1st couple does a right-hand turn, then casts into 2nd place (the 2s move up), and the 1st couple does a left-hand turn.
• see the 2nd diagram of the image below for the beginning of this figure.

A2: 1st couple set contrary corners (8 bars).

B2: 3 couples circle for 6 left and right (8 bars).

So that's the COUNTRY DANCE figure, now I will list the WALTZ figure, since I'm not sure which one Mr. Baert will select for the Duchess of Richmond's Ball.

WALTZ FIGURE:

A1: 1st couple does a circle for 3 with the 2nd woman (4 bars); 1st couple does a circle for 3 with the 2nd man (4 bars).

B1: 1st and 2nd couples whole pousette - 1.5x around to progress into 2nd place (8 bars).

C1: chain 4 at the bottom (with the 3rd couple - 4 bars); chain for 4 at the top (with the 2nd couple - 4 bars).

• I would recommend 1 bar of music for each change of hands.

A2: double allemande (8 bars).

• Option 1: Thomas Wilson describes an allemande as a back-to-back, so I'm not sure if a double allemande would be 2 back-to-backs in a row, or something different.
• Option 2: An allemande turn is another possibility. Place your left hand (palm facing out) at the small of your back, and extend your right arm, linking elbows with your partner to take their hand placed at the small of their back.

The position of the arms for an allemande turn to the right.

The position of the arms for an allemande turn to the left.

The position of the arms with a partner. Note the elbows are linked! 

What the arms look like from above.

This video shows entering into the allemande to the right, turning and transitioning to the allemande to the left.

• Option 3: in English Country Dance, when the original figures in Waltz Country Dances call for an allemande, it has frequently been reconstructed as the balance. You take right hands with your partner, and step in towards each other, out and the woman turns anti-clockwise under her partner's arm. You end up on opposite sides of the set. Repeat with the left hand, but turn clockwise under your partner's arm, returning to place. See the video below:

** Style tip: When you step in and out, make sure your arms are nice and curved; you form an "S" with your partner, like such:

Don't make "W" arms - it can actually be an uncomfortable arm position, and does not look as pretty. 

Wilson says in his 1811 Analysis of Country Dancing that:

Many persons, instead of extending the arm to join hands in swinging corners, hands across etc.  get as close as they can to the person with whom they are to perform the figure; by which, for want of room, they must bend the arm at the elbow, thereby producing two angles, instead of one serpentine line.

Ouch!

B2: Through bottom (4 bars) and waltz 4 round at top (4 bars).

• 1st couple leads through the 3rd couple and casts up to 2nd place.
• My interpretation of the "Waltz 4 round at top" would probably be a circle for 4 with a waltz time step. Once again, I don't know if there is a difference in execution in a Waltz Figure.

That's all for now - until next time... Happy dancing!