For a list of Ildhafn's upcoming regular practices and meetings, please see our Regular Activities page.
Present: Anna, Katherina, William, Caterine and Eleanor.
Warm-up: Walking and then using the piva step in time to the music from Gelosia
We have started a new format at Thursday night dance classes. from 7.30pm to 8.25pm is an Open/Beginners session. During this 55 minute slot dances are taught that will suit the level of those that are attending.
We had a quick run through Pavaniglia - the dance we practiced intensively over summer, and performed at CF - and talked through our performace, what went well, where we fell down. Overall, we're pleased with how we did, and want to keep this one ready to perform again.
We talked through the ball at CF - which dances worked well, how we'd change both the ball and the way we danced.
Present: Katherina, William, Anna, Caterine
Warm up: Almains?
We spent the greater part of the class alternating between dancing all the way through Pavaniglia (one couple at a time), and practicing some easier dance (La Figlia de Guglielmino, Pungente Dardo, Ginevra, Amoroso).
Present: Anna, William, Caterine, Katherina
Warm up: Earl of Essex Measure, Old Alman, Black Almain.
Present: Anna, William, Caterine, Ludwig, Katherina
Warm-up: Ginevra, Amoroso (including an improvised 3-person variant)
Revision of all mutanze learned so far:
Present: Anna, William, Caterine, Katherina
Warmup: Amoroso, La Figlia de Guglielmino
Revision of
Skimmed through the third and fifth mutanze. Danced the whole thing through several times, including all verses.
NOTE: we need a more detailed revision of the 5th mutanza, the separating verse, and the final verse.
Present: William, Anna, Caterine, Katherina
Warmup: Figlia de Guglielmino, Chiara Stella
New material (for at least some present)
Katherina practiced her current interpretation of the man's third mutanza, which she'll teach next time.
Revision:
Present: Caterine, William, Katherina
Warmup: Rostiboli Gioioso for three
We had Canario scheduled for this session, but did Pavaniglia instead, because that's what I had prepared.
Revision
New Material (for this year, anyway)
Present: Caterine, William, Ludwig (Canary only), Katherina
Warmup: Black Almain
Revision
New Material (for this year, anyway)
Present: William, Ludwig, Katherina
Warmup: Rostiboli Gioioso for three (with two men and one woman, for a change)
Revision
New Material
Present: William, Anna, Katherina
Warm-up: Rostiboli Gioioso for three
Learned the whole of the man's 4th mutanza, on both sides (verses 11 and 12). Katherina practiced the woman's 4th mutanza, but didn't teach it.
Our first advanced-dancing session for the summer!
Present: Katherina, Anna, William, Caterine
Warm up: Pungente Dardo, Amoroso
Revision
Regular dance classes have finished for the year, and will re-start in February, but we're still dancing!
Our last class of 2010, and we have a lovely session, with both familiar faces and some new ones. Please come back next year!
We got through:
(all 16th century French branles, from the manual "Orchesography")
(all balli from 15th century Italian manuscripts)
(a variation on the galliard, in which the woman leaps, and the man spins her, while helping her to leap even higher)
I tried a new format for the Ball at St Catherine's this year: dancing by request, requests in strict Order of Precedence. There are some records of renaissance festivities where the guests chose dances in order of rank like this, though they seem to have been even more formal.
We got through a lot:
William and Katherina practiced for a performance of Ginevra, and Caterine taught it to Ludwig. We re-learned Fiamma d'Amore. We tweaked a few details of La Figlia de Guglielmino and Presonera. We ran through Chiara Stella, at high speed, several times in a row. We all practiced out fioretti (and tried out the passage from passamezzo where you circle with fioretti and trabuchetti). And finally, we declared ourselves too tired to make it through La Volta, and retired for dessert.
All the dancers tonight were quite experienced, so we got through a lot of material, refining the details as we went:
Lots of fun, and lots of work.
We had a really good group tonight: lots of people, some new, some quite experienced. We're still working our way through the ball list for St Catherine's and CF, making sure it's all fresh.
We started with a quick run through some of the Old Measures, for everyone:
Quick revisions of:
More work on:
And we didn't quite get to Il Canario. Maybe next week.
The dance list for the ball at Canterbury Faire next. We will be practising many of these over the next few weeks (until formal dance practices finish for the year in early December).
- The Tassel-kick -
