Workshops

Reconstructing "Anacreonte": Theatrical Dancing in Parma, 1759
(Margret Butler, Guillaume Jablonka)

Parma was one of the foremost centers for French opera and ballet outside Paris in the mid- eighteenth century, second only to Vienna. In 1749 Parma's new Bourbon sovereign began to transform it into a modern and sophisticated capital by importing French cultural products of all kinds. Chief among the imports was a large troupe of French singers, dancers, and actors, who performed the era's most up to date ballets and operas for the court and public over a three-year period. Jacques-Simon Mangot, Jean-Philippe Rameau's brother-in-law, directed Parma's court music and influenced its dances and operas in significant ways.
Among the many French entertainments Parma's troupe presented was the balletto titled Anacreonte (1759), a newly-created adaptation of Rameau's Anacréon (an entrée from his opéra-ballet Les Surprises de l'Amour from 1748). In the absence of a score, Butler has reconstructed the balletto based on the scenario in the printed Italian libretto for Parma and Rameau's score, showing the relation of Parma ballet to the original work. This reconstruction reveals, in its music and dramaturgy, a fusion of French and Italian aesthetic principles, ones entirely consistent with the political and social milieu in which it took shape. It also demonstrates the work's importance for contemporary reforms of theatrical dance.
In this workshop participants will learn how Parma might have approached this innovative work: after Butler's presentation on the ballet's reconstruction and aesthetic context, Jablonka will explore some proposals regarding the choreographic and pantomimic solutions Parma might have found to the work's dramaturgical and generic challenges.

Margaret Butler, Gainesville, Florida, USA:

Margaret Butler is an associate professor of musicology at the University of Florida whose research focuses on European opera of the eighteenth century. Her articles have appeared in the Journal of the American Musicological Society, Eighteenth-Century Music, Early Music, Music in Art: International Journal for Musical Iconography, and in other journals and collections. She authored the chapter on Italian Opera in The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Music. Current projects include a book on French and Italian entertainments in mid-century Parma.

Guillaume Jablonka, Asnieres sur Seine, Frankreich:

Guillaume Jablonka trained as a ballet dancer in Strasbourg (France) and then moved to Ballet du Nord under the direction of Jean Guizerix and Wilfride Piollet. He discovered baroque dance while working for Company L'Eventail (Marie-Genevieve Masse) and founded then Divertimenty, for which he works as a choreographer, dancer and teacher. His research focuses mainly on the reconstruction of the divertissements and pantomime ballets notated in 1782 by Auguste Ferrere. He is currently preparing a master degree in Paris 3 – Sorbonne Nouvelle.

Theatrical elements in the country dances of Thomas Bray, 1699
(Philippe Callens)

In 1699 the London based dancing master Thomas Bray published a collection of twenty country dances. That collection is unique for several reasons one of which is the unusual character of the patterns. Indeed, these dances are very effective as performance pieces. Bray was the choreographer at Lincoln Inn Fields theatre and it is certainly possible that his dances incorporated aspects of his theatrical dance choreographies.

This workshop will explore the more unusual patterns that are Bray hallmarks; some of the more challenging dances will also be taught. It is intended for those familiar with the basic elements of longways English country dance.

Philippe Callens (Antwerp, Belgium):

Philippe Callens is known internationally as a leader of English country dance which he has been teaching for 25 years. In 1988 he started a monthly country dance series in Mortsel (near Ant­werp). That series is now in its sixteenth season. Over the past fifteen years he has also frequently taught in the Netherlands and at dance weekends in England, Denmark, Germany, Switserland and the Czech Republic. Especially in the United States he has gained a reputation as a very competent leader of English country dance; he has been on staff at week long courses at Pinewoods, Mendocino, Brasstown and Buffalo Gap. Philippe is also a choreographer of modern English country dances. He has published two volumes of them and an accompanying CD called Red Star Line.

Law students’ Ball c.1600
(Anne Daye)

The profession of law and legal training in England has been organised since medieval times through the Inns of Court in London. In Elizabethan and Jacobean times (c.1550 - 1650), students from all over England lodged in one of the inns, while studying with senior members of the legal community. Each Inn had a long tradition of communal celebrations, such as the Grand Days for dancing, music and plays held at Hallowmas (November 1st) and Candlemas (February 2nd). A number of manuscripts have survived to give us information on the dances they enjoyed and the organisation of the balls. Judges presided over the Grand Days, and senior lawyers ensured that the dancing was kept up in style. The norm was for the men to dance together, while women were invited in for special occasions.

In this workshop, participants will learn the English form of almains and courantes, called ‘the measures’. Following this warm-up, dancers will explore a proposed English version of the Spanish Pavan developed from Arbeau and Caroso as a basis for improvisation. The homosocial dancing at the Inns also included a dance for the nine muses, for which we can identify the tune to accompany the choreography. I propose that this was danced by nine men, as a symbol of peace.

The eight known manuscripts dated 1568 - 1672 relating to dancing at the Inns of Court are the only sources for social dancing in England (until the publication of country dances by Playford in 1651), and the Nine Muses dance is a unique choreography for an ensemble.

Anne Daye, Bedford, Grossbritannien:

Dr. Anne Daye is an experienced teacher and dance leader. Her core research both practical and theoretical concerns the Renaissance dance culture of the Elizabethan and Stuart courts, leading to a doctoral thesis on the Jacobean masque. Her interest in dancing in England then continues with the country dance in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a special focus on the dancing scene of Jane Austen’s world. Anne is Director of Education and Research for the Historical Dance Society.

Drawing the Line, Dancing the Line
(Hazel Dennison)

This workshop focuses on dances and dancing "a la fila"(in a single file) in Ferrara c.1450, initiating from a choreographic perspective.
Working on dances from 15thc.Italian sources I am curious to understand how the dances were created, using as they do the choreographic factors of space, line, time, energy and bodies, common to us all in time and place. So in this workshop I would like to share dancing and ideas with specific reference to Domenico da Piacenza as a maker of dances and master of dancing at the d'Este court.
To begin we will tune in and warm up with piva. Patterns of a la fila will be traced in Belfiore, Giove and Verceppe. At this point we will identify the varied choreographic devices used by Domenico in his balli and bassadanze in conjunction with his rules for dance practice and performance, also common to all then and now.
The main body of work will be on Mignotta Nova a bassadanza "in quanti si vole" for as many as will, building steps, timing and sequences whilst noting challenges and contradictions posed when dancing bassadanza in a single file. Finally consideration will be given to Cornazano's vision of both form and execution of bassadanza a la fila as an especial vehicle for a renaissance elite.

Hazel Dennison, Bedford, Grossbritannien:

Hazel Dennison draws on a diverse practice of dance, drama and theatre studies through production and performance, research and conference. Inspired by early dance whilst training at the Central School of Speech and Drama and later gaining the DHDS teaching certificate, Hazel continues teaching and choreographing at all levels of education and for summer schools, workshops and heritage programmes. On behalf of DHDS she collaborated with Ann Allen and Mediva to produce the 15thC.CD Ballare et Danzare and its accompanying booklet. Focussing primarily on the Italian and English Renaissance c.1400-1610 she seeks to ensure a tangible dance heritage for the future.

Variations of the « trait de la contredanse » in the 19th Century
(Irène Feste)

The « trait de la contredanse », the key element of the quadrille de contredanse, in the early nineteenth century, allows dancers to move, even within the formation of a quadrille, according to a specific pattern using an elaborate combination of steps from the vocabulary of the theatrical dance (temps levé, chassé, jeté, assemblé, temps de Zéphir, pirouette, entrechat...). Thus, the « trait de la contredanse » offers multiple opportunities for dancers to show their virtuosity during the ball.

For the workshop, from one or two selected figures of the quadrille de contredanse, we work on the variety of some traits de la contredanse proposed by different dancing masters, as Gourdoux-Daux, Blanchard, Blasis, Claudius, to bring out technical differences and recurring forms. From these « traits de la contredanse », the dancers can also improvise, as did Mr Trénis, « the Vestris of ballroom », and create their own traits to show their brilliant steps.

Irène Feste, Arcueil, France:

Irène Feste is a choreographer, dancer and teacher of classical ballet and historical dance, from the Renaissance to the late 19th century. After a diploma of master engineer in telecommunications and networks and state diploma of teacher in classical dance, she joined, in 2005, the company the L’Éclat des Muses, directed by Christine Bayle and together with P.-F. Dollé went on to found the company Fantaisies Baroques. In 2020, she found the company Danses au (Pas)sé. She performs with companies such as Les Corps Eloquents, Divertimenty, Le Baroque Nomade, La Tempesta, Doulce Mémoire and has been awarded several research grants from the Centre national de la Danse. Her current research interests focus on French 19th century ballroom and theatre dance (Jean-Henri Gourdoux-Daux, Michel Saint-Léon, Jean-Etienne Despréaux).

French branles for opening the ball in the late 16th–17th centuries
(Dmitry Filimonov)

This workshop is dedicated to three branles: Simple, Gay and Poitou. These dances in different combinations were a part of an opening suite for French balls in the late 16th–17th centuries. Three most complete descriptions of these branles survived in Arbeau’s “Orchesographie” (1589), “Instruction pour dancer” (c. 1602), and de Lauze’s “Apologie de la Danse” (1623). While Arbeau’s branle descriptions are relatively straightforward, two other sources lack music and present more challenges for dance historians. Taking into account all currently known sources for these dances, as well as work on a textual and contextual analysis of “Instruction...”, we arrived at reconstructions that are compatible with each other, fit the descriptions quite well and help to explain some peculiarities of these descriptions. It allowed us to uncover underlying choreographic principles for these three branles that are the same in each of three descriptions as well as highlight differences between them. In the workshop, we’ll present our reconstructions of these dances for each of the three main descriptions. For each of the dances, we’ll discuss how these three variants relate to each other, what common features seem to persist and what differences in style can be seen there.

Dmitry Filimonov, Moskau, Russland:

Dmitry Filimonov started his dancing career in 1993 as a competitive dancer and came to early dances in 2002. He teaches historical dance in the “Golden Forests” dance studio (a co-leader of the studio). He is head of the historical dance research seminar in Moscow. Dmitry gave lectures at many international conferences and has published several articles on early dance topics from 16th to 19th century.

The Gresley manuscript dances and their Italian connection
(John Gardiner-Garden)

The 26 dances, many with tunes, in the Derbyshire Record Office's Gresley ms. are suggestive of the influence of both French and Italian dance traditions in c.1500 upper-class English dance. It is impossible to be definitive about these influences and the influence of an indigenous English tradition. The dance descriptions are not self-conscious copyings of French bassedanses as were the 1521 dance notes of the English printer Robert Coplande or of Italian balli as were the 1517 dance notes of the Nuremberg merchant Johannes Cochläus, and many terms used in the Gresley descriptions have no obvious continental equivalents.We might, however, see French influence in the names of some steps and dances and in the wayword order and use of 3 singles seems to reflect 1445 Nancy manuscriptusages.We might see Italian influence in the way that conjunctions are used to suggest dance structure, that tune melodies are written out and broken into irregularly repeated short sections and perhaps most significantly in the realm of figures. The figure connection is the one we will explore most in the workshop. By dancing half-a-dozen dances we will see how the Gresley dances share with quattrocento Italian balli many movement expressions, a way of using the bow, and a range of the ideas. The latter include that a figure might be repeated by others in turn, that a pair might move in contrary direction, face then meet, that three dancers might invert then revert a triangle, and that a hey might be interrupted.

John Gardiner-Garden, Yarralumla, Australien:

Dr John Gardiner-Garden has studied/researched/performed and taught historical dancingof all eras for more than 25 years. He has led and played for dancing at over 1000 events, produced 12 dance books and 8 dance CDs. He is the director of the Earthly Delights Historical Dance Academy that runs regular classes, balls and festivals in Canberra, Australia. He has guest taught around Australia, North America and Europe, and will shortly before this symposium release a new multi-volume study of historical dance from 1400 to 1900. He's accompanied by his wife Aylwen, a respected historical costumer.

Waltzes, Newports, and Rackets: Common Movement Units in Late 19th Century American Couple Dance
(Susan de Guardiola)

The rapid explosion in published dances, dance sequences, and dance steps for the couple dance repertoire in America during the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the practice of annotating such dances beat-by-beat and movement by movement (slide/glissé, leap/jeté, cut/coupé, etc.) leads to the conceptualization of variations in couple dancing of this era primarily as fixed, often lengthy, sequences of steps with weirdly colorful names: Eclair, Metropole, Antlers, Pasadena, Bronco, Manitou, etc. As a result, dance pedagogy in late nineteenth-century social dance can devolve into teaching historically insignificant sequences - dances, rather than dancing - which masks the substantial similarities among them and inhibits the development of partner connection and improvisational ability. Extracting and analyzing larger movement units employed by dancing masters across different couple dances and musical forms enables the isolation of common elements which, when taught as such, enable more effective development of high-level improvisational skill and the efficient mastery of the elaborately named choreographic sequences of the era. In this workshop, a selection of frequently-employed movement units will be taught and applied across several different dance forms, demonstrating how a relatively small repertoire of movements allows dancers to enjoy couple dancing to a wide range of music and to quickly understand and perform lengthier published dance variations.

Susan de Guardiola, New Haven, CT, USA:

Susan de Guardiola (BA, Yale; MSEd, University of New Haven) is an independent scholar in social dance history, an American resident in Russia. She has presented her work at conferences including the Dolmetsch Historical Dance Society Conference, the International Congress for Medieval Studies, and Stanford University Historical Dance Week. In 2013-2014 she conducted research at Harvard University as a New England Regional Fellow. Research interests include improvisation in social dance, the evolution of the ballroom repertoire over the course of the nineteenth century, and the development of American social dance from its European origins. Her teaching focuses on exploring and recreating both the skill sets and mindsets of the social dancers of the past. She publishes brief dance reconstructions and research excerpts online at Capering & Kickery (http:// www.kickery.com).

Dancing the corantoes (circa 1630) in the light of European sources
(Hubert Hazebroucq)

The courante has been the most practised ballroom couple dance in France, during the Seventeenth Century, before being supplanted by the minuet. However, very few technical sources document its practice before 1700, and nearly all were written or published out of France. Some descriptions of steps or variations can thus be found in Italy for the first decades of the XVIIth C, notably thanks to Negri (1600) and Santucci (1614) and England provides a second corpus of sources, with the publication in London of Apologie de la Danse, 1623, by F. De Lauze, and moreover with a manuscript describing two corantoes and belonging to the Inns of court context (Ms. Rawlinson D 864, Bodleian Library, Oxford, circa 1630, according to Ian Payne).

The mystery of the sketchy notations for the "Coranto Dance" and "The Firstt Corantt" is deepened by the small and unclear diagrams annotated by some numbers, at the top of the two pages, plausibly drawing the spatial track. While several attempts of reconstruction have been done for the courante réglée by F. de Lauze, there has apparently been no extensive analysis of these corantoes, and no publication proposing a consistent interpretation linking the textual indications and the diagrams. My recent research intends to give some consistent hypotheses for a complete reconstruction.

The workshop will first propose, as a groundwork, to practice the basic steps according to the sources of the first half of the XVIIth century in Italy and England, in order to experiment the analogies and their stylistic variants. We will then focus on the interpretation of the corantoes in Ms. Rawlinson, in order to practice their main sequences and combinations, and to link the steps with the space. We will also experiment some comparisons with the sequences from De Lauze’s courante réglée, showing the structural similarities which open new perspectives and questions on the figured French courantes in England before 1650. We will here explore how much the courantes of that period were a canvas with constants, more than a really improvised dance, or a fixed choreography.

Hubert Hazebroucq, Paris, Frankreich:

Hubert Hazebroucq is a choreographer, dancer, teacher and independant researcher specialized in Renaissance and Baroque dance since 1998. With his company Les Corps Eloquents, founded in 2008, he is invited in many international festivals (Utrecht) and he performs with famous early music ensembles like Doulce Mémoire. He is a board member of the association of searchers ACRAS17-18, and holds a Master degree on ballroom dancing around 1660. He works principally on the technique and poetics in dance from the 15th to the 18th century.

Setting up the "Allemande" within the space of a ballroom: Hypothesis based on Brives Nouvelle Méthode from 1779
(Guillaume Jablonka)

This workshop aims at experimenting the alternation of "passes d'allemande" on the center spot and promenades in an "attitude" around a cotillon square set. The three following sequences will constitute the core of the workshop: learning a few figures of "allemande à deux" by Brives, then training a few figures taken from 1770 Jean Robert's Allemande Orleanoise on a cotillon square set or from French country dances where "passes d’allemande" happen and finally having several square sets of couples improvising "passes d'allemandes" and promenades in the same room.

Reconstructing the "Allemande" of the late 18th century is nowadays mainly based on the positions detailed by Mr. Guillaume in 1769 and the principles taught by Mr Dubois around the same period. Both treatises show engravings of the attitudes typical of this dance and explain how to manage the changes of handholds between these attitudes. But neither explains clearly how this happens in the ballroom or how the different figures are organized in the general flow of the dance. Thanks to Brives and Jean Robert it is now possible to know how to dance the allemande as a whole : the different "passes" or figures are danced in the center of the dancing space and each of them is followed by a certain portion of promenade or "course" around this space.

The explanations given by Brives and Jean Robert relate with coherence to French country dancing of the late 18th century including some "passes d’Allemande". Called German or not, country dances may contain Allemande handholds that are performed on spot and then a "tour de course" follows in the attitude in which the dancers finished. This has nothing to do with the "tour d'allemande" that is one of the different couplets of French country dancing.

While dancing the "Allemande", a common rule is needed so that all the couples can dance together in the same room: this is what this workshop is about. Brives makes a difference between the "Valx" and the "Allemande", the occupation of space is one of its aspects.

Guillaume Jablonka, Asnieres sur Seine, Frankreich:

Guillaume Jablonka trained as a ballet dancer in Strasbourg and discovered baroque dance while working for L'Eventail (M.G. Masse). He then performed for Ana Yepes, Sigrid T'Hooft, Deda Cristina Colonna or Hubert Hazebroucq. In 2006 he founded Divertimenty and choreographed several shows. His research focuses mainly on the reconstruction of the divertissements and pantomime ballets notated in 1782 by Auguste Ferrere. Paris Sorbonne University invited him to teach baroque dance to students interested in HIP.

A figured reel for twenty dancers
(Alan Jones)

The undated “Favourite Dance in the Comedy of The Honey Moon,” published for James Byrne in London, is found in the Dance Collection of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. It provides the figures of a three-minute group dance for four “principal dancers” and ensemble of sixteen, set to an unattributed two-strain reel melody. The published version was intended for “schools and assemblies” and mentions no steps aside from indications for setting. The reconstruction will thus rely on step descriptions from Francis Peacock’s The Practice of Dancing of 1805. Though published in London, this reel has a special importance for the dance heritage of the United States. The choreographer, James Byrne, was the most important non-French dancing master active in the American theater in the 1790s. His most celebrated work, created in London and later performed in Philadelphia, was Oscar and Malvina, a heroic spectacle of medieval Scotland inspired by the poems of the imaginary bard Ossian and featuring colorful Scottish dances.

The choreography of Oscar and Malvina is lost. Fortunately, however, upon returning to London, Byrne published the choreography for this figured reel from the otherwise forgotten comedy, The Honey Moon.This document thus gives us a unique example of an important choreographer’s work. At the same time it sheds light on the history of Scottish dance and on the evolution of ensemble ballet choreography from a period with little documentation. Finally, it serves as an example of the “fancy dances” that were taught to young people in England and its colonies.

Alan Jones, Paris, France

Alan Jones is a Paris-based choreographer and researcher from New York. Having danced and choreographed in the Baroque idiom for many years, he is now principally devoted to reconstructing dances of the late 18th century, notably French ballets performed in the US in the 1790s.

"Le solite creanze" - Höflichkeitsgesten im italienischen Tanz um 1600
(Markus Lehner)

Tanz des italienischen Cinquecento ist inzwischen fester Bestandteil des Repertoires einer Vielzahl historischer Tanzgruppen in ganz Europa. Während in den letzten Jahrzehnten viel Mühe in die adäquate Rekonstruktion von Schrittmaterial und Choreographien floss, wurde ein Aspekt bisher weitgehend vernachlässigt: die "solite creanze", die Höflichkeitsgesten, die im 16. Jahrhundert den Umgang miteinander in der gehobenen Gesellschaft - auch im Tanz - regulierten. Während Della Casa in seinem "Galateo" 1558 die "ceremonie" noch als neumodisch, überflüssig, und eitel kritisierte (und sie dennoch als allgemein gebräuchlich empfahl), gehörten sie 20 Jahre später zum festen Bestandteil eines tanzmeisterlichen Unterrichts. Diese uns heute so fremd erscheinenden Gesten und Bewegungen beeinflussen das Erscheinungsbild des Tanzes so wesentlich, dass sie neben einer adäquaten Rekonstruktion der Choreographie, stilgerechten Kostümen und zeitgenössischer Musik unerlässlich für eine historisch informierte Präsentation des Cinquecento-Stils sind.
Basierend auf den Quellen von Caroso, Negri und Santucci setzt sich der Workshop mit den wesentlichen Höflichkeitsgesten der Zeit, wie dem Hutabnehmen, dem Handkuss, etc., auseinander und zeigt ihren Gebrauch in einer Tanzchoreographie. Neben der praktischen Erprobung der Gesten ist es Ziel des Workshops, ihren Einfluss auf das Erscheinungsbild des Tanzes erfahrbar zu machen. Auch die praktischen Probleme bei ihrer Anwendung und eventuelle Lösungsmöglichkeiten werden mit den Teilnehmern diskutiert.
Bitte mitbringen: Hüte, Handschuhe, Taschentücher, Fächer 

MarkusLehner, Herrsching, Deutschland:

Markus Lehner unterrichtet seit 1984 historischen Tanz mit dem Schwerpunkt Renaissance und englischer Country dance. Seine Tätigkeit im Bereich der Tanzforschung führte 1997 zur Veröffentlichung des „Manual of Sixteenth-century Dance Steps in Italy". Seit 2004 organisiert er mit großem Erfolg das Internationale Symposium für Historischen Tanz auf Burg Rothenfels, zuletzt 2012 mit dem Thema „all' ungaresca, al español - die Vielfalt der europäischen Tanzkultur von 1420 - 1820".

Italienischer Tanz für Feinschmecker: alla milanese, alla romanesca oder umbrische Art?
(Markus Lehner)

Tagliatelle nere al sugo di seppie alla romana, farfalle alla salsa di radicchio di Verona, mezze penne rigate alla Toscana - welcher Freund italienischer Küche würde all diese Köstlichkeiten in einen Topf werfen und zu „Nudeln mit Soße“ verarbeiten? Beim italienischen Tanz um 1600 wird in vielen Kursen allerdings nach diesem Rezept verfahren und die diversen Details aus den verschiedenen Quellen zu einem Einheitsbrei verarbeitet.

Dabei zeigen die Bücher Fabritio Carosos und Cesare Negris durchaus deutliche stilistische Abweichungen voneinander. Dazu kommt noch das erst seit kurzem bekannte Manuskript von Ercole Santucci, das ebenfalls wieder eigene Stilcharakteristika aufweist.

Diese Unterschiede könnten die jeweilige persönliche „maniera“ des Tanzmeisters repräsentieren, möglicherweise beruhen sie aber auch auf regionalen Stilvarianten der aus verschiedenen Landschaften Italiens stammenden Tanzmeister. Im Workshop sollen die stilistischen Eigenarten von Caroso, Negri und Santucci beleuchtet werden. Die praktische Erarbeitung von Tanzpassagen im jeweiligen Stil der drei Tanzmeister soll den Teilnehmern ermöglichen, selbst ein Gefühl für die sich daraus ergebenden ästhetischen Nuancen zu entwickeln. Die auf diese Weise erstellten „Künstlerporträts“ wollen zu einem differenzierten Umgang mit den italienischen Tanzquellen um 1600 ermutigen.

Markus Lehner, Herrsching, Deutschland

Markus Lehner studierte Medizin in München und ist derzeit als niedergelassener Internist tätig. Seine Ausbildung in histori­schem Tanz erhielt er bei Lenchen Busch, Barbara Sparti, Julia Sutton, Deda Cristina Colonna, Lieven Baert u.a.. Seit 1984 ist er als Tanzreferent mit dem Schwerpunkt italienische Tänze des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts tätig. Seine Aktivitäten im Bereich der Tanzfor­schung führten 1997 zur Veröffentlichung des Buchs "A manual of sixteenth-century Italian dance steps". Seit 1980 wirkte er bei zahlreichen Auftritten verschiedener Renaissance­tanzensembles mit.

Contredanses of the Ferrère manuscript
(Carol Marsh)

The 1782 Ferrère manuscript contains several independent pantomime ballets, along with danced intermèdes that were inserted between the acts of contemporary French plays.  Notated contredanses were included in all of these entertainments, both as final dances (contredanses générales) to be performed by all the participants and as group dances for the corps de ballets that alternated with solos and duets for the protagonists.  Floor patterns—many of which are highly unusual—are carefully notated, and Baroque step names are included for some of the choreographies; thus this manuscript provides us with invaluable evidence for reconstructing theatrical contredanses in the second half of the eighteenth century. In this workshop we will work on two or three of the Ferrère contredanses.

Carol Marsh, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Carol G. Marsh has recently retired from the UNCG School of Music, where she taught music history and viola da gamba and was director of the Collegium Musicum.  She has been on the faculty at a number of early music workshops in North America and Europe, teaching both viol and Renaissance notation.  An internationally recognized authority on Baroque dance and dance notation, she has published extensively in this field and has lectured and given dance workshops at numerous universities in the US and abroad.  Two articles on the Ferrère manuscript appeared recently in The Grotesque Dancer on the Eighteenth-Century Stage: Gennaro Magri and His World(Studies in Dance History, 2005).

Gennaro Magri's Contraddanze (1779)
(Carol Marsh)

This workshop will explore the contraddanze (country dances) composed by Gennaro Magri for the court of King Ferdinand IV of Naples and published as an appendix to his 1779 treatise, Trattato teorico-prattico di ballo. The 39 choreographies present an astonishing array of figures and formations, and Magri's seemingly limitless imagination offers us a wonderful smorgasbord of ways to move bodies through space in symmetrical patterns.
Magri bases 36 of his choreographies on the principle of longways progression found in English country dances. But he does not limit himself to the usual two-couple exchange found in the English model: instead he offers eight different starting configurations, including dances in which the progression involves three or four couples; and he includes four dances for uneven numbers of men and women, paired as same-sex couples. The final three choreographies are set dances for eight, 12, and 32 dancers respectively; the first of these is modeled on the contredanse française, the only one of its kind in the collection.
The most challenging problem in reconstructing these dances is determining how the figures fit the musical phrases; Magri offers very little guidance on this point, and there is often more than one possibility for performance. As part of the workshop I will present the methodology that has guided my decisions.
Magri is also frustratingly vague regarding the steps to be used in his contraddanze—other than the ubiquitous (and somewhat mysterious) balletto fermo, which occurs several times in many of the dances. In the workshop we will explore some possible options to be used with the various musical meters of the dance melodies. 

Carol G.Marsh, Washington DC, USA:

Carol G. Marsh is Professor Emerita at the UNCG School of Music, where she taught music history and viola da gamba and was director of the Collegium Musicum. She has been on the faculty at a number of early music workshops in North America and Europe, teaching both viol, historical dance and Renaissance notation. An internationally recognized authority on Baroque dance and dance notation, she has published extensively in this field and has lectured and given dance workshops at numerous universities in the US and abroad.

Carles Mas: The Iberian Pavana by Jaque

Contredanses aus dem Premier Livre de Contre-Dances von Dezais (1726)
(Milo Momm)

Ergänzend zum Vortrag Dezais’ Premier Livre de Contre-Dances (1726) – Eine neue Tanzsammlung als möglicher ‚missing link’ im 18. Jahrhundert?, in dem eine neue Quelle mit Contredanses vorgestellt werden wird, soll dieser Workshop allen die Möglichkeit geben, einige der darin enthaltenen Tänze selber praktisch zu erproben. Zunächst soll das Grundrepertoire der Schritte erarbeitet werden, das für eine Contredanse notwendig ist, anschließend stehen Tänze für zwei oder vier Paare als auch eine spektakuläre Ecoßoise für vier Männer und zwei Damen auf dem Programm.

Milo Pablo Momm, Berlin, Deutschland

Milo Pablo Momm, geboren in Aachen, studiert seit 1999 Theater- und Musikwissenschaft an der Universität Bayreuth, der Université Paris 8 und der FU Berlin. In diesem Rahmen betreibt er intensive, eigene Quellenstudien. Derzeit schreibt er seine Magisterarbeit zum Thema „Die burgundische Bassedanse. Gattungskonvergenz und Kulturtrasfer im europäischen Kontext des 15. Jahrhunderts“ unter Betreuung von Prof. Dr. Gabriele Brandstetter. Seine tänzerische Ausbildung erhielt er vor allem durch Sigrid T'Hooft in Gent und Christine Bayle in Paris. Weitere Lehrer: Véronique Daniels, Barbara Sparti, Carles Mas, Lieven Baert, Deda Colonna, Caroline Pignault, Françoise Denieau und Cécília Grácio Moura. Seit 2001 unterrichtet Milo Pablo Momm Renaissance- und Barocktanz an verschiedenen Ballettschulen in und außerhalb Berlins. Seit 2005 tanzt er im Ensemble Corpo Barocco in Gent (Belgien) unter Leitung von Sigrid T'Hooft und gründete 2006 sein eigenes Ensemble l’ e s p a c e.

Die Entschlüsselung der „Ammazzone“
(Jadwiga Nowaczek)

Italien und der Barocktanz – das ist noch ein dünn besiedeltes Territorium. Lediglich fünf originale, in Feuillet-Notation aufgeschriebene Choreographien sind bisher bekannt. Alle fünf Tänze stehen deutlich unter dem Einfluss der dominierenden französischen Tanzkunst. Vier davon – wiewohl durchaus anspruchsvoll – sind dem Gesellschaftstanz zuzurechnen. Nur die fünfte Choreographie eines anonymen Autors mit dem Titel „L’Ammazzone“ trägt Züge eines Bühnentanzes. Damit wäre sie das einzig erhaltene Exemplar dieser Gattung in dem an Bühnenwerken so reichen Italien und für die Tanz- und Theatergeschichte von höchstem Interesse.
Was einer Rekonstruktion der Ammazzone zunächst jedoch im Wege steht, ist die überaus fehlerhafte Notation der Choreographie, sowohl was die Schritte und Takteinteilung des Tanzes anbelangt als auch die Notation der Musik. Im Workshop wird eine Version vorgestellt, in der die Fehler korrigiert sind und die als Grundlage zur weiteren Auseinandersetzung mit diesem bedeutenden Tanz dienen soll. Praktisch soll das erste Blatt der Choreographie erarbeitet werden, das die Teilnehmer im unveränderten Original sowie in der korrigierten Fassung an die Hand bekommen. Zwischendurch wird auf die durchaus vorhandenen stilistischen Eigenarten des italienischen Barocktanzes eingegangen.
In einer gesonderten Publikation ist der gesamte Tanz mit ausführlichen Kommentaren erhältlich (www.fagisis.de).

Jadwiga Nowaczek, Ismaning, Germany:

Geb. 1953, Klassische Tanzausbildung, Studium der Schulmusik, Rhythmik und Musikwissenschaft. Seit 1980 Rekonstruktion von historischen Tänzen des 15.-19. Jahrhunderts nach den Primärquellen. Choreographie mehrerer Ballette, u. a. Dido und Aeneas (Purcell), Orfeo y Euridice (Leopold I) und Pygmalion (Mouret). Inszenierung von Dido und Aeneas München 2007. Leiterin von La Danza München (Tanz des Barock und Rokoko) und Bella Gratia (Renaissancetanz). Lehrauftrag für Historischen Tanz an der Musikhochschule München.

Jadwiga Nowaczek: Formen der Courante

In diesem Workshop werden mit den Kursteilnehmern Schritte und Choreographien zur Courante erarbeitet, wobei der Barocktanz im Vordergrund stehen soll.

Jadwiga Nowaczek, Erding, Deutschland

Geboren1953, klassische Tanzausbildung, Studium der Schulmusik, Rhythmik und Musikwissenschaft, Musiklehrerin für Violoncello und Klavier. Seit 1980 freischaffende Tanzhistorikerin, Rekonstruktion und Aufführung von Tänzen des 15.-19. Jahrhunderts nach den Primärquellen, Entwicklung eines eigenen Tanzstils. Choreographie mehrerer Ballette. Leiterin des Tanzensembles „La Danza München“. Umfangreiche Lehrtätigkeit, u. a. 1988 – 1998 Lehrauftrag an der Universität München (Musikwissenschaft).

Ken Pierce: Favier notation (1688) in theory and practice

Jean Favier developed his system of dance notation in the late seventeenth century, and used it to notate dances and stage movement for “Le Mariage de la Grosse Cathos” (1688).  This workshop will offer an overview of how the system works, discussion of practical issues in deciphering the notation, and examples from one or more of the dances notated in Favier notation.

Ken Pierce, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Ken Pierce: trained originally in ballet and modern dance.  He has taught early dance at workshops in Europe, Canada, and the United States, and his choreographies and dance reconstructions have been shown at festivals from Copenhagen to Vancouver. In 1991 he directed dance reconstructions for, and performed in, a fully-staged production of  “Le Mariage de la Grosse Cathos” at the Amherst Early Music Festival.  Mr. Pierce directs the Ken Pierce Baroque Dance Company, and has performed with other early dance companies on both sides of the Atlantic. He also directs the early dance program at the Longy School of Music (Cambridge, Massachusetts).