3 minute read
A Final Thought
Shall we dance?
by JANET MAILE
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“I believe we must have some conversation, Mr Darcy. A very little will suffice,” Miss Bennet gently chides the taciturn Mr Darcy during Mr Beveridge’s Maggot in Pride and Prejudice. Maggot in this sense means a fad or whim.
The instructions and music for the dance were included in The English Dancing Master by John Playford. The first volume was published in 1651, with further volumes published over the years up until about 1850. The complete set gives instructions for over 1,000 dances with such delightful names as The Devil’s Dream, Green Sleeves and Yellow Lace and An Old Man Is A Bed Of Bones. King Charles II’s favourite is included: Cuckolds all a row, a dance for four couples in a square formation.
Over the years, choreographers have created dances in a similar style, giving dancers even more choice. The majority of dances are for as many as will: couples stand in lines facing their partners and progress up or down the set, dancing in turn with the other couples. Playford’s instructions are quite difficult to understand, and various people over the years have produced an interpretation of the moves. Historical sources tell us that there were some quite complicated steps, but these days, we walk the dances, or, for faster ones, skip or hop.
Dances were sociable affairs, but it was a time of formality and etiquette. A lady could not ask a gentleman to dance, for example, or even cross the dance floor by herself. In the days when ladies were chaperoned, dances provided a rare chance to try to catch the eye of the man of your dreams, or impress the lady with your dancing skills. In many dances, a couple stands out for a turn, giving a rare opportunity for an intimate conversation.
These days, there is a caller who reminds the dancers of the steps, but in the past, they had to rely on their memory. There were dancing classes for the better off. The lower classes relied on more simple dances that they could remember. A dance fan was a useful reminder: each leaf of the fan contained the instructions for one or more dances but the fan had to be held correctly. In 1768 Matthew Towle published The Young Gentleman and Lady's Private Tutor in which he suggested six ways to hold it, depending on whether you were sitting standing, or giving a curtsey.
Dances were held in church halls, large country houses or Assembly Rooms. Each Assembly Room had its own set of rules. Derby, for example, stated that No shopkeeper, or any of his or her family, shall be admitted except Mr. Franceys and All young Ladies in mantuas shall pay 2s. 6d. In Bath, Ladies proposing to dance minuets, shall announce their intentions to the master of the ceremonies on the day preceding the ball, and shall be in the rooms appropriately dressed punctually at half-past eight o'clock. Now we have but one rule: a couple wishing to dance must join the bottom of the set.
Like every aspect of life, dances were the subject of humour. In 1792 the Derby Mercury published a joke: At a late ball given at Richmond, a finish'd coquette asked a gentleman near her, whilst she adjusted her tucker whether he could flirt her fan which he held in his hand: No, madam, answered he, proceeding to use it, but I can fan a flirt.
I first got into folk dancing at the end of 1990 when my knee was smashed in an accident. It was more interesting than physiotherapy exercises! I loved it and have continued ever since and In November 2021, I started the Orpington Folk Dance Club. Head over to our Facebook page - www.facebook.com/orpfolkdance -where you can see a clip of Miss Bennet and Mr Darcy dancing.
