Regency Dance Instructions
Regency Dancing has been in vogue for many years now. We owe it’s acceptance in the United States to the attendees of Science Fiction conventions, specifically the wives of the authors of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
These ladies, bored by not having much to do, took their love of Georgette Heyer Regency Romances, and asked one fan who was known for his ethnic dancing, to choreograph dances that they had read about. These dances took off. Dancing spread to other venues, where attendees of Science Fiction conventions also were members of Reenactment groups. Specifically the Society for Creative Anachronism, which ends it study of previous times in 1600. Well before our period.
Those interpreters of history however, found a resource for dance from John Playford, and the English Dancing Master. Though published in 1651, it is thought that all the dances he recorded and printed were also done before. A later dance, Hole in the Wall,
made it’s way into both realms, that of the SCA and that of those dancing in the Regency genre at Science Fiction and Fantasy conventions, and events solely concerned with the Regency.
Presented for you here, notes say this dance is from 1721. Dancing certainly gives one a Regency feel.
1) A couple honor each other, cast out and around B couple, meet below, pass through B couple to place
B couple honor each other, cast out and around A couple, meet above, pass through A couple to place
2) A man, B lady bow and cross by right shoulders, exchanging places. B man, A lady bow and cross by right shoulders, exchanging places
3) All 4 in set join hands, circle clockwise half way to place. A couple cast around B's, B's lead up.
Breaking this down for you.
Defintions:
Set-The set is the group of dancers. In Hole in the Wall, men line up facing their partners. The first couple at the top of the line are the A couple. The next couple are the B’s and these two couples are one set. The next couple, the third in the line, are A’s once more.
Honor-An honor would be for the man to give a short bow, and the lady a curtsy.
Cast-Casting out and around means that the A man turns over his left shoulder and walks behind the B man to the place vacated by the next A man in line as he has also cast and moved down the line. The A lady does the same casting over her right shoulder and walking behind the B lady on her side of the set.
Cross-The cross is you getting to the other side of the set. In Hole in the Wall the cross is done along the diagonal, so instead of facing your partner, you face and cross with the person of the same gender next to your partner.
Hands Round-Often called as four hands round, though all four people and all eight of their hands (two each) are used. Everyone joins hands in the square, making a circle. The circle now advances a certain number of places, in Hole in the Wall, it is two, or half way around the circle. In this dance you end up back where you started so this is often called as half way to place.
Progression-The term for how couples move on to dance with new people. Advancing to your next set of partners.
The Dance Figures:
The first part of the dance:
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❖The A couple exchange honors, which is the man bowing and the lady curtsying.
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❖Casting-The A man turns over his left shoulder and walks behind the B man to the place vacated by the next A man in line as he has also cast and moved down the line. The A lady does the same casting over her right shoulder and walking behind the B lady on her side of the set.
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❖Meet below and pass through means that the A’s are now next to the B’s, the B’s have not moved, along the line. This is often done with the active couple lightly touching inside hands at shoulder height. They walk back between the B couple and return to the place they started the dance. The entire figure is done without stopping.
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❖The second part of the first figure is the B couple doing everything the A couple just did. The B couple is at this time the active couple.
The second part of the dance:
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❖This is now done on the diagonal, the A man honors the B lady and she him. They cross to each others place passing right shoulders. Again many touch the fingers of their right hands to each other in our modern interpretation with a bit of flirtation. When they reach the place that was occupied by the other, they honor once more.
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❖As there was repetition before, so too again. This time the B man and the A lady do what was just done by their partners.
Progression:
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❖All four join hands and walk in a circle clockwise, halfway. This puts each person in the place where they started the dance.
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❖As at the beginning of the dance, the A couple casts down, but not this time to where the other A’s were before. To where the couple they have been dancing with (The B’s) are standing.
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❖Our B couple must get out of the way, and joining inside hands, as is done now, the B man leads his partner to the place that their A couple has vacated.
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❖At the end of this the B’s find themselves with a new A couple, and the A’s have a new couple as well.
Please note that at each end of the line, after once time through, there are extra couples. The B couple at the very top of the line has no couple to dance with, and the A couple at the bottom of the line. This happens and the couples will wait one time through the dance and return to dance, but this time as they go along the line to the very other end, they are now the reverse couple of what they were before. If they started as an A, they are now a B, and vice-versa.
(Click above to play music)
Regency Dance Links
There are several places where one can learn and experience Regency Dancing. Nothing compares to a Ball, however. One of the bigger balls each year is held in Pasadena, CA. It is the Jane Austen Evening. To prepare for such an event, they have practices for it just prior to the ball. However, you can practice all year long at such venues as one held in Anaheim, CA, the Orange County Regency Dance Practice. Or at the Friends of the English Regency, in Culver City, CA. (You will notice these cities of Southern California, for it is where the modern american interpretation of Regency Dance gestated and spread from.)
Hole in the Wall
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1) A couple turn by right hands, once and a half times around.
A couple cast down to B’s place, B couple moves up.
A couple cross and change places.
2) All repeat with B’s doing what A couple has just done.
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3) A corners changes places.
B corners change places.
Circle four hands, half-way.
All turn singles out from circle in a cloverleaf.
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4)All repeat, B corners first, end is progression, A’s cast, B’s
move up.
Well Hall
Breaking this down for you.
Defintions: Well Hall only has two new figures from what was learned in Hole in the Wall
Corners, A Corners, B Corners--These are based on where the A man is. His corner is not his partner opposite, but the other person diagonally away from him (most often a member of the other sex, but sometimes his own sex. The Corner is always referred to as the Man’s position, So A Corner-A man, B Corner-B man
Turn by right hands-As you would expect by such a call, the active couple, (first the A couple) grasp each others right hand, taking a step or two forward to do so and then they walk about each other as if there joined right hands created a pole for the to walk about between them. Doing this one and a half times, in Well Hall should have the man on the ladies side of the set, and the lady on the man’s when the measure ends.
Cloverleaf-This is an artistic way of having the set turn single. A turn single is something that is usually down over the right shoulder. You would take four walking steps to do so, walking in place in a circle so you end where you begin. Having turned about by stepping to the right, left foot crossing over the right first. A Cloverleaf is a little different as two of the set will turn over the left shoulder and turn this way. It makes the entire set looking as if they all turn away from the set. In this case, the A Corners turn left, while the B Corners turn right.
The Dance Figures:
The first part of the dance:
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❖All couples exchange honors at the beginning of the dance very briefly.
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❖The A couple Turn by Right. As explained the step towards each other so that they can grasp right hands, lightly, this is a dance, not a meeting and a handshake. As they reach for the partners hand they are actually already walking about in their circle in the set. They must progress one and half times around so that the man is on the ladies side, and she on the man’s side when the two measures end.
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❖The A couple cast down, and the B’s move up. Here using the momentum of turning, when the end of the turning by rights closes and casting begins, the active couple can just continue to walk behind the B couple. The B couple has the opportunity to join hands and gently walk to where the A’s just were. The A’s have much to do, and the B’s have plenty of time.
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❖The A’s having cast and reached the bottom of the set now come back in and approaching their partner gently turn with out contact with their partner so they return to the proper sides of the set and they can back into place. The correct side that they began on, but a place below.
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❖The B Couple does all that the A’s have just done, and the A’s act like B’s until when this is completed, all are where they began this figure of the dance.
The second part of the dance:
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❖Now we have the changing of places. A Corner’s, which would be Man A and Lady B, change places stepping towards each other, and crossing by right shoulders (a step to the left of the person that they are nearing.) Turning when they are in the center of the set so they can back into place diagonally from where they began.
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❖This is repeated by the other corner. At the end of which the Men are on the Ladies side and the Ladies on the Mens. The B couple is at the head of the set, while the A couple is below.
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❖All take hands for a circle, and go half-way which will bring everyone back to original places. Drop hands.
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❖The Cloverleaf as explained above. Turning single in place away from the center of the set.
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❖The second crossing section begun by the B Corner, the B Man and A Lady cross places first.
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❖The A Corner now crosses.
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❖Take hands and circle half-way to place
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❖Finally we have progression where the A’s who are above the B’s in original places cast out and go down the set on the outside, while the B’s join hands and lead up on the inside. Each couple ends in the other couples place. Here the dancers now start all over.
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❖The A’s are still A couples and immediately start with the new B couple in their set. The A’s taking right hands for one and half times round. At the top of the entire line, and the bottom, their will be a couple who are out and have to wait one time for the next couple to become free to dance with. If this waiting couple was an A just a moment before, they will now be a B couple, for they have reached the bottom of the set. The reverse is true for the B Couple that has reached the top of the set.
Are you a RAPper or a RAPscallion?
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1) A (1-8) All right hands-across, and left hands back.
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2) (1-8)A couple take two hands and side step down center two steps, two back, and cast down to second place. B couple lead up.
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3) (1-4) All take right hands and balance forward, back, and change places. (Men turn partner under arm, down the set)
4) (5-8) Repeat with left hand back to place.
5) (9-12) Men turn women below their partners by right-hand.
6) (13-16)Men turn partners by left-hand.
The Duke of Kent’s Waltz
The Dance Figures:
The first part of the dance:
❖ Right hands across and left back means to take your partner right hand in your own and walk to their place, then switching hands once you get there, walk back to your starting place. We have four measures to get to the opposite side of the set, and then four measures of music to get home.
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❖The A Couple are then going to take both hands and come close together in the center of the dance. (All the A couples.) They then move down two side steps away from the music, and then move back up to where they started. They finish this with a cast to second place. (This allows us to progress and dance with new partners atthe end of all the phrases)
The second part of the dance:
❖ We take right hands again and do the balance step as explained above. But there is a little more here. Instead of walking around to place, the men are going to raise their hand that holds their partners. Not to high because one we are in very tight sleeves and have little room to raise our own arms, and two, one must think how high we will raise a ladies hand as to not cause her discomfort. As we do this, the gentlemen are turning the lady under the raised arm as we all exchange places.
❖ Very simply we do what we just had done with our left hands. Balancing and turning.
❖ Here it is a little awkward for the lady at the very top of the dance will be ignored, and the man at the very bottom of the dance has no one to partner. Looking at your partner, the gentlemen then looks to the right of her (her left) and this is who he will dance with. It is very much how we started the dance, but this is a full turn to place in four measures.
❖ And to make things somewhat symmetrical, as most of these dances do, we have four measures to turn our own partner once more by the left this time, before it all starts over.
The Duke of Kent’s Waltz comes to us from 1801. It was rediscovered in a coverless book at the British Library which Jacqueline Schwab has since identified (and could be a woman who I danced with across Scotland in 2007. The one my search turned up plays in the band, Bare Necessities, and it is probably unlikely that there are two Jacqueline Schwabs researching Period English Country Dance.)
Edward Augustus, the father of Victoria, was the fourth son of George III. (And obviously the one to have the oldest surviving female child when he and his siblings had all died.) He was made Duke of Kent in 1799 at the age of 32. At this time waltz music was making its way to England but not the waltz itself.
Breaking this down for you
This is a longways duple minor (two couples forming a set along a line of dancers)
Defintions: The Duke of Kent’s Waltz only has one new figures from what has been learned above
Balance-A Balance is a shifting of weight. Here while taking the right hand, you step forward to your partner on your right foot as well, rocking your weight forward onto the right foot, then back on your left foot.
1) A Couple lead down between B Couple and cast up to place. Two men lead out between two women and cast back to place.
2) B Couple lead up between A Couple and cast down to place. Two women lead out between two men and cast back to place.
A man sets towards B woman. Turns single back to place. A woman sets to B man and turns single back to place.
All circle four hands half way and fall back in lines, (Improper and progressed.) Partners set forward, and change places by right.
Breaking this down for you.
Defintions:
Longways-Couples line up facing each other and form a long line. Men on the left, women on the right. The first couple is that closest to the music, and the line becomes perpendicular to where the musicians are, for instance the stage.
Duple minor-The dance is performed in sets of two couples.
Lead Down-A couple walks away from the music. The man holds his hand palm up so that the lady may place her hand upon it gently. (No playing touchy feely here). Using about four steps to walk down between the other couple, the other couple who is not moving will actually part enough to ensure that the active couple can walk between them. In Gued Man, as the music is sprightly, the active couple move quickly (though there is no skipping in the Regency. Many other dance teachers will say there is. I contend that most will not have work what we men where in the Regency and find how tight our clothes have been made. That does not allow for much in the way of skipping)
Cast-Once the active couple is on the other side of the non active couple, they must get back to place. We call this casting and it does not mean turning around and going directly back to place. We drop the hands of our partners and turn away from them and walk around that inactive person we just passed to return to our spot that we started from.
Setting-This is the step that the men can show off their footwork and calves in the Regency. The ladies legs are generally hidden so if we are lucky we might see a toe poke out from under the hem of their dress. I show off my setting when I can but it took me months to go beyond the basic pattern of shifting my weight, and years to master. For the purpose of simple instruction, you would hop very lightly or shift your weight to your right foot. Bring your left foot over to close together on just the ball of your left foot. Then your left foot back and bring the ball of your right foot to close. In Geud Man of Ballangigh this step is done while slightly advancing towards the the person diagonally across the set (not your partner, but the person of the other sex in the set who is not your partner.)
Turn Single-Here the dancer will take four steps to turn around in place. The dancer turns around to his right. In Geud Man of Ballangigh one turns while also returning along the diagonal so you get back to place.
Circle four Hands-Often called as four hands round, though all four people and all eight of their hands (two each) are used. Everyone joins hands in the square, making a circle. The circle now advances a certain number of places, in Geud Man of Ballangigh, it is two, or half way around the circle.
Fall Back in lines-Joining only inside hands with the person of the same sex in your set, you break the circle and are once more in a long line. (Men are now on the Womens side and Women are on the Mens) We take steps backwards (two.)
Improper-This would be the Men on the Women’s side of the line and Women on the Mn’s side.
Progressed-Mentioned below (see A giant note bullet point) we discuss how every other time through, there is a couple out at each end, and that they will wait one time through before coming back in as the type of couple they were not before. Progression is how we keep moving down the line, or up the line to dance with new couples. So the first time through, the Smith’s are dancing with their B Couple, the Bakers. Behind them is the next set and that has the Jones and the Farmers. At Progression, right before the dance phrase is over and getting ready to start anew, the Bakers are the top of the couple, followed by the Smiths, who are still A Couples. Then the Farmers, followed by the Jones’. When everything starts again, the Smiths will be dancing with the Farmers.
Change Places-This last part of the dance, when we have been in our long line that fell back is so that men get back to their side of the dance line and women to theirs. This is just a walking step where you cross your partner by right shoulders and then turn back into the set by your right shoulder as well.
The Dance Figures:
What I find that is so fun is how quickly this moves. The first two parts is continuous and flowing. The first couple is moving and as they return to place the A man does not stop but immediately grabs the hand of the B man and they are moving towards the ladies. The pattern continues with the B Man grasping his partners hand so that they then can pass through the A couple and cast back to place...
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❖We first form the long line of dancers. The men are on the left of the their partner were they to hold hands and face the head of the hall (generally the stage, or where the musicians sit and play) Thus the man’s right hand grasps the ladies left. Then facing across the set, so you now look at your partner, from the very first couple, who are the A couple, they are dancing in the beginning with the next couple, a B couple. The 3rd couple is once again an A couple and the 4th, a B Couple, and so on.
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❖A giant note, that every other rendition, couples become out. (If you start with 10 couples, you have 5 active sets. The first time through.) Then on the 2nd time through, a couple at the top and one at the bottom, are out for one rendition. The couple at the top nearest the musicians had been Bs the first time through. When the come back in, the third time through, they will be As. At the bottom of the set, they had been As and will return as Bs.
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❖After lining up in the long lines, you grasp your partners hand across the set and from the first couple down, they grasp the hand of the couple next to them. The couple closest to the stage is the A Couple, the next is the B. Then we have an entire new set of As and Bs. And then a third set, etc.
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❖The first half of the dance, leading through and casting.
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❖This part never stops.
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❖A Couple
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❖Men
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❖B Couple
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❖Women
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❖The group mentioned in the list above join inside hands and proceed across their set of four people to split the other two and cast around them back to place where one of these two are still active and grasps the hand of the next person in the grouping to proceed across the set again.
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❖A Man is thus active first with A Woman. He remains active and grasps B Man’s hand and splits the women with B Man who is now active. In the next phrase B Man grasps his partners hand, which will lead to B Woman grasping A Woman’s hand to split the men and complete the first phrase of the dance.
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❖The second phrase is setting, circle and progression
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❖The A couple is active, while the B couple is passive
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❖A Man sets to B Woman advancing towards her on the diagonal, then turns single back to place.
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❖Most regency dances have a symmetry and here we have the A Woman setting to B Man and then turning single back to place.
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❖Now we are at the last part of the dance, that leads into Progression.
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❖All join hands even as we start to walk in a circle (Don’t join hands and then start walking the circle, start walking as you reach for the other dancers hands.) Only advance two places along the circle, so you will be standing diagonally from where you started in your set.
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❖We now have the As below the Bs in the line and everyone on the wrong side. Dropping the hand of our partner we keep holding the hand of the dancer who is the same sex as we and fall back two paces in a line.
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❖We now advance toward our partner with a setting step and then as we near our partner we can stop and walk to our place on the correct side of the set. We pass our partner by right shoulders and then turn right into our place on the line.
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❖We are now ready to dance again.
(Click above to play music)
The Geud Man of Ballangigh
Notes about the Geud Man of Ballangigh:
