Original Choreography
I don't do a lot of choreography other than the ephemeral variety like
setting figures to tunes in Regency-era country dancing. But I do
occasionally get inspired, usually by a particular piece of music.
Here are a few original dances (and one adaptation) I've created.
Steampunk Dances (sequences to be added later...)
- Airship Pirates (quadrille)
Music: "Airship Pirate
" by Abney Park
Inspired by nineteenth-century quadrille figures that reminded me of
interlocking gears and other machinery.
- Overboard (circle mixer)
In memory of Paula Montrie
Music: "Throw Them Overboard
" by Abney Park (requires editing for more repeats)
This dance was designed to teach to people who don't have any
couple dance skills but can be talked through figures. The figures
are mostly nineteenth-century-inspired.
- Wanderlust (troika circle mixer), November 2019
Music: "Wanderlust
" by Abney Park (requires editing for more repeats)
This dance requires good figure skills (including heys) but no
real couple dance experience, though there is a brief (8b) segment of
1910s-style Pomander Walk which requires briefly taking closed ballroom hold. It was
written originally for the dancers of Kyiv, Ukraine. The figures are
my response to the numerous Russian troika mixers that have as their
progression either the gentleman walking forward to the next two
ladies or the ladies walking forward to the next gentleman. I wanted
a more interesting progression, so I hid it inside some heys!
Other
- Masha Poka! (Bye, Masha!) ~ circle mixer with waltz ~ February 2020
This is an adaptation of the Welsh circle mixer "Farewell Marian"
or "Ffarwel Marian" composed by Gwyn Williams in the 1950s. The
original, danced with varying degrees of success, may be
seen here
and here. Some background and a good description may
be found on Colin Hume's website.
Personally, I find "Farewell Marian" unbalanced - the opening
section with eight (!!!) sideways slides in the first sixteen bars is
rather dull for experienced dancers, but, as can be seen on those
videos, the final eight bars of waltz are difficult for beginners. In
my adaptation, I've retained the original progression but complicated
the first part and shortened the number of consecutive waltz turns
required to try to make it work for a wide range of dancers. The
opening S-curves were inspired by sixteenth century Italian dances.
I created this in Moscow, so the official name is the Russian
version, pronounced "MAH-shuh pah-KAH". "Bye, Masha!" is the direct
English translation. The name is a play on the name of the original
dance ("Masha" is a Russian nickname for "Maria"), the tendency in
Russia for "Masha" to be used as a sort of generic girl's name, and
the repeated partner-changes (bye!) in the dance.
Music
Any slow (~120bpm) waltz with a 32-bar repeat structure; originally danced
to "Captain O'Kane's
" by The Atomic City Rhythm Rascals off the
album The Split Tree Recordings - The Waltzes
.
Formation
A circle of couples facing line of dance; gentlemen
stand to the left of their partners and start the dance by putting
their backs to the center of the circle and turning slightly to the
right
Figures
4b All ladies leave partners and progress counter-clockwise around
the outside of the circle, moving forward two places to second
gentleman after partner). Gentlemen don't move.
4b Taking left hands (high) with this gentleman, make a half-turn
to put the ladies in the center; all turn single to the right
4b All gentlemen progress counter-clockwise around the outside of
the circle to their own partners. Ladies don't move.
4b Taking left hands (high), partners make a half-turn to put the
gentlemen in the center; all turn single to the right
4b Taking right hands (high), partners balance forward and back,
then make a half-turn (maybe a bit more than half) to bring the ladies
to the center and get everyone aimed toward their left diagonal
4b Taking left hands (high) with the person on their left
diagonal, balance forward and back, then make a half-turn, the lady
turning under the gentleman's arm, coming into a closed ballroom hold
4b One complete turn of waltz (2b) followed by two sideways
slide-closes (2b)
4b One complete turn of waltz (2b) followed by the gentleman
raising his left arm and the lady turning clockwise under it and
curling outward ready to restart the dance
Watch points
(1) dancers traveling around the outside should pace themselves for a just-in-time arrival at the end of four bars
(2) remember: no balances on the two left-hand turns in the first section!
(3) turn single is not a spot-turn; use the six steps and make it a beautiful curved movement
(4) the circle tends to shrink; don't let the gentlemen back up at the end or there will be no space in the center for the turns single
Special note
Masha Poka! also works just fine to polka music, becoming Masha Poka Polka! (Sorry, sorry...but it really does work!)
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