It’s time to Taci e Balla — shut up and dance!
The Canton of Whyt Whey invites you to join us in rehearsing our steps as we anticipate the spring ball season.
On Sunday, February 19, at 3 PM, we will gather at a local dance studio, Bridge For Dance, 2726 Broadway, between 104th and 105th Streets, in studio 2 on the 3rd floor. (This is the east side of Broadway, upstairs from the McDonalds, just a minute’s walk from the #1 train at 103rd Street.)
We have the dance studio rented for just one hour, so arrive a few minutes early and be ready to dance!
As with traditional country dances of 15th C England, we begin with bransles: double, single, Cassandre & Pinagay. If you can step to your left and to your right, and sometimes do a little kick in the air, you are ready to rumba! Er, I mean bransle! (Pronounced brawl, and can indeed become quite lively.)
There are nearby cafes to which we can repair after dancing, should we wish to socialize before parting.
Accessibility note: this site is NOT accessible. There are 3 flights of 13, 10 & 18 steps to the studio. The banister is sturdy, if you are able to haul yourself.
All are welcome to join us. No Society membership or previous experience required. Modern attire. Feel free to RSVP or just show up.
Although the SCA complies with all applicable laws to ensure the health and safety of our event participants, we cannot eliminate the risk of exposure to infectious diseases during in-person events. By participating in the in-person events of the SCA, you acknowledge and accept the potential risks. You agree to take any additional steps to protect your own health and safety and those under your control as you believe to be necessary.
Our 1st Taci e Balla (shut up and dance!) practice went fabulously well. THANK YOU for coming out. <3 We had 7 attendees, started early and finished on the dot, and enjoyed a post-practice coffee & chat at a nearby sidewalk cafe.
First, we introduced ourselves and talked a bit about what we are hoping to learn, and where we are starting from. A primary goal of our practice is being able to enjoy the upcoming ball of Dancing Fox ( https://www.eastkingdom.org/event-details/?eid=4112 ), Kingston NY May 13th. (2 hours north of the city; ride-sharing to be arranged.)
We reviewed the field of documented European pre-1600 dance, highlighting Thoinot Arbeau, John Playford, “The Italians”, and the Gresley Manuscript. I talked about why we are doing Arbeau first, and why we are doing the branles he documents in the order they appear in these lessons.
Then, we learned Double (Common) Branle, Single (Simple) Branle, Cassandre Branle and Pinagay Branle. Really great work, everyone!
Links to the resources used today may be found on our new dance resources page on our canton website:
https://appleholm.eastkingdom.org/dance-resources/
The cheat-sheets I handed out in practice today will be linked to from the above page soon.
During the week, I encourage you to listen to the music for those 4, over and over again, on endless loop. :-). The music will tell you the steps. In the YouTube playlist, you will find music-only tracks (longer and slower) and step-instruction videos (short and faster tempo).
Next Sunday, Feb. 26th 3-4pm studio #2 Bridge for Dance 2726 Broadway 3rd fl (walkup), we will review those 4 (Double, Single, Cassandre & Pinagay), and tackle the rest of the branles in these two suites: Gay, Burgundian, Charlotte, War & Aridan.
At the post-practice chat, we will schedule our March practices.
Thanks, everyone!