Round dance

“ The coins begin to roll in as the gaping sightseers gather round, but his harvest is interrupted by the greater attractions of a dancing girl, who begins upon a strip of carpet laid with care upon the ground a posturing dance, to the accompaniment of strains from a hurdy-gurdy turned by her male companion. She likewise is not allowed to hold the field undisputed, for a rival—also attended by a portable organ—establishes herself hard by. ”

“ In a little while, when they begin to warm up to the dance, they do a whole turn in the air during each spring forward, and, as this is continued, the dancers become more and more energetic, until their hair, which is worn long and cut straight round the shoulders, stands out like a mop being wrung out as they spin round. ”

“ Acting upon this basis, the reputable teachers of dancing throughout the world have adopted and promulgated three fundamental groupings for the Round Dance which are so constructed as to provide the greatest ease of execution and freedom of action. They are known as the Waltz Position, the Open Position, and the Side Position of the Waltz. All round dances are executed in one or another of these groupings, which are not only accepted by all good teachers, but, with the exception of certain minor and unimportant variations, rigidly adhered to in all their work. ”

“ This illusion, in itself productive of great enjoyment, explains our pleasure in such dances as we are considering. Much has been said in criticism of the modern round dance. Apart from sexual considerations, to which, after all, I do not attach much weight, present-day dancing, is said to lack the social effect of mass plays and the stimulus of mimic dances. But if we look upon it as a simple movement-play, and consider it more from the standpoint of the dancer than of the spectator, that criticism loses its force. ”

“ Some danced in pairs, holding each other's hand; others went through a succession of steps alone, both men and women; sometimes a man performed a solo to the sound of music or the clapping of hands.
"A favourite figure dance was universally adopted throughout the country, in which two partners, who were usually men, advanced toward each other, or stood face to face upon one leg, and having performed a series of movements, retired again in opposite directions, continuing to hold by one hand and concluding by turning each other round (see fig. 3) . ”

“ When the dance begins, the women move round the men in the centre, from left to right, and the men contrariwise from right to left, and they sometimes narrow and sometimes widen their circles. In this manner the dance continues without intermission the whole night, new performers successively taking the place of those who are wearied and fatigued. ”

“ The few men who play these instruments begin turning round and round, and others, wishing to join in the dance, gather round them, also moving in a circle. When a hundred dancers perform, those on the outside run at a headlong speed, while those forming the centre spin, but very slowly. The dancers accompany the players by very curious half-whistling sounds, which sound like the twitter of birds. The louder and shriller the sounds the prettier they are thought to be....
"On the Duke of York, boys have a curious, cruel way of procuring music. ”

“ They commence the dance in the form of a ring but do not go round. Dancing for the space of a minute in the same position, they bend their bodies forward and press all to the center of the circle, turning and looking in every direction without any order, and when all are huddled very close, and that part of the song arrives where the chorus is discontinued, all except the tune on the drums, they keep it up for the space of about a minute afterwards, when a sudden and general yell by all finishes that round, and the form of the ring is resumed. ”

“ Time is kept, in the men’s dances, by stamping the foot and jerking the arm in unison, twice on the right, then twice on the left side, and so on, alternately. Vigorous dancers vary the program by leaping and jumping at intervals, and the shamans are noted for the dizzy circles which they run round the púgyarok, the entrance hole of the dance hall. ”

“ As long as the andante movement is given, he turns his partner to the right and left, clapping his spurred heels together and striking the ground with his toe and heel, and then they continue the step as a round dance. In some provinces the women put their126 hands on their partners’ shoulders and jump high from the ground with their assistance. So fond is the Hungarian of his Czardas that, as soon as he hears the stirring tunes of the dance played by a gypsy band or fiddler, it seems to electrify him so that he can hardly listen to it without dancing. ”

“ They are canons, not rounds. A good specimen of the round proper is Dr. William Hayes's 'Wind, gentle evergreen.'
II. Any dance in which the dancers stood in a circle was formerly called a round or roundel. [2] The first edition of the 'Dancing Master' (1651) has thirteen rounds, for six, eight, or 'as many as will.' Subsequent editions of the same book have also a dance called 'Cheshire Rounds,' and Part II. of Walsh's 'Compleat Country Dancing Master' (1719) has Irish and Shropshire rounds. ”

“ Other dancers, men only, advanced in couples, beating their drums and capering up the central space. In some figures the dancing men zigzagged across the space in a prancing manner as they proceeded up and down; in others they formed two parallel rows, all facing one side of the hollow oblong, and pranced sideways a few steps up and down the space. Then they jumped right round, so as to face the opposite way, and repeated the same process; then back again, and so on. In this dance the girls swayed their petticoats backwards and forwards. ”

“ The special reason of the dance is the display of all the unmarried girls from far and near to choose, or be chosen by, suitable parties, and from description it is probable that the girls choose. Many marriages result from this one annual dance. The dances take place in a circular enclosure which is set apart for this annual feast. The musicians sit in the centre, and the girls form a large circle round the musicians, and behind the girls, holding hands in a larger circle, the men dance and go through their part of the performance. ”

“ At a particular turn of the general figure of the dance, these two broke off from their fixed rank, and made a circuit outside of all the rest, and more briskly, while the main body of the dancers, the three circles before mentioned, which had never ceased to move, still proceeded slowly round and round, only turning at a given signal to face the men, as the men had turned to face the emblem of the Deity, the central fire. Every eye among the women was planted on the ground. ”

“ While the dance is in progress, the SLAVES hand round the food and the drink to JACOB and his group, to the brothers, who stand together on the opposite side of the stage, and to the non-dancers. The non-dancers, not otherwise occupied, clap their hands rhythmically to the dance.]
[First, the men unwind from the crowd where they appear to have been standing in no particular order, and dance down, forming graceful figures, and singing as they dance.]
ISSACHAR: First come the camel drivers, with their song.
MEN: [Singing and dancing:] (Solo) Wide and waste is the wilderness ”

“ Figures are often introduced like those of our quadrilles; but no round dances, like our waltz or polka, have been observed—the rough ground is not suited for such. The dancers and the drummers practise long in private before coming to the public exhibition. ”

“ A bevy of women, shoulder to shoulder, then advanced from the four sides of the square, and some, shaking a rattle-drum in time with their steps, commenced a jumping, jerking dance, now lifting one foot from the ground, and now rising with both, accompanying the dance with a chant, which swelled from a low whisper to the utmost extent of their voices—now dying away, and again bursting into vociferous measure. ”

“ It took some little time before the tapping of the drums would arouse the dull and sluggish dancers, but when the point of excitement came, nothing can faithfully portray the wild and frenzied motions they go through. Backward and forward, this way and that, now together and now apart, every motion intended to convey the most sensual ideas. As the dance progressed, the drums were thrummed faster, the contortions became more grotesque, until sometimes, in frenzy, the women and men would fall fainting to the ground. ”

“ The waltz ended, these two dancing till the final chord, he took her for the conventional scamper through anteroom and tea-room, which communicated with each other by a canvas corridor, delightfully cool and dangerously draughty, and so back to the ball-room, where he restored her to the worthy lady in the red gown, with whom sat the younger Marchant girls, who were glad to dance one dance out of three; like those hunting men of modest pretensions who were satisfied with a day a week. ”

“ It is love in human shape: now he hovers above the sleeping figure, caressing: now he is dancing just in front of the window. And we dare not breathe lest by so doing the air is stirred to drive him back into the moving shapes outside. But he rises on the arms of the wind, he crouches beside the girl. She falls into his arms and the love dream of a ballroom is realized. The music of the night has entered the room, languid music like water which these two spill as they dance to and fro, until, our eyes being opened, we can see as well as hear music. ”

“ The dance commences by the men springing forward towards the centre of the circle and back again, flashing their knives about over their heads, and singing in time to the music in a low tone, but gradually the music, singing, and dancing become louder and quicker, belts and turbans are thrown off to allow of greater freedom of movement, and the knives flash more rapidly, until at last the men seem in a very frenzy, and the dancing becomes a series of wild leaps in the air, knives are thrown up and caught again, and the singing changes to a chorus of wild yells. ”

“ The style of dancing is a curiosity, however; a quadrille of these women and their partners is a specimen of the saltatory art worth seeing. There is no slow, measured sliding and dawdling through the figure, as in our cotillons at home; the dancers dance all over—feet, arms, muscles, head, body, and legs; each quadrille, in which there are dancers of noted skill and agility, is surrounded by a circle of admiring spectators. ”

“ The dancer continues singing all the while, and keeps time with every movement, sometimes twisting the body in sudden starts, until at last, as if fatigued by the extent of his exertions, he drops upon the ground to recover breath, still maintaining the spirit of the dance, and continuing to sing and keep time, by the motion of his body, to the voices and accompaniments of the spectators. In a few seconds he starts up again, and proceeds with increased vigor. When one foot is tired out, or has done its share of the dance, the other comes forward and performs the same part ”

“ How important Lada’s illustration of the theory of concordance of motion and music is at this time of dancing evolution can be more concretely grasped by the coming generations than by an average dance-lover to-day. It is perspective that gives the true visual impression of a mountain. ‘In the unison of plasticity and music, of the visible with the audible, of the spacial with the temporal, lies the guarantee of that new art which we so ardently desire and so unsuccessfully seek,’ writes a celebrated dance authority. ”

“ The most effective pre-arranged dance is a well-performed Minuet or the stately Pavane, the See-saw Waltz, the Staffordshire Jig, Le Carillon de Dunkerque, Ribbon Dance, Mazurka, a Highland Schottische, a Norwegian dance, a Polonaise in Watteau Costume, or the Cachuca. At juvenile fancy balls dancing is not, as a rule, the sole amusement. ”

“ We have seen dancing in other countries, and dressing. We have certainly never seen gentlemen dance so easily, gracefully and well as the American. But the style of dancing, in its whirl, its rush, its fury, is only equalled by that of the masked balls at the French Opera, and the balls at the Salle Valentino, the Jardin Mabille, the Chateau Rouge, and other favorite resorts of Parisian Grisettes and Lorettes. We saw a few young men looking upon the dance very soberly, and, upon inquiry, learned that they were engaged to certain ladies of the corps-de-ballet. ”

“ All the address of the dancer consists in holding out for a considerable length of time, and in keeping, in the inflections of the body, within the limits of the pauses of those who sing in the circle. If two or four dance at the same time, the men first place themselves in front of the women, singing, and making a variety of ridiculous contortions. ”

“ The dancers are represented by one man, who takes his place in the middle of the ring, swings his head and arms from side to side, his long, lank hair flapping in the wind, while he utters sharp yells at intervals, and occasionally flings one leg as high as his thick garments permit.
The women have a special dance of their own, which consists in kneeling on the ground, leaping to their feet as fast as they can. This is really a difficult task when the heavy and clumsy boots are taken into consideration. ”

“ The mind feels the beauty of emphasis and cadence in muscular motion, just as much as in musical notes. Then, the figure of the dance is frequently a circle or some more graceful curve or series of curves,—a fact which satisfies the dancer as well as the eye of the spectator. But all such effects are intensified by the use of music, which not only brings a perfectly distinct set of pleasurable sensations to dancer and spectator, but by the control of dancing produces an inexpressibly sweet harmony of sound and motion. ”