Very Early Dance ?

[Deborah Sweet]

This is number 3. (Second try at posting this, sorry if it duplicates.)

Estrill
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Subject: Re: Very Early Dance ?
Author:  Ian Engle <ianengle at freenet.columbus.oh.us> at SMTP
Date:    10/21/95 12:45 AM



> Estrill posts a request for info from Bran:
> 
> >It's the Dark Ages (go watch the movie "The Warlord").  We've just
> >beaten off an attack by Frisian Raiders (or someone, pick your favorite 
> >scourge of civilization).  We return to the keep to celebrate!  We do 
> >the biggest feast we can manage, and have a revel to remember.  To 
> >entertain the court, we have singers, jugglers, story tellers, mimes, 
> >musicians, and . . . . dancers.
> >
> >When I mention the first five groups of entertainers, I think we all can 
> >share a common visualization. Not so with the dancers. This is 
> >Northwestern Europe, the full weight of the collapse of civilization is 
> >upon us (Middle Eastern "belly-dance" is most certainly unknown here).  
> >What kind of dance will we see if we hire a "professional dance troupe?"


	OK, Dark Ages-- where?

	If you are looking north, see what the sagas say (as I recall they
make absolutely no mention of dance in the form of social dance at all.)

	England?  Check through the AngloSaxon texts.  As I recall, all
the biblical references to dance are acrobatic terms: leap, spring, etc.

	In the south, well, if you're Vandal or Goth or one of those
lovely guest-tribes, your view on dance is likely the same as your
northern cousins.  If you are still Romanized, you might recall something
of the old dance spectacles that are told of.

	I also believe that there are examples of dancers in Andalusian
(Moorish) illuminations, but that's Arabic style dance. 


	All in all, though, Justin and mara are right.  There are no
professional dance troupes running around.  Most early representations of
people dancing are biblical.  Most often (God I hate mental blocking
things-- she who danced and demanded the head of John the Baptist--
Salome!  That's it!)  Salome is always depicted as an acrobat, not a
dancer in our sense of the word.  Even if you get "dancers" they won't be
what moderns think of as dancers.

	As Justin noted, this is a very open field for research.  Go to it
young SCA and fill our minds with accumulated knowledge!


					Sion Andreas o Wynedd