Dance at Pennsic
This was the year I really danced at Pennsic. Step Spritely made me realize how much I used to love dance. Piers promised me that we would go to the ball together, especially since it was on his birthday and he thought dancing with his wife at the Grand Ball was a cool way to celebrate.
I had also convinced him that his persona would have known to dance since it was a socially acceptable way of meeting young women and getting to talk with them without their chaperones. I started teaching him some dance steps at home in July. We'd looked at bransles, almains, and English Country. I had intended for Piers to go to lots of absolute beginner courses, but in
the end, he only went to a few. Some were so beginner that he was beyond them.
Saturday, there was a kids Medieval dance class. Grainne didn't want to go, but once she was there, she had more fun than Rose. Martin Bildner and his wife taught it. They did Selinger's Round, Petit Vriens, and a couple of other easy ones.
Sunday, I made Piers come with me to English Country for Three Couples. I wanted to do it because they were teaching Scotch Cap, Jack Pudding, Ole Mole, and one other whose name I didn't catch. I'd never done any of these. Piers did so well and we were both so tired after this class that I didn't make him stay for a beginner class.
Sunday night, we went to the Beginner's Ball where they taught dances and then you did them. The Ball had Sellengers Round, Montard Bransle, Lorayne Alman, New Bo Peep, Gathering Peasecods, Horse Branle, and Black Alman. James the Mercer was awesome! He was staying in camp that night and volunteered to sit near our tent for a while until the kids fell asleep so that we didn't have to take them. So, it was kind of like a date.
Tuesday night was the Grand Ball. Both kids came. Piers was awesome. We did both the Black and Lorrayne Almains, as well as Madame Sosiliya's. I'd never learned that one, but we quickly picked it up since almains are very fakeable. We did New Bo Peep since Piers had learned it at the Beginner's Ball. I love Rufty Tufty, so Piers was led through Heart's Ease and Rufty Tufty with calling as we're going along by me and a patient other couple. I'm beyond proud of him. In June, he didn't know what a single or a double was, and now he can muddle through an English Country dance he'd never
learned before.
Hyde Park was in the first set. I remembered it vaguely. (Cecilia used to call it the "Star Trek doors dance".) During the previous dance, I asked a lord who was a good dancer to briefly go over what it was. I had just wanted a 30 second precis (2 doubles, then this, then arming), but another couple who also didn't know it overheard. The lord did not like the current dance, so he ended up with him and 3 others teaching Piers, me, and the other couple who didn't know it the steps. By the time we got through it, it was time for Hyde Park, so we did it in the octet we were currently in.
I did Petit Vriens with the kids instead of Piers because they remembered it from Martin's class. Our set had the second and third person switching between repeats since there was an argument over who got to hold my hand and who had to go last. We did the Montard Bransle as a family (since it's a set of 4). Doing that one dance together is one of my favourite memories of Pennsic 40.
I didn't know a lot of the dances in the second set and the kids were getting really sleepy, so we left after the first set. I actually danced more in that one set than I have at Pennsics where I've stayed longer. In the future, I should learn more Itallian. I really love English Country, but I should learn some of the more common Italian Ren ones since I always end up sitting those out.
I had also convinced him that his persona would have known to dance since it was a socially acceptable way of meeting young women and getting to talk with them without their chaperones. I started teaching him some dance steps at home in July. We'd looked at bransles, almains, and English Country. I had intended for Piers to go to lots of absolute beginner courses, but in
the end, he only went to a few. Some were so beginner that he was beyond them.
Saturday, there was a kids Medieval dance class. Grainne didn't want to go, but once she was there, she had more fun than Rose. Martin Bildner and his wife taught it. They did Selinger's Round, Petit Vriens, and a couple of other easy ones.
Sunday, I made Piers come with me to English Country for Three Couples. I wanted to do it because they were teaching Scotch Cap, Jack Pudding, Ole Mole, and one other whose name I didn't catch. I'd never done any of these. Piers did so well and we were both so tired after this class that I didn't make him stay for a beginner class.
Sunday night, we went to the Beginner's Ball where they taught dances and then you did them. The Ball had Sellengers Round, Montard Bransle, Lorayne Alman, New Bo Peep, Gathering Peasecods, Horse Branle, and Black Alman. James the Mercer was awesome! He was staying in camp that night and volunteered to sit near our tent for a while until the kids fell asleep so that we didn't have to take them. So, it was kind of like a date.
Tuesday night was the Grand Ball. Both kids came. Piers was awesome. We did both the Black and Lorrayne Almains, as well as Madame Sosiliya's. I'd never learned that one, but we quickly picked it up since almains are very fakeable. We did New Bo Peep since Piers had learned it at the Beginner's Ball. I love Rufty Tufty, so Piers was led through Heart's Ease and Rufty Tufty with calling as we're going along by me and a patient other couple. I'm beyond proud of him. In June, he didn't know what a single or a double was, and now he can muddle through an English Country dance he'd never
learned before.
Hyde Park was in the first set. I remembered it vaguely. (Cecilia used to call it the "Star Trek doors dance".) During the previous dance, I asked a lord who was a good dancer to briefly go over what it was. I had just wanted a 30 second precis (2 doubles, then this, then arming), but another couple who also didn't know it overheard. The lord did not like the current dance, so he ended up with him and 3 others teaching Piers, me, and the other couple who didn't know it the steps. By the time we got through it, it was time for Hyde Park, so we did it in the octet we were currently in.
I did Petit Vriens with the kids instead of Piers because they remembered it from Martin's class. Our set had the second and third person switching between repeats since there was an argument over who got to hold my hand and who had to go last. We did the Montard Bransle as a family (since it's a set of 4). Doing that one dance together is one of my favourite memories of Pennsic 40.
I didn't know a lot of the dances in the second set and the kids were getting really sleepy, so we left after the first set. I actually danced more in that one set than I have at Pennsics where I've stayed longer. In the future, I should learn more Itallian. I really love English Country, but I should learn some of the more common Italian Ren ones since I always end up sitting those out.