[SCA-Dance] ECD - siding

[Monica Hultin]

Thank you, what a wonderful resource!

And there's even a 1701 translation of the French, though I'll try to read
the French as well..

Lots of other interesting books listed in the bibliography, should keep me
happily busy for a while.

Monika

-----Original Message-----
From: sca-dance-bounces+mhultin=mts.net at sca-dance.org
[mailto:sca-dance-bounces+mhultin=mts.net at sca-dance.org]On Behalf Of Alex
Clark
Sent: May 19, 2008 5:41 PM
To: sca-dance at sca-dance.org
Subject: Re: [SCA-Dance] ECD - siding

At 04:27 PM 5/16/2008 -0500, Monica Hultin wrote:
>Greeetings,
>
>Since we're talking so much about Playford right now, I had a question
about
>siding.
>
>In the SCA I originally learned siding as double forward to your partner (a
>bit to the side), approaching right shoulders, maintain eye contact, double
>back, then side left by doing the same thing approach left shoulders.

That seems to be our usual best approximation. BTW, the doubles are not
actually necessary; other steps could be used in their place.

>Now I belong to an English Dance Group and they call this gentle siding.

Of course this is a strictly modern term, expressing certain modern
peoples' attitudes.

>They generally use what they call full siding which is double past your
>partner, passing left shoulders, turn around walk back, repeat, in sort of
a
>crescent pattern.  I understand this is an invention of Cecil Sharp who
>didn't really know what siding was, but came up with this.  And out of
>habit, the ECD community keeps doing it.  I also heard at a workshop this
>weekend that gentle siding, (as I had originally learned) is considered
more
>accurate and comes from research by Pat Shaw who figured this movement
>studying more period sources, pictures etc., (though still 18th century).
>
>I also recall the Millar book, (which I hear being said is not very
>accurate) did advocate using gentle siding.
>
>In my book, I also find the gentle siding makes more sense as it is, a)
more
>symmetrical, and b) much less rushed  while fitting the music better.
>
>Any comments?  Has anybody have good sources for how siding was done in
>Playford's time?

If you don't mind a source that's closer to Henry Playford's time than
John's:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=musdi&fileName=070//musdi070.db&
recNum=0&itemLink=r?ammem/musdibib:@field(NUMBER+ at band(musdi+070))&linkText=
0&presId=musdibib

That's apparently all one URL, believe it or not. Turn to pages 5 and 6 for
an example of sides that I would guess that Pat Shaw probably worked from.

--
Alex Clark/Henry of Maldon

________________________________________________________________
To send mail to the entire list, be sure sca-dance at sca-dance.org is listed
in the To line of any response.

To Unsubscribe send mail to: sca-dance-request at sca-dance.org
________________________________________________________________