[SCA-Dance] On siding and arming

[Peter Durham (Trahaearn ap Ieuan)]

While they aren't labeled as Siding (or with any other step name), la
Jalousie (p5 of http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/musdi.070) and le Pistolet
(p13) begin with figures that look like what we do as Siding, and do begin
going to the left (meeting right sides) and then repeat going to the right
(meeting left sides). Ieanne que saute (p65) and la Coquette (p76) show both
"sides" in the same diagram. 

Essex translated the introduction and many of the dances in this source in
1710 (http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/musdi.069) and so this is perhaps a
little more accessible to the reader (and discusses some interesting things,
for example, see p7 where he says the dancers are left "ye liberty of
composing the [steps] as they please" though later he is more specific with
recommendations). A quick skim did not turn up any reference to the term
"siding" though.

Beyond this, it does seem from my quick skim in this source like there is a
bias toward beginning things with movement to the left, but I haven't
quantified that.

- Trahaearn

-----Original Message-----
From: Greg Lindahl
Sent: Monday, September 28, 2009 3:55 PM
To: sca-dance at sca-dance.org
Subject: Re: [SCA-Dance] On siding and arming

Although Feuillet notation can clearly indicate the foot used for every
step, a quick look shows that many of the diagrams in Recuil leave that out.
And can someone with more of a clue point us at the diagram for siding? The
two books are in question are:

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/musdi.072
and
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/musdi.070