[SCA-Dance] La Vita e Bella (pun intended)

[Alexander Clark]

I just had a horrible idea, and I had to do something about it. The
results are below.

La Vita e Bella

perpetrated by Henry of Maldon (Alex Clark)

To the tune of Bella Gioiosa, with the Ritornello played (three
repeats) after every playing of the main theme, as if it were a
chorus.

A cascarda (or sumpin like dat) for a woman between two men, or a man
between two women; the one in between leads the dance.

1. Holding hands in line, they all do a riverenza in balzetto, 4
trabuchetti beginning with the L, 2 seguiti spezzati forwards with the
leader going straight forwards while the others turn half to L to go
away, then all turn half L again doing 2 steps forwards and the
cadenza, ending up in a small triangle.

Chorus: The leader and the one on the leader's R both simultaneously
do a riverenza in balzetto. Then the leader and the one on the L do
the same. Then all three simultaneously turn L with a seguito spezzato
and the cadenza, ending up facing in again.

2. All three dancers go round the circle to L with 4 seguiti spezzati,
then face in and do scambiata L and scambiata R.

Chorus.

3. Leader and the one on the leader's R turn once round by the R hand
with 2 seguiti semidoppii. Leader and third dancer do likewise by the
L hand.

Chorus.

4. Solo: Leader goes forward 2 steps and cadenza, then immediately
begins 5 seguiti battuti di canario, then go L 2 riprese, 2
trabuchetti, turn L with a seguito spezzato and cadenza.

Chorus.

5. Second dancer's solo: The dancer on the leader's R does the solo as above.

Chorus, led by the second dancer, who begins with a riverenza in
balzetto to the one on the R hand.

6. Third dancer's solo: The dancer on the leader's L does the solo as above.

Chorus, led by the third dancer, who begins with a riverenza in
balzetto to the one on the R hand.

7. Jousting: With their L sides held forward, all three dancers do 4
seguiti spezzati, the first forward, next backward, and 2 forward to
pass through, the leader going through the middle, and finish by
turning R to face in; do all this again.

Chorus.

8. All three do two fioretti a pie pari, two little steps back, then 2
seguiti spezzati passing through as in the jousting figure above; do
all this again.

Chorus.

9. All three do the catena (hey), beginning with the leader going into
the middle and passing the one on the L hand by the L shoulder, with
six seguiti spezzati, then finish with two steps forward and a cadenza
in their starting places.

Chorus.

10. All three do four trabuchetti, 4 seguiti battuti di canario, then
go L with 2 riprese, 2 trabuchetti, and turn L with 1 seguito spezzato
and cadenza.

Chorus, but this time only the leader turns all the way, while the
other two go forward into line and then turn halfway round.