[SCA-Dance] Dolchezza D'Amore by H.L. Vashti of the Flaming Tresses

tmcd at panix.com tmcd at panix.com
Tue Apr 16 01:41:38 EDT 2013


Honorable Lady Vashti of the Flaming Tresses was the dance instructor
for the Barony of the Steppes (Dallas, Texas) for some years.
Philip White and I both started learning dance with her.
Unfortunately, in the 1990s, she died of breast cancer after a long
struggle.

I'm cleaning and gathering in preparation for a move.  I ran across
instructions for Dolchezza D'Amore (The Sweetness of Love), a dance
invented by her.  The only other notes I had was an abbrev. version in
Terpsichore at the Towers #10.  (I taught at an early one or two,
which is how it got there, possibly written up by someone else after
adaptations for danceability?  or maybe I garbled it?   but it had to
be removed to make room by about #11 or so.)

I think that several figures were made up for this, so I have my
doubts about the period style.  Also, I can't remember how we dance
dit well enough to reconcile the handout with Terp #10 with the music.
Still, I typed this up so I'd have my own digital record, and I'd like
to get it into the list archives, as a little memorial to a friend who
taught dance to many in Ansteorra.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This text is from a handout, probably from Vashti.
{Text in curly braces like this is from the booklet from Terpsichore at
the Tower #10.  It's notated "== In 4 ==", but some are in 4 and most
are in 2.}

Dolchezza D'Amore (The Sweetness of Love)
music by 16th c. harper O'Crolan, 'Planxty Burke'
choreography by Vashti of the Flaming Tresses

[I believe the arrangement she used was Patrick Ball, _Celtic Harp,
Volume III: Secret Isles_.  The problem is that the music is
AABBAABBAABBCCDDDAABB, where each letter is 16 beats except C is 14
beats.  The two versions of the chorus steps are 20 and 24 beats.  I
don't remember how we fit the music -- maybe we just used it for the
beat?  And/or maybe she edited out CCDDD?]

The dance is for a couple.
[We danced it in a line facing the sides of the hall, probably for
space reasons]
The chorus is a long one, taking 6 sets of the music:
4 counts - 2 Passi Puntatti, Man & Lady exchange places in half a
    diamond as in Cuckold's All Awry
[I'm not sure of the redaction she's referring to there.  These steps
as she taught it were each of them to walk a chevron in two
steps-and-closes.  Each takes a step forward while turning 1/4 left,
so they end back to back: when dancing in lines, they are in the
middle, men are facing the presence, women are facing away.  Then step
backwards with the right 1/4 turning towards left into the other's
original position.]
2 counts - Man turns counterclockwise
2 counts - Lady turns counterclockwise
4 counts - Step away with two Passi Puntati Fiachiagare, ending facing
[Google can't find that adjective.  Maybe someone named Fiacha made
up this step?  As best I recall, it rather resembled the backing up
in the chorus of Gracca Amoroso: sidling away by the left with a step,
sidling away by the right with a step]
2 counts - Man stamps L foot - brush forward & back and stamp
2 counts - Lady answers [does the same] with L foot
4 counts - 2 Spetzatti forward
2 counts - Lady stamps w/ R foot
2 counts - Man answers w/ R foot
24 counts - Repeat to other side
{Ch Singles L&R in chevron pattern, switching places with partner   1
    Turn CCW in 1 Double[;] Rip L (L shoulder out); Rip R (R shoulder out) 1;1;1
    Lds stamp L foot (brush forward, back, stamp); Lys stamp R foot        1;1
    2 Spez fwd; Lys stamp R root (as above); Lds stamp R foot              1;1
    Repeat entire chorus                                                   10}

1st verse: begins with Lady & Man holding hands in prospectiva

Count-Step & Figure

4 - Reverenza
4 - 2 Continenze, one each L & R
8 - Pavanne set fwd
4 - Continenza L & R
4 - Turn over L shoulder with a double
8 - repeat Continenza Sequence to R, turning over R shoulder.
    End facing partner.

{Terp 10 has this, but I think the 2's are in 2 and the 1's are in 4.
V1  Reverence; Continenza L&R; Slow singles L&R; 2 doubles      2;2;2;2
    Con L&R; Double L (turning CCW); Con R&L; Double R (turning CW) 1;1;1;1}

chorus

{Terp agrees with the handout from here on}

Man's solo:
8 - 4 Spetzatti around Lady clockwise
8 - Man Corinto (3 Reprise & 1 Trebucchetto) L & R

chorus

Lady's solo:
16 - Same as Man's

chorus

8 - Taking R hands, do 4 spetzatti, circling each other.
8 - Take L hands, do 4 spetzatti back to place
4 - Taking both hands, Corinto clockwise (L) in circle
4 - Corinto Counterclockwise
4 - Corinto to L (away from partner) dropping hands
4 - Corinto to R

chorus, leaving off last Stamping Sequence, replaced by
4 - Reverenza


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