Thursday, October 8, 2009

Baile, Baile!

Dearest Friends, I am hopeful that some of our Spanish friends from the Old Pueblo might be joining us at the Pride & Prejudice Ball. If they do, I certainly desire this dance be called in their honour: "The Spaniard."

Here it is as performed at The Netherfield Ball in Pittsburgh this past April:



As you can see, it is a dance with few figures. I especially enjoy the first few moves, in which you "set" to your corner. Put simply, you get to do a little dance to one side and then the other before turning back to place. This is where it is wise to leave some room in the sets between couples to accommodate as much liveliness as possible. Notice also how the lead couples walk down the set and back. Technically, you're supposed to walk down and then skip back. I have done this with my free hand raised, which has led to some period-incorrect high-fives down the set in the past. One might expect that from contra dancing, but not from us -- ahem -- refined English ladies and gentlemen... or merry Russians:



How do you say "Huzzah!" in Russian?

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