Easy English Colonial Dance: The Hessian, Dance Diagram and Music

A Hessian Soldier 

 This is a part of a program that a friend and I have been putting together for work. We will be teaching a colonial dance: "The Hessian."

Hessian soldiers were German soldiers who were hired out by their government to England. They were known as "Hessians" because many of them came from the state of Hesse-Kassel. England stationed these soldiers in America to keep the peace and later to fight the Patriots in the Revolutionary War. They were known for their brutal killing techniques and weaponry. 

 There is a grievance about them in the Declaration of Independence: "He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation."   

The Hessian is a very simple dance so anyone can do it. Colonial dances were set to a particular tune, normally of the same name as is true with this one. Below is a music clip and the instructions for the dance. In the diagram, circles represent the men and squares represent the ladies. This type of dance could be danced in groups of four or with numerous groups of four, lined up in lines.The partners travel through the dances and eventually dance with every other couple. Keep in mind, if you are dancing in a line, one or more couples may be "out" during a rotation, but they will soon be back in. 

Step 1: This is the starting position of the dance. The men are on one side of the line and the women are on the other. The men are facing the women. 

Step 2: The first gentleman offers the second lady his right hand and they make a complete turn and return to their starting positions.

Step 3: The second gentleman offers the first lady his right hand and they make a complete turn and return to their starting positions.

Step 4: The first gentleman stretches his right arm across to the second lady who does the same. Simultaneously, the second gentleman stretches his right arm across to the first lady’s. From above, the arms will form a cross. Together, everyone turns in a circle to the right. (From above the figure will look like spokes of a wheel turning.) 

Step 5: The first gentleman stretches his left arm across to the second lady who does the same. Simultaneously, the second gentleman stretches his left arm across to the first lady’s. From above, the arms will form a cross. Together, everyone turns in a circle to the left until back in starting positions.

Step 6:  The first gentleman will offer his right hand to the first lady, who will do the same. They turn in a circle to the right one time. The first gentleman should be in the first lady’s starting position and the first lady should be in the second gentleman’s starting position.

Step 7: The first gentleman and the first lady turn to the outside of the group and walk down behind the second couple. When the first couple gets 75% of the way down, the second gentleman offers his right hand to take the second lady’s right hand and leads her one step to the front. The first couple takes the position that the second couple has just vacated. 

Step 8: The first gentleman will offer the first lady, both hands and they will make one right turn so that both the gentleman and the lady are on the side that they started on. 

Step 9: While not a physical step, the couples change numbers. The first couple becomes the second couple and the second couple becomes the first couple and the dance is repeated until the song ends.

Please watch the video to hear a pretty boring rendition of the music. Imagine the melody played on the harpsichord or by an orchestra.  
 

The Fairy Waltz: A dance for that nameless time between the Regency Era and the Victorian Era.

"If there be room enough, the gentleman only holds his partner  the tips of the fingers.  Certainly the dance in question is danced in a far different way among the inferior orders of society, as they hold each other tight by the middle, and thus in each other's embrace go round like whirligigs. But this is no argument to condemn a dance, which I think is decent, harmless, and elegant.—The only objection I could ever see in the Waltz was, that the dancers were liable to get exceedingly dizzy, by repeated turning; but the dance is by no means indecent, as danced by the better sort of people, and it has the most brilliant effect.   
'No Puritan.' " -Sporting Magazine 1812

  When the Waltz first became popular in England and the U.S., it met with mixed reviews. Many people disliked dances in general, thinking that they were places rife with sin. There were many discourses on the evils of dancing but the Waltz was by far the most scandalous, popular dance of the time. Most dances were danced with many partners and therefore "social." Waltzes were really the first almost exclusive dances. The intimate nature of the dance had chaperons and parents watching like hawks.

The Fairy Waltz was published in 1825 as part of treatise on the dances of London. The accompanying dance is pretty easy and I hope to chart it sometime in the future.  The song that goes with the dance is very cheery. This would make a very good piece for a young lady to play while her friend's danced. I put the song into a MIDI file. The MIDI is very fast and I think it would best be played almost at half the speed of the MIDI file. 

Civil War Dance: The Gothic Dance Instructions

The Gothic dance first appeared in the United States in the late 1850s. It appears to have first originated in Nova Scotia. The dance gets its name from the line of "Gothic" arches formed by the gentlemen's arms while dancing. It is considered a country dance because it is danced in two lines and is a relatively simple dance.

Before balls, the attendees would receive dance cards, which would allow the dancers to find partners ahead of time as well as learn dances that they might not be familiar with. Most balls only had only the most popular dances at the time so that the dancers would be familiar with the dances. Other dances could be performed at private parties and dances for variety. The Gothic dance is only included in two known period sources therefore appears to be more of a  regional dance.
 
I have tried to give the steps without using dance terminology. The Ladies are depicted as circles and the gentlemen as x's. The two rows should be about 4 feet apart and the space between dancers should be 1 1/2 feet.  

Step 1. Ladies and gentlemen form two lines facing each other. Ladies join hands and gentlemen join hands.
Step 2. Ladies take 4 steps toward the gentlemen .
Step 3. Ladies take 4 steps back while gentlemen take 4 steps forward.
Step 4. Men raise their arms and ladies, stop holding hands, and pass under the right arm of the gentleman directly in front of each lady in 4 steps. Keep in mind that the gentleman's right arm is on the left for the lady. Also the "foot lady", the lady at the end will not have an arm to go under and will have to only pass by her partner.
Step 5. Gentlemen drop hands and turn around while the ladies turn around. Gentlemen join hands while ladies join hands.
Step 6. Steps 1-6 are repeated until all are in their original spots.
Step 7. The two head couples (the two couples closest to the left on the diagram) join hands and turn clockwise until the two gentlemen are occupying the spot of the head lady and head gentleman.
Step 8. The two men at the head, join hands and the two ladies pass under the arms of the two gentlemen and pass around their partner and under and around their partner once more.
Step 9. The two gentlemen at the head join hands with their partners and the two couples pass through the two lines to the end. Make sure that the head couple rejoins the lines before the second couple to keep the couples in the same order.
Step 10. The gentleman's line takes 4 steps to the left while the ladies' like takes 4 steps to the right to bring the 3rd and 4th couples to the head of the lines. Repeat steps 1-10 until all dancers are in their original places.

 My sister drew that nice sketch at the top for me. I think it really helps people who have never seen the dance visualize it better. If you can think of anything else that would clarify the steps, please let me know. Hope you enjoy!

Ladies' Choice Waltz

Everyone remembers the dance scene from Gangs of New York where Cameron Diaz' character "Miss Everdeane," is given her choice of dance partners by sitting on a chair in front of the gentlemen and looking at each one, in turn, in a mirror and shaking her head 'no' until the partner she wants passes by.

While the dresses are horrid from a historic perspective and the movie itself is not for young viewers and boasts a lot of fiction, the dance itself actually has some merit. Using a mirror to allow the women to choose dance partners was a popular beginning for waltzes in the 1860s and 1870s.

The movie then shows the couples dancing with candles. There are very few period references to "candle dancing" but a book from 1899 called "The World Wide Magazine" details a peasant ball in Italy which may have been the inspiration for the movie scene: 

"There are a few rather funny dances. One not unlike a figure of our cotillon is called the speahio, or looking-glass dance, and is very amusing to watch. A chair is placed in the middle of the room, round which a couple dance once or twice. The man then places the lady in the chair, and hands her a looking-glass. He then goes and gets another man, with whom he dances, and finally brings him up behind the girl in the chair. She sees his face in the looking-glass, and, if she likes him, gets up and dances with him for a short time. Then the man sits down, and girls are brought up in the same manner for him to choose. If he does not like them, he wipes the looking-glass with a handkerchief, and the girl has to retire, with a red face, amidst the laughter of those looking on. It seems rude, but is customary. Another dance I have never seen in England is called 'The Candle Dance,' perhaps on account of the amount of grease flying about, as the candle is kept lighted during the dance. It begins by as many couples as care to take part dancing round in the usual manner. One man who has not acquired a partner stands in the middle of the room with the lighted candle. He suddenly cries " Stop," and immediately each couple commences to walk round him arm in arm. He then cries "Go forward" or "Go backward," whichever he likes, and all the men have to leave their partners and take the girl in front or behind them as the case may be. Meanwhile the man with the candle is himself trying to get a partner before one of the other men. If he succeeds the man left out has to take the candle, but if baffled he still continues to hold it. Dancing commences again as soon as everybody has got his new partner."

Civil War Dancing Curtsy and Dance Position Instructions

 

'"As to flirtation," continues this sage instructor in morals and manners, ''it is difficult to draw a limit where the predilection of the moment becomes the more tender and serious feeling, and flirtation sobers into a more honorable form of devoted attention. I think flirtation comes under the head of morals more than of manners; still I may be allowed to say that ballroom flirtation, being more open, is less dangerous than any other. But a young lady of taste will be careful not to flaunt and publish her flirtation, as if to say, ' See, I have an admirer !' In the same way a prudent man will never presume on a girl's liveliness or banter. No man of taste ever made an offer after supper, and certainly nine-tenths of those who have done so have regretted it at breakfast the next morning."' ~Harper's Magazine 1860

Dances and balls were at their height in the mid-1800s.  Many conservative people at the time thought balls were only good for introducing sin to young people. Despite that many people loved dances: a dance with under 50 participants was considered "a dance," a dance with under 100 people but more than 50 was considered "a ball," and a dance with over 100 people was considered "a large ball."

Tickets to public dances held in public halls could be bought in advance. Dance cards were frequently printed with the tickets. The cards listed the songs which would be played and the dances that would accompany them. The cards had spaces for dancing partners to write their names to reserve dances. It was considered polite to not dance with the same partner more than once or twice if you were engaged or married. This is much different from our view today, where we normally go to a dance with one person and stay with them the entire night.

The point of dances were to have a good time and to converse with people that you didn't see all of the time. The sentiment at the time was that if you stayed with one person all night you were monopolizing yourselves and denying everyone else the company of both of you. There were many group dances that would allow every lady to dance with every man throughout the course of the dance. This seems like a good arrangement because couples, although at the same dance, could have different experiences at the dance that they could share with each other after.

Dances and dinners that observe the separating of couples are quite refreshing.  I met a lady at a reenactment who said that a girl asked if she could dance with her husband. The lady said she was appalled and didn't know what to do and that she felt foolish after she found out that it was a common period request. It is a weird sensation to us today, but one that should probably be more common. Sometimes it seems that when two people get married or become a couple that they suddenly become removed from their friends and stopped getting invited out. I know many couples who dislike only being invited out on "couples outings" or "date nights." To quote a friend of mine, "We're married, not dead."

Other Posts of Interest:

• 19th Century Dancing Meets 21st.
• The Virginia Reel: Instructions and Sheet Music

**Please remember to enter my contest, the drawing will be held on October 5th!**

The Virginia Reel : Instructions and Sheet Music

I have posted a little bit about the Virginia Reel before but it was such a widespread and popular dance, I think that more can be said about it. Many people today would like to learn it.

The Virginia Reel dates back to the 1700s and became very popular in the 1830s. The Virginia Reel was originally danced to a song which was known in England as Sir Roger De Coverley. In America, the song came to be known as The Virginia Reel just because of the popularity of dancing that particular dance to it. The dance could be danced to any reel or hornpipe but Sir Roger De Coverley was the most popular.A collection of other popular "Virginia Reel" songs, collected in 1850 can be read here in PDF.

In A Christmas Carol, one of my favorite stories, when Scrooge is shown Fezziwig's party by the Ghost of Christmas Past, it is mentioned that Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig danced to Sir Roger De Coverley played by a fiddle.

The dance is danced in two lines, one line of gentlemen and one line of ladies. There is a Head Couple (the couple closest to the orchestra) and a Foot Couple (the couple closest to the doors in a traditional dining hall.) There are many versions of the steps due to region.

Some different versions and explanations of the steps and other references:

Phantom Ranch: Basic text explanation, no photos.
 Youtube Virginia Reel: Slightly blurry, danced to The Irish Washerwoman and the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Youtube The Virginia Reel: The song The Virginia Reel played on tin whistle.

Remember, dances were learned at home as part of a "proper education" for both gentlemen and ladies. If one was not good at a certain dance, they would try to sit it out. Dances were taught in public dancing schools as well as in private homes. Of course most practice was probably done with members of the same sex at small gatherings. Dances were "called" by someone to guarantee everyone was in unison so you do not have to worry much as long as you know the individual steps being called. 


As many ladies are anxious to learn period dances and many gentleman are far to shy to help them, I must implore to the gentlemen that they take period advice from The Fashionable Dancer's Casket by Charles Durang who states "As ladies are not entitled to the privilege of asking gentlemen to dance, it is the duty of gentlemen to see that ladies shall not sit long waiting for partners, as it is one of the greatest breaches of good manners, that a gentle-man can be guilty of in the ball-room, to stand idling whilst ladies are waiting to be asked." No more Mr. Darcys guys, please, The girls are waiting to dance! Good luck!

The English Hornpipe; The College Hornpipe Sheet Music

Hornpipes were a type of dance that were traditionally danced by English sailors in the late 1700s, as a means of exercise aboard ships. The Sailor's Hornpipe (also known as The College Hornpipe, and Jack's the Lad,) is a popular tune that was originally published in 1798. (It is the tune that the Popeye the Sailor Man theme song is based on.) It is said that each move of the dance mimicked a chore sailors would have to perform on ship. It was normally danced on a ship without a partner, barefooted.

In the 1800s songs written in the same style became collectively known as "hornpipes." Hornpipes also became a "country dance" and new routines were created for group dances.  

By the 1890s, dancing the hornpipe became stereotypical of sailors, although publications at the time were more than willing to admit that they never met a sailor who actually could dance a hornpipe. (They also wrote of how vile sailors really were.) 

The dance moves are complicated. Can you imagine teaching this to a bunch of hardy seamen? "Double shuffle, heel, toe. Whirligig!"








Unfortunately I am trying to learn it myself! The traditional dance routines have been said to be lost. But I am going to try and research the individual dance moves listed in the instructions above and see if I can't put at least a little of it back together. I think it will be fun to try and get exercise like one of Nelson's crew. Dancing a hornpipe reminds me of the scene in the Horatio Hornblower series where the tyrannical Mr. Midshipman Simpson orders Horatio to dance just to demonstrate his power aboard the ship.

P.S. Blogger has changed a bit so I can't figure out how to get the formatting just right. Please bear with me. It's driving me nuts!