How to Dance Through Time, Vol. 3: The Majesty of Renaissance Dance

Following the by-now familiar format of the previous entrants in the How to Dance Through Time series (see The Romance of Mid-19th Century Couple Dances [VL-5/99], and Dances of the Ragtime Era [VL-3/00]), this new volume concentrates on the 16th century Italian court dance suite entitled Nido d'Amore (The Nest of Love). Once again guided by Carol Téten, who provides enlightened historical and sociological background, we learn that dancing was a basic, important social skill of all nobility and upper classes of the Renaissance, and that a "kaleidoscope of emotional innuendo are exposed as one perform[ed] any of the suites." A couple, dressed in period garb, demonstrates the opening, galliard, saltarello, and canary of the dance suite. Though complicated, these step sequences are nicely divided into slo-mo moves, with whole sections done semi-slowly, then in real-time. Front, rear, left and right views are thoughtfully provided, and the tape concludes with the complete dance routine, set first to the "subtext" of the moves ("ah, but she'll stay refined and show her excitement in another way"), then to period music. On the minus side, terms are often hurled briskly about (wait a minute, is a continenza an individual dance step, or a section of dance?), the female dancer's long skirt hides her legs (forget about historical costuming accuracy and show us the darn motions, already!), and Téten's narrative style leans toward the overly dramatic. Even so, this otherwise fine production is recommended for intermediate to advanced dancers and historical collections. Also newly available in the series: The Elegance of Baroque Social Dance. Aud: C, P. (K. Glaser)