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Courtly love
Gillian Spickernell discovers the joy
of dressing up and dancing with a
gentleman in Elizabethan breeches
I f your dream is to dress up in
16th-century costume and be
‘wooed’ on the dance floor by an
Elizabethan gentleman, then,
dear reader, I have lived that dream.
The Nonsuch History and Dance
Company was founded about 50 years
ago to teach and perform dances
from eight centuries in an entertaining manner, accompanied by live
music played on period instruments.
Anyone can join, even if you aren’t
superfit or haven’t danced before.
Taking my hooped skirt in hand,
I joined the group as it celebrated the
lawyers who lived and worked in the
Middle Temple at the end of the 16th
century. These Renaissance men
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Tudor dance.indd 18
Gillian finds
her feet
marked the close of the Christmas
season on Candlemas Eve (2 February), with a raucous party, called the
Revels. This year’s was celebrated
with a drama by the Elizabethan
playwright John Marston, as well as
historic dances from Nonsuch. The
dancers may have had to remain
mute, but our role is summed up by
the Elizabethan courtier Sir John
Davies, who proclaimed: ‘This wondrous miracle did Love devise, For
dancing is Love’s proper exercise.’
Courtly love, in fact, is the theme
of their next event at London’s The
Place theatre, aptly enough on Valentine’s Day. According to Nonsuch’s
artistic director, Darren Royston,
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Feature
ten for men to help them woo women,’
he continues, ‘so it’s all about how
you should behave, to impress the
ladies by how you dance and how
you lead your partner on the stage.’
Part of the delight of joining the
group, even for an absolute beginner
like me, is Darren’s amiable and engaging manner, which makes everyone feel welcome. And of course, as I
might have already mentioned, there
are the period costumes.
For my own ‘debut’ I am fitted out
by Sian, who plays Queen Elizabeth I
and doubles as the dresser, who helps
me into a practice skirt – long and
hooped right to the ground. As she
fastens it around my waist, I instantly
stand more upright, conscious of the
need to behave gracefully. As soon as
the pianist strikes up the Elizabethan
rhythms, the dancers seem to move
with extra aplomb.
The dances themselves are a wonderful lesson in history. Men were
often centre stage, and when I join
the group, three of the male dancers
are leaping into the air, one by one, in
the dance of the Galliard. ‘This is the
big dance of the period where the
men show off their expertise, and the
dance becomes La Volta, where you
are allowed to lift the dancer in the
air,’ explains Darren.
La Volta is the nearest thing you
can get to Tudor Dirty Dancing, because the man was able to hold his
partner by the waist and lift her up,
thereby allowing, perhaps, a glimpse
of ankle or lower leg. It was considered scandalous by some at the
time and will be one of the dances at
the Nonsuch Valentine’s performance.
Immersing myself in these fascinating rehearsals has given me an
LINDA CARTER
dances performed during the Elizabethan era were about secret statements of love. ‘They’re very simple,’
he says. ‘But the meanings are hidden, and a lot of the subliminal messages are about relating to each other.’
To demonstrate, Darren leads me
to the front of a column of dancers to
practise the Pavan, a stately procession that was performed by courtiers
and their ladies in front of Queen
Elizabeth I. Slow and deliberate, it’s
more of a walk than a dance, but this
means that any expression in the
eyes takes on far more significance.
Who you look at, and how, is loaded
with meaning. The dances played a
crucial role at court, where the Queen
‘La Volta is the nearest thing to Tudor Dirty
Dancing, allowing a glimpse of ankle or leg’
had many suitors, but had decided to
remain unmarried.
The Elizabethans looked back to
ancient Greece and saw a parallel between the story of Penelope, mourning the absence of her beloved Odysseus yet refusing to take a new lover,
with that of Queen Elizabeth I.
‘All the courtiers Queen Elizabeth
admired seemed to have had to dance,’
says Darren. Skill on the dance floor
and the way a man behaved on it
were good indicators of a suitable husband. ‘The dance manuals are writwww.lady.co.uk
Tudor dance.indd 19
understanding of English cultural
heritage as well as an appreciation of
the subtlety and sophistication of the
dances. Now I just have to memorise
the steps. La Volta – here I come! ◆
◆ Rexesexus: The Dancing Queen
Elizabeth I, The Place, London WC1,
14 February: 020-7121 1100, www.
theplace.org.uk – the UK Summer
Course (30 August to 1 September), for
beginners to advanced, costs £175
(members), £225 (non-members);
annual membership, £18: 07581566543, www.nonsuchdance.co.uk
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