A
redowa is dance of
Czech-Location:The Czech Republic is located in Europe, bordered by Poland to the north, Germany to the west, Slovakia to the east, and Austria to the south.-Festivities and Traditions:...
origin with turning, leaping
waltzThe waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
steps that was most popular in
Victorian eraThe Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements...
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an
ballroomA ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
s.
Like most dances currently described as waltzes, the redowa is danced in 3/4
timeThe time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
, with the couple performing a full rotation every six
beatThe beat is the basic time unit of music, the pulse of the mensural level, also known as the beat level. However, since the term is in popular use, it often connotes the tempo of a piece or a particular sequence of individual beats, the meter, rhythm or groove...
s.
A basic redowa step contains one long reaching step and two small leap-steps. The long reaching step can be danced on either the 1 or the 2 of each bar of
musicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, depending on what feels best with the tune that is playing.
Cellarius (1849)
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/musdi:@field(DOCID+@lit(M03826)) describes a three-part redowa consisting of a pursuit, followed by the style of
waltzThe waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
commonly described as the redowa, and ending with a particular type of
valse à deux tempsValse à deux temps, waltz à deux temps , also Valse à deux pas or Valse Russe was a waltz of Russian origin introduced in France in mid-19th century.A French dance manual of the beginning of the 20th century Valse à deux temps, waltz à deux temps ("waltz in two beats"), also Valse à deux pas...
.
Thomas Hillgrove states that the redowa was introduced to London ballrooms in 1846.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/musdi:@field(DOCID+@lit(M094131)) Like other popular
ballroomA ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
dances of the mid-nineteenth century, including the
polkaThe polka is a lively Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in the Czech lands and is still a common genre in Lithuanian, Czech, Croatian, Slovenian, Polish, German, Hungarian, Austrian,...
, it was danced in Paris prior to its appearance in London.
Dancers generally start in
closed (waltz) positionIn partner dancing, closed position is a category of positions in which partners hold each other while facing at least approximately toward each other....
with the outside hands pointing line of direction.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Redowa' Start a new discussion about 'Redowa' Answer questions from other users |
A
redowa is dance of
Czech-Location:The Czech Republic is located in Europe, bordered by Poland to the north, Germany to the west, Slovakia to the east, and Austria to the south.-Festivities and Traditions:...
origin with turning, leaping
waltzThe waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
steps that was most popular in
Victorian eraThe Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements...
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an
ballroomA ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
s.
Meter
Like most dances currently described as waltzes, the redowa is danced in 3/4
timeThe time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
, with the couple performing a full rotation every six
beatThe beat is the basic time unit of music, the pulse of the mensural level, also known as the beat level. However, since the term is in popular use, it often connotes the tempo of a piece or a particular sequence of individual beats, the meter, rhythm or groove...
s.
Description
A basic redowa step contains one long reaching step and two small leap-steps. The long reaching step can be danced on either the 1 or the 2 of each bar of
musicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, depending on what feels best with the tune that is playing.
Cellarius (1849)
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/musdi:@field(DOCID+@lit(M03826)) describes a three-part redowa consisting of a pursuit, followed by the style of
waltzThe waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
commonly described as the redowa, and ending with a particular type of
valse à deux tempsValse à deux temps, waltz à deux temps , also Valse à deux pas or Valse Russe was a waltz of Russian origin introduced in France in mid-19th century.A French dance manual of the beginning of the 20th century Valse à deux temps, waltz à deux temps ("waltz in two beats"), also Valse à deux pas...
.
History
Thomas Hillgrove states that the redowa was introduced to London ballrooms in 1846.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/musdi:@field(DOCID+@lit(M094131)) Like other popular
ballroomA ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
dances of the mid-nineteenth century, including the
polkaThe polka is a lively Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in the Czech lands and is still a common genre in Lithuanian, Czech, Croatian, Slovenian, Polish, German, Hungarian, Austrian,...
, it was danced in Paris prior to its appearance in London.
The lead
Dancers generally start in
closed (waltz) positionIn partner dancing, closed position is a category of positions in which partners hold each other while facing at least approximately toward each other....
with the outside hands pointing line of direction. (This description is for the case when the "reach" step is on count two.) To begin a redowa, the leader will take a small leap step (count 1) around in front of his/her partner with the left foot so that the leader is backing, then take a long scooping or gliding step (count 2) straight back with the right (pointing right toe, bending the knee of the left leg, keeping the torso upright), followed by another small leap step (count 3) with the left to complete a 180-degree turn clockwise. The second half of the six-count pattern begins with a small leaping step (count 4) along the line of dance, so the leader faces forward on the line of dance. The left leg now reaches straight forward (count 5; pointing left toe, bending right knee, etc.), directly under the partner's right leg, which is extended back. A small leap (count 6) onto the right foot completes the pattern, completing the second half (180 degree) turn in preparation for the next six count pattern.
The follow
The follow is the opposite portion of the lead's sequence. The follower's movement on the first three beats are essentially the same movements the leader makes on the second set of three beats, and vice-versa.