Choreographics

A Comparison of Dance Notation Systems from the Fifteenth Century to the Present

Ann Hutchinson Guest

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781134388455
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music

Here for the first time is an account of how each of thirteen historical as well as present-day systems cope with indicating body movement, time, space (direction and level) and other basic movement aspects of paper. A one-to-one comparison is made of how the same simple patterns, such as walking, jumping, turning, etc. are notated in each system.

Chapter One
Words and Word Abbreviations

Letter Codes

An obvious device for anyone wishing to jot down rapid notes is use of a letter (or letters) for the name of each step. If the steps themselves and their manner of performance are widely known, such abbreviations suffice. All that needs to be recorded is the sequence in which the steps occur in the dance. Such a situation existed in the Renaissance when the five steps of the Basse (meaning low) Dances were all well known; a dance could be recorded by merely listing each inital letter of the steps in the appropriate sequence. The names for these steps varied slightly in the different European countries. The five steps (in French, Italian and Spanish) and their abbreviations were:

• R ……………………. révérence (riverenza, reverencia)
• s… ………………..simple (or p for passo, paso)
• d (or de)… …double (doble)
• r (re or Z)… reprise (ripresa, represa)
• b (or 9).… . .branle (or c for continenza, continencia)

The reverence (R) was the formal bow which both commenced and concluded each dance. A passo (p), also called a simple (s), was a step forward followed by a closing of the other foot. A double (d or de) consisted of two steps forward followed by a closing of the feet. The reprise, shown as ‘r’, or ‘re’, was a backward step; another sign for it was a Z. The branle (b) was a swaying step which comprised two lilting steps in place; it was also called a congé or continencia and was therefore sometimes indicated with a letter ‘c’ or with a sign like a number 9.

Through use of these letters the dance sequence was spelled out as illustrated in Ex. 1.

The first printed book using the established letter code was L’Art et instruction de bien dancer, published in France in the late 15th century, Ex. 2. Each letter was placed under the appropriate music note (at that time a square symbol). Also of this period is the Burgundian manuscript known as The Dance Book of Margaret Of Austria, ca. 1450, which subsequently was handed down to Margaret’s daughter, Mary of Hungary and is now in the Royal Library in Brussels, Ex. 3. The original of this book is in silver and gold on black paper.

Ex. 2 L’Art et instruction due bien dancer (Late C15)

Ex. 3 Burgundian Manuscript (Late C15)

Cervera

Fascinating as these examples are, the most remarkable discovery was that of two manuscripts, known as the Catalonian manuscripts, to be found in the municipal archives in Cervera, Spain, Ex. 4.

Ex. 4 Cervera Manuscript (Late C15)

The manuscripts appear to be the work of master and pupil. One contains only a series of symbols across the page; the other, fortunately, gives the Letter Code above the symbols, thus providing the key to their meaning.

The signs in the Cervera manuscripts are basically pictorial, as illustrated below:

Ex. 5 Cervera: Spanish names for the meaning of the steps

The horizontal strokes indicate movement in the forward direction, either a body gesture or a step; the vertical stroke indicates a movement ‘in place’. The first sign, a horizontally placed letter ‘T’, Ex. 5a, represents a step in place with a simultaneous forward movement of the body (a forward bend), i.e. the révérence which begins and ends the dance. The two vertical strokes, Ex. 5b, show two steps in place of the swaying continencia (branle) steps. Ex. 5c indicates two steps forward, a single pace (passo) - actually, as we have seen, a forward step followed by a close. Ex. 5d denotes a double (doble), two steps with a close. The sign of 5e which looks like an elongated number 3 is a reprise, a backward step.

Ex. 6 shows the letter code written above the abstract symbols. The ‘R’ used for révérence is followed by a branle (9), a passo, then five doubles (doubles always came in odd numbers - 1, 3, 5, etc.), a passo, three reprises, a branle, a passo, and so on.

Ex. 6 Cervera - Detail

Arbeau

Use of letter abbreviations was widespread, lasting for nearly 200 years during which the letters were slightly modified. Our knowledge of how to perform the steps comes from books of the period, the most famous being Orchesographie by Thoinot Arbeau, published in 1589.

Arbeau’s book does not provide a system of notation; it does, however, describe in considerable detail not only the steps to perform but also the prescribed etiquette for men and women on the dance floor. The book is written as an amusing dialogue between master and pupil. Several Italian books of the period described the dance steps but Orchesographie is the best known, having been translated and reprinted several times in recent centuries. The latest edition contains a translation of much of the material into Labanotation. Because the word descriptions of the steps are not sufficiently detailed and the woodcut drawings not clear, they are open to different interpretations. The reader is thus faced with an age-old problem: the failure of those familiar with the movements to provide sufficient detail for future generations to reconstruct the steps and style accurately.

Ex. 7 Title page of Arbeau’s book

Arbeau indicated timing by placing the name of the step alongside the music note on which it should occur. He placed the music vertically on the page to accommodate the text, the reading direction being from the top down. By so doing he provided an interesting precedent in placement on the page of the music notation in relation to the indication of movement. It is interesting to note that, of the many 20th century systems, three incorporate vertical reading, two of which, however, use reading direction from the bottom of the page upward.

Playford

Mention must here be made of John Playford and the many dances he published in The English Dancing Master, the first edition appearing in 1651 and the last in 1782. Playford used a simple format, hardly a system as such, the music and starting position for the dancers being written at the top and description of the steps in words with certain abbreviations below. Ex. 8 shows Jolly Roger.

Meunier System

A 20th century version of the idea of word abbreviations appeared in 1931 in the book La Danse classique by Antonine Meunier, Ex. 9.

Ex. 9 Title page of Meunier’s book

Antonine Meunier was a première danseuse and later a teacher at the Paris Opéra.

Her method of recording was through abbreviations of the names of the steps placed within a box, e.g.

- arabesque;

- assemblé;

- pas de basque;

- cabriole, and so on. All these terms are listed alphabetically in her book. These basic indications can be modified by signs such as ‘d’ for droite, ‘G’ for gauche, ‘e’ for épaulé, ‘fr’ for frappé, and by a variety of other signs needed to take care of classical ballet, for example, arrows to indicate direction of travel on stage. For a satisfactory recreation of her notation one needs to know ballet technique and the particular terminology which she used. Much of her book is taken up with descriptions of the steps and positions, illustrated with photographs.

Meunier placed the indications above the music to show timing, as in Ex. 10a. There is no evidence that her method was carried on by others and no scores have come to light beyond those in her book.

Saunders System

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• DEDICATION
• PREFACE
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• DISCUSSION OF APPARENT ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS
• 1. WORDS AND WORD ABBREVIATIONS
• 2. TRACK DRAWINGS
• 3. STICK FIGURE (VISUAL) SYSTEMS
• 4. MUSIC NOTE SYSTEMS
• 5. ABSTRACT SYMBOL SYSTEMS
• 6. SURVEY OF THE MAIN SYSTEMS
• 7. CONCLUSION
• APPENDIX A
• APPENDIX B
• INDEX