Honors Project: Medieval Dance

Alright I know that I am late on this so I apologize in advance for any monotonous material. Also, my blogger closed me out right before I submitted my blog so I am having to rewrite my whole blog, so this might be a little less informational..

Okay, well describing the types of clothing and cultural aspects of medieval times is not so difficult. There were two main social classes: the rich and the poor. It is as obvious as it sounds when it comes to clothing. Peasants wore shaggy tunics; the men usually wore shore tunics and shirts topped with a cloak, and the women of the lower class wore what was called "kirtles" which were long tunics that came to their ankles. This piece of clothing was wore with a shirt and another shorter kirtle was wore on top when they went out in public. Also, these women would wear buns on their head to signal that they were married, kind of like us wearing wedding bands. The upper class usually put a direct emphasis on the length of their sleeves, and their everyday clothing consisted of flashy attire.

Dancing and music were very special to these two classes though. Most music was played during ceremonies and holidays, but was also played during feasts to help with the digestion of food (a common belief during that time). Most music was played with instruments such as recorders, horns, trumpets, whistles, bells, and drums. These were used to play at both court and country dances. There were actually many dances that existed during the medieval times. I researched two dances: the Carole dance and the Egg dance. The Carole dance consisted of people dancing in a circle and the Egg dance was more of a game in which eggs were laid on the ground and the participants danced among them and tried to dance and break as few eggs as possible.

In conclusion, I just want to say that I am excited about this dance. I love to dance around and goof off, so I feel like this project will be very enjoyable.

dancing group project!

The Medieval Period formed as a part of European history beginning in 476 AD. Along with this period in time came dancing, which was a new concept. At first, dancing was frowned upon and considered “wicked.” As time went on, dancing became more and more popular. Dancing became an activity in which anyone could participate in, needing no experience. Dancing even became popular in churches, beginning with simple swaying to hymns.

To complement the dancing, bands began to play instruments such as tambourines, bells, and some drums. As dancing progressed, the dances were each named differently and categorized as a certain style. Different styles include circle dances, court dances, country dances, and line dances. Some dances involve holding hands and moving slow, while others include jumping around with quicker movements. “The Landler” is a form of a country dance involving spinning and clapping.

Dancing became a very popular form of entertainment, especially at festivals. Some dances told stories through the different moves and expressions and others were just for fun. Dancing was also found to be a good form of exercise and was often done after a dinner. Though dancing originated a long time ago, it is still extremely popular today, but with a more modern style. I am so excited to be part of the dancing group for the final project! J

Medieval Dance Group

Happy Spring break, everyone!!
Like so many others, I am in the Medieval Group for the Honors project! And I am so excited about it! I'm always up for dancing, and I love the challenge of learning something old and yet, new. Because I procrastinated on this blog, almost everyone else in this group has already posted about Medieval time and dance. Therefore, some of this will be a little repetitive...my bad. But please take me at my word, I did actual research on this, and didn't just gather info. from other people's posts. I didn't even read the others... :/

In Medieval times, there were two prevalent types of dance; there was court dancing and country dancing. These may seem self-explanatory...well, they are. One, was preformed in the courts, for kings, or lords, or other people of 'rich' rank. The second, was preformed in the 'country-side', among the 'poorer' group of people.

In those times, the musicians who played the music in all these settings, usually were performers too. They would actually play and dance, at once. I do not understand how this is possible but then again, I am one of the least coordinated individuals ever. Seriously. Something else that was huge in that era, is that dances were extremely specific to a certain country. Each country had kind of...'their' dance, a 'native' dance, if you will. They all looked different, yet probably had a similar feel.

I have officially decided that this will be a great time. Bring it on, final project! :)

Honors Project Medieval Times

During the Medieval times every aspect of life depended on you social class. The rich ate extravagant food, wore expensive clothes, and drank lots of fancy wine. Peasants on the other hand lived a more simple life. They ate plain foods and did not always have meat. They normally only had one tunic and their clothes were not very extravagant because most dyes are more expensive. Peasants usually drank ale or mead, which is kind of like a beer or moonshine. All social classes danced, they just had different styles of dance.

   In the early medieval era, dancing was frowned upon, but soon became very popular an was even incorporated into some forms of worship. Rich people paid attention to the footwork and spins in the dances. Poor people just had fun and competed to see who could dance the fastest. The roughness of their dance was looked down upon. Dancing was used at all kinda of celebrations and parties and every occasion had a different style of dance. Their are two major types of dances which are courtly dances and country dances. All classes danced, even though some people danced differently and it was a very important part of life in the medieval times.

honors final project: shakespeare scenes

I will be playing Bottom in Midsummer Night's dream. I am pretty familiar with this role, but when I researched it I was reminded again of the genius of shakespeare. bottom is a completely ridiculous character. He is totally incompetent but like all truly incompetent people, he has no idea. It's very similar to playing a stock, "dumb blonde" character. Nick Bottom is totally and completely confident in his ability to do everything and be in charge, and totally incapable of doing anything right. He also probably drives every other character crazy. It is very, very fun to play these kinds of characters. They have to be played with total conviction thought, the second the audience knows that I know I'm being obnoxious- then it's not funny anymore. But as long as I firmly believe in things that aren't true the irony is hilarious.

Polonius is a very, very different role than bottom. He is the right hand man to the king in the play Hamlet, and he is Ophelia's dad. In the scene that we're performing, Polonius is confused by Hamlet, who is pretending to be crazy. Because Polonius cannot possibly sympathize with the complexity of emotions that Hamlet is experiencing, he blames Hamlet's strange behavior on Hamlet's love for Ophelia. Hamlet insults Polonius pretty nicely and Polonius only has a vague awareness of the jokes told at his expense, and basically just thinks bringing Ophelia to Hamlet will fix all the problems. Polonius helps the audience understand Hamlet's situation- because Hamlet really ISN'T understood and feels so isolated. Polonius is very much a part of the problem.

Mercutio - Mercutio is one of my all time favorite shakespeare characters. he is entirely a punk. I think I sat behind him in highschool. Really though, he's a teenage boy, an instigator and a troublemaker. Absolute favorite thing was what Shakespeare said about why he had to kill him in the Third Act "lest he steal the show from the major figures of the plot". 

Honors Final Project: Medieval Group

                To begin my blog on medieval times I need to mention A Knight's Tale . . . best knight movie ever!  We should totally show clips or the whole movie during our little medieval dinner/dance.  Speaking of dinner, the first thing I researched was food of course!  I found multiple websites that claim to contain authentic medieval recipes and had a lot of fun facts about what people ate back in those times.  In my studies I learned that the upper and lower classes ate very differently!  The wealthy class cared a lot about their spices and ate dishes that were highly flavorful, while the lower class ate more plain food.  Fruits and vegetables were always cooked because people back in medieval times thought that uncooked food contained diseases.  For banquets and parties the noble men would make all types of exotic dishes to impress their guests.  Aside from normal meats they would also eat peacocks, seal meat, or even whales!  I don't think we'll be having anything like that at our banquet!  One dish that the rich and poor both ate was a stew made of meats, vegetables, and bran called pottage.  All dishes for every social class were also accompanied by bread. 

                As far as dancing goes, there are two basic types from the medieval period: court dance and country dance.  The carole dance was one of the earliest and most popular dances in existence at the time.  This dance took place during Yule-tide or Christmas festivities and was danced in a circle, chain, or procession.  From my research I have learned that most dancing was first popular in France, then England, and then branched out into other regions.  Music was a large part of medieval life and was always a part of parties with different music for different events.  There were also many instruments used during this time, and different instruments would be used for certain occasions.  For example, bells would be used at Christmas time.  Music was played at dinner because it was believed to help with the digestion of food. 

                While many people think of chivalrous knights and romantic couples when discussing the medieval time period, the relationships were actually quite depressing.  Women were seen as property in the noble classes while it was the lower class that married for love.  During the 11th and 12th century passion was considered sinful, but those ideas slowly began to wear away as the rituals of courtly love became more popular.  Slowly men began to fight for the honor of their woman, and the courtly love became the source for the word "courtesy."  

Final Project- Medieval Group

   Early during the medieval period, dancing was either disregarded or declared corrupt by the church. However, with its increasing popularity, the church took a more lenient view and by the end of the middle ages it was sometimes even incorporated into worship. Dancing benefited both the rich and poor because it was a way to promote unity and identity. Dancing required no special skills, just the ability to learn and have fun, and each town had their own unique dance. The peasants danced recklessly, applause going to the fastest and most enduring. Their rough and unrefined way of celebrating was often sneered at by the nobility who prized fancy footwork, twists, and swirls in their more sedate and formal dancing. Regardless of the class of people, dancing was used at all types of celebrations. In the villages, dances signified the birth of a child, marriage, or the beginning of a season and would span the streets of the village, accompanied by drums, lute, tambourine, and bells. In the lives of royals, dances provided entertainment and a reason to gather nobility in one place, often accompanied by timpani drums, lute, bells, and singing.
   Medieval dances represent the rich culture from all over Europe and are the precursor to much modern dancing. Many of our modern line dances and the traditional cultural dances are taken in part from the varied medieval dances. Dances were for couples or groups and they had many different types for different occasions. This small list gives an idea of the myriad options available to the medieval dancers: Circle dances included Carol, Sellingers Round, Official Branle, Estampie, and Saltarello; Court Dances included Basse Dance, Black Alman, Black Nag, and Rufty Tufty; Line Dances included Prince William, La Spagna, the Morris Dance, and the Jig; Country (Folk) Dances include Scottish Dances, the Egg Dance, Ballet, Quadrille, Pavan, Farandole, and Burgundian dance.
    Clothing in the Medieval era varied depending on social class. Most people wore woolen clothing with linen undergarments. The brighter and more elaborate one's garment, the wealthier one was, because of the expense of the dyes and delicate handiwork represented. The Sumptuary Laws distinguished seven social categories and required people dress according to their class, so that people wouldn't live above their means. For men, the tunic was the base of their outfit, accompanied by hose or trousers. The kirtle was the common denominator of women's attire, accompanied by a cloak and various other outergarments.
   Every aspect of medieval life was colored by the prejudices and rules of the class system, whether it was in dancing or the way they dressed.

P.S. You do not have to comment on someone's blog this week- it would just be complimenting their research skills and that's redundant ;)