Anatomy of a Dance Reconstruction, Part 7

Eureka!

(Believe it or not, I actually wrote Part 6 weeks ago, and only got around to posting it today.)
Sometimes you have an issue with a dance that requires just a bit of tweaking. Allow me to recall such an issue from the last installment of this series.

48	6 Seguiti gravi, exchanging hands around the set, starting with your partner

This series of exchanges will be tricky. Much as they did in the previous movement, the lords and ladies will work their way around the circle in opposite directions. They will use a slow single for each exchange. Since there are forty-eight beats in the “A” section of the music, each seguito grave will take eight beats. What the dancers will hear, however, is eight measures of six beats. I expect that this clash between the rhythm of the dance and the rhythm of the music will this section the hardest part of the dance to perform correctly.

Forty-eight beats to complete six seguiti gravi, meaning each seguito grave will take eight beats. Rather difficult to keep straight in your head, since you’ll be listening to eight measures of six beats each. So, what if you could eliminate twelve beats somehow, allowing you to do the six seguiti in six measures of six counts each? It might not be absolutely authentic, but it would be far easier to perform and spread to the masses.

The solution? Reverence. Two riverenza minima would consume twelve counts (two measures), leaving thirty-six (six measures) for the seguiti gravi. An elegant solution to the problem. Where should I put the reverences, though? After some thought, the a brief riverenza before the first pass and a second when you meet your partner on the opposite side of the set (before continuing) seems to work best with the music.

6	Riverenza minima
18	3 Seguiti gravi, exchanging hands around the set, starting with your partner
6	Riverenza minima
18	3 Seguiti gravi, exchanging hands around the set, starting with your partner

Start at Part 1.