Canario

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Il Canario

Like the galliard, the canary is a style rather than a specific choreography. To learn to dance it, you learn the structure of the dance, some characteristic steps, and then the little sections that make up canary mutanze.

Notes and Reconstructions

My notes on "How to improvise a Canary", with some background material. (pdf)

Del's Dance Book has lots of information, including a full reconstruction of Negri's Canario.

Caroso's Canario from Il Ballarino, my translation

Santucci's Canario, my translation

What we've been doing at dance practice:

February 22

Steps:

seguiti spezzati schisciati al canario (sliding, or stamping spezzati; used for everything except the mutanze)

Seguiti spezzati schisciati in saltini (as above, with little hops; used in turning passage)

seguiti battuti al canario (beaten sequence - "heel toe stamp"; very common in mutanze)

Mutanze:

1. advance (1/2 a strain of Negri's music)

8 seguiti battuti al canarii, alternating left and right side, moving slowly toward partner

ritarata (1/2 a strain of Negri's music)

turn left shoulder somewhat back, and do 3 riprese (LLL) and a trabuchetto (L)

turn right shoulder back, and repeat to right

2. advance (one strain of Negri's music)

stamped step left, stamped step right, seguito battuto left.

Repeat on right side. Continue alternating sides until you've done the while sequence 8 times.

ritarata (one strain of Negri's music)

Two slow stamped steps backwards, L,R (each step takes as long as a seguito battuto)

Three faster stamped steps backwards, L, R, L (in time of another two seguiti battuti)

Repeat, alternating left and right feet, four times.

Short dance, using steps and mutanze above:

repeat of music	who does what
1	Riverenza, 2 continenze together
2	4 spezzati schisciate together, into middle of room; 4 spezzati schisciate together, circling, holding right hands
3	4 spezzati schisciate, going to opposite ends of room man only: spezzati schisciate, turning in circle over left shoulder
4	man only does first mutanza, both advance and retreat
5	man does turning passage (4 spezzati schisciate turning over left shoulder), then woman does turning passage
6	woman only does first mutanza
7	both do turning passage at same time, then 4 spezzati schisciate together, into middle of room
8	4 spezzati schisciate going into each other's place, then man does turning passage
9	man does second mutanza - advance
10	man does second ritarata
11	man does turning passage, then woman does turning passage
12	woman does second mutanza - advance
	woman does second ritarata
13	both do turning passage at same time, then 4 spezzati schisciate together, into middle of room
14	4 spezzati schisciate together, circling, with right hands 4spezzati schisciate together, circling, with left hands
15	Riverenza, with ordinary hands

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