The galliard is a difficult dance to slow down, given that you are in the air for a portion of each sequence of steps. A slow galliard actually requires more strength and skill than a fast one, since the dancer needs to be a very good jumper to remain in the air long enough to stay on the beat.
Guy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Howard Posner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "Lute Net" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2005 8:54 AM Subject: [LUTE] Tempo and divisions > Stewart McCoy wrote: > > > It has often been observed that the addition of extra notes by > > musicians, or extra steps by dancers, has the effect of slowing > > music down over the years. The saraband started life as a fast, > > lively dance, and ended up as a very slow one. > > Wouldn't the reverse be just as likely: that slower tempo leads to more > notes? > There are other, more intuitive causes for dances to slow down over a > long period. > For example, the people who dance it get older. Or the dance moves up > the social ladder, > to be danced by people in more elaborate clothing. > > HP > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >
