You are here

Lioncello Novo

Also known as: 

Lionzello novo, Leoncello novo, lioncelo in tre, Lioncello in terzo, Lioncello for three

Title translation: 
The new "Lion Cub"
Dance Type: 
Number of dancers: 
3
About this choreography: 
This is primarily based on Domenico. Later versions of the dance have numerous variations. Reconstruction by Katherine Davies, 9/2010.
Choreography: 

 

Begin with one woman standing between two men (or, at a pinch, a man between two women), probably holding hands. The music begins in quadernaria misura.

 

TOGETHER - all:

1-2 All walk forwards with two tempi of saltarelli, then the men stop (LR)

 

FIRST EXCHANGE OF DOPPII - woman then men:

3 The woman alone continues, with a doppio, and stops (L)

4 The men catch up with a doppio, and stop (L)

5 The woman departs again, with a doppio (R)

6 The men catch up again, with a doppio (R)

 

PIVE - woman:

7-10 In these four tempi of quadernaria music, the woman dances eight tempi of piva, in a figure "S" around the men, that is:

- 1-3 3 pive (LRL) around the man to her left, passing first in front, then behind

- 4 2 sempii on the same (right) foot, passing between the men

- 5-7 3 pive (LRL) around the man to her right, passing first in front, then behind

- 8 2 sempii on the same (right) foot, passing between the men to her place

 

SALTARELLI - men then woman:

11-12 The men depart with two tempi of saltarelli (LR), in quadernaria misura, walking forwards

13 The men turn round, making their voltatonda with 3 sempii (LRL) and a meza ripresa

14-15 The woman catches up with two tempi of saltarelli (LR), in quadernaria misura

16 The woman makes a mezavolta with four sempii (LRLR), so as to end facing in the opposite direction to the men

 

CONTRAPASSI - all:

17-18 All do three doppii on the left foot [three contrapassi], finishing with a mezavolta and a posada (so they end facing, the woman some distance from the men). *

19-20 All return to place with another three doppii on the same foot, finishing with a posada (but no mezavolta this time). I'm not sure whether these doppii should be done on L or R

 

~ the music now changes to bassadanza misura ~

 

SECOND EXCHANGE OF DOPPII - woman then men, parting, then all together

1 Woman does a doppio (in bassadanza misura) forward (L), parting from men

2 Men do a doppio (in bassadanza misura) forward (L), parting from woman

3 Woman does another doppio (R), further departing from men

4 Men do another doppio (R), further departing from woman

At the end of the men's second doppio all three at once do a mezavolta on the right foot, so they end facing, at some distance

5-7 Facing, all three do a pair of riprese (LR), and a pair of continentie (LR)

8 All three do a riverentia (L)

 

SECOND EXCHANGE OF DOPPII - woman then men, returning

9 Woman does a doppio (L) toward men

10 Men do a doppio (L) toward woman

11 Woman does a doppio (R) toward men

12 Men do a final doppio (R) toward woman, ending with a mezavolta right (so they end in a line, with the woman in the middle, all facing the same way)

13 All do a riverentia (L)

 

~ the music now changes briefly back to quadernaria misura ~

 

1/2 The woman does a movimento in the first half tempo

1/2 The men respond with another movimento in the second half tempo

Discussion: 

Timing the contrapassi 

* This requires a reconstruction of contrapassi in quadernaria misura that has sufficient "vuodo" to allow time for a mezavolta and posada. I currently - and with mixed feelings - favour this

 

1

&

2

&

3

&

4

&

L R

L c

L R

L c

L R

L c

m.v

pos.

 

So each doppio takes 1 1/2 tempi (LRL), with a final 1/2 tempo for a cambiamento (c) in order to begin the next doppio on the same foot. This means that the entire 3 doppii take only 1 1/2 tempi of quadernaria (the table above shows 2, not 4, tempi of quadernaria). The final half-tempo is convenient for the mezavolta/posada, but hard to defend otherwise.

 

Translating the name:

From John Florio's 1611 Italian-English dictionary:

Leoncello, a Lyons whelpe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Condensed version, for calling: 

Three people in a line, holding hands.

Originally written for one woman between two men; I've used "inside" and "outside" people - works for any gender mix. 

 ~ music: quadernaria ~

TOGETHER:

  • 2 saltarelli

 

DOPPII CHASING:

  • inside - doppio
  • outsides - doppio
  • repeat 

PIVE - FIGURE 8

Inside person: figure 8, using pive

  • 3 pive, 2 singles, around person to left
  • repeat around person to right

SALTARELLI - CHASING:

  • outsides - 2 salterelli, voltatonda with 3 sempii + meza ripresa
  • inside - 2 saltarelli, meza volta with 4 sempii

end facing opposite directions 

CONTRAPASSI - all:

  • 3 contrapassi left, ending with mezavolta + posada (end facing)
  • 3 contrapassi right, ending with posada (end in line, facing opposite directions

 

~ music : bassadanza ~

 

DOPPII  PARTING:

  • inside: doppio
  • outsides: doppio
  • inside: doppio
  • outsides: doppio, everyone mezavolta at end (end facing)

FACING, ALL TOGETHER:

  • 2 riprese
  • 2 continenze
  • riverentia 

DOPPII MEETING

  • inside doppio, then outsides, then inside, then outsides
  • outsides do mezavolta to end in line, all facing forwards
  • all riverentia

 

~ music : quadernaria  ~

 

Inside movimento; outsides movimento

Music: 

I use the recording on Forse che si, forse che non: 20 tempi of quadernaria, 13 tempi of bassadanza,1 tempo of quadernaria; played twice.

I also like Lionzello on Ballare et Danzare: Dance Music of 15th Century Italy, by Medeva; though it doesn't cue the movimenti in the middle of the dance so clearly.

About this translation: 

PnD (Domenico's manual): text from Smith, translation K. Davies, 9/2010.

Translation: 

 

Lionzello novo on the same old song and done by two men with one woman in the middle.

In the beginning the said two men with the woman in the middle do two tempi of saltarello in mexura quadernaria and then the men stop then the woman parts from in between them with one dopio on the left foot and she stops. The said men follow then after the woman with one dopio coming even with her then the woman parts from the middle of them and goes forwards with a dopio on the right foot and stops and the said two men follow her with a dopio on the right foot going even with the woman and they stop. The woman parts going around those two men in the shape of an "S" doing eight tempi of piva and in the fourth and eighth of which she does two passi sempii on the right foot and each of the said two passi she does in the middle of the said two men and stops then with the said woman in between them. Now note that the men both together part from her company doing two tempi of saltarello beginning on the left foot in mexura quadernaria with a voltatonda beginning to the left foot which consists of three passi sempii and a meza represe stopping themselves. Then the woman follows them with two tempi of saltarello beginning with the left foot and four pasi sempii doing with the said four passi a mezavolta and finding herself looking/facing in the opposite direction to the men. After note that all three together move in one instant and doing three doppii on the left foot and in the head [capo - note this can mean an end or a beginning] of the third they do a posada on the right foot in the tempo vuodo doing a mezavolta then the woman going opposite the men hat is them forwards and her backwards they return the said two men and the woman with the same said dupii and posada and the woman finds herself again in the middle of the men facing the opposite way to them. Note that the woman parts from the men in reverse to them [a roverso di loro] doing a doppio on the left foot and stopping [and] the two men fo forwards with a dopio on the left foot and stop. The woman goes yet on her way with a doppio on the right foot and stops and the two men go yet on their way opposite to the woman with a dopio on the right foot. Now note that at the one instant the said two men and the woman do a mezavolta on the right foot bringing themselves to look face to face doing two represe beginning with the left foot two continentie and a riverentia on the left and the two men stop. Now note that the woman moves and goes to meet the men with a doppui on the left foot and stops then the men go to meet the woman with a doppio on the left foot and stop and the woman comes to met the men with a doppio on the right foot and stops. The men come to meet the woman with a dopio on the right foot doing a mezavolta on the said foot and finding that themselves even with the woman with her in the middle they all do a riverentia together on the left foot then the woman does a movimento of half a tempo and the men respond with another and it ends.