Main menu
You are here
Amoroso
Ballo Francese chiamato Amoroso in doi (or in dua)
NYp version (commonly danced)
A couple start side by side, holding hands.
Introduction: 12 tempi of pive
(in practice, you may get music to do 8 or 12, depending on the number of repeats chosen by the musicians)
First sequence (3 1/2 tempi): man departs from woman with
- 2 steps (equivalent to sempii)
- 1 piva
- 3 steps
Woman catches up with the same sequence
Second sequence (3 1/2 tempi): man departs from woman with
- 3 pive
- sempio
Woman catches up with the same sequence.
Third sequence (8 tempi): man departs from the woman with the first sequence, turns to face the woman, does a riverenzia (one tempo) to which she responds (no extra music), then he returns to her side with the second sequence
The woman the departs from the man with the first sequence, turns to face the man, does a riverenzia (one tempo) to which he responds (no extra music), then she returns to his side with the second sequence. He waits while she performs the first two pive of the second sequence, but joins in for the final piva and step, going to meet her, then turning in the final step.
The instruction to "put her forward" perhaps implies that the dancers change sides (and so leading roles) if the dance is to repeat.
PnA version (much less common)
A couple start side by side, holding hands.
Introduction: 8 tempi of pive
(in practice, you may get music to do 8 or 12, depending on the number of repeats chosen by the musicians)
First sequence (3 1/2 tempi): man departs from woman with
- 2 sempii
- 1 doppio
- 3 sempii
Woman catches up with the same sequence
Second sequence (4 tempi): man departs from woman with
- 2 tempi of piva
Woman catches up with the same sequence.
Third sequence: man departs from the woman with
- 2 sempii (LR)
- doppio (L)
- 2 sempii (RL)
- doppio (R)
Then he does a riverenza down to the ground.
Then he returns to the man with his second sequence (4 pive).
The woman then does as the man did.
The two MSS clearly describe the same dance, but with differences substantial enough that it's worth choosing one or the other for a given occasion. Many of the sequences in the NYp version require phrases ending in half-tempi: some musicians accommodate this, others regularise by filling in the extra half-tempi. The second choice will allow dancers to try the PnA choreography; the first allows for NYp without pauses.
Differences between NYp and PnA that appear to be more than terminology (e.g. paso di natura or sempio).
- Introduction: 12 pive (NYp) or 8 (PnA)
- Second sequence: 3 pive, step (3 1/2 tempi) (NYp) or 4 pive (4 tempi) (PnA)
- Third sequence: man departs using first sequence, ending in mezavolta (3 1/2 tempi) (NYp), or 2 sempii and a doppio, twice (4 tempi)(PnA)
- Riverenzia: NYp specifies that the woman stationary partner responds; PnA specifies that the riverenzia is done fino in terra (down to the ground)
- End of dance: NYp has the man join the woman in the last two steps of her final sequence, meeting her, turning, and 'putting her in front' (possibly for a repeat); PNa has so such instruction.
- together: 12 pive
- man: single, single, piva ..., single, single, single
- woman: [as above]
- man: piva, piva, piva, single
- woman: [as above]
- man: leave with first pattern, riverenza, return with second pattern
- woman: [as man just did]
repeat, with woman going first
Katherine Davies, March 2015, from William A Smith, Fifteenth-century Dance and Music.
Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, Ital. 476 (sometimes referred to as PnA)
French Ballo called Amoroso for two
First eight tempi of piva beginning with the left and then the man parts from the woman with two sempii and a doppio and three sempii beginning with the left and the then man stops and the woman goes near the man doing similarly then the man parts from the woman and does four tempi of piva beginning with the left and stops and then the woman goes near the man doing similarly then the man parts from the woman doing two sempii and one doppio beginning with the left foot and then two sempii and one doppio beginning wiht the right foot and a riverencia down to the ground on the left foot and then goes around with four tempi of piva and the he stops and then the woman goes to find the man and does similarly. The end.
New York, Public Library, Dance Collection, MGZMB-Res.72-254
Baleto called Amoroso for two
First twelve tempi of piva both together beginning with the left foot and they stop themselves then the man alone goes forwards with two natural steps (passi di natura) and one tempo of piva and three natural steps beginning with the left foot and he stops then the woman goes to find him with the same steps that he did then the man alone goes forwards with three tempi of piva and one natural step beginning with the left foot and stops then the woman goes to find him doing the same steps that he did then the man alone goes forwards with two natual steps and one tempo of piva and three natural steps beginning with the left foot and in ht e end of the last step he turns towards the woman and does a riverenzia with the left foot and the woman responds to him and the man alone goes to find the woman with three tempi of piva and one natural step beginning with the left foot then the woman goes forwards to do the riverenzia to the man with two natural steps and one tempo f piva and three natural steps and in the end of the third step she turns to the man and does a riverentia with the left foot and the man responds and then the woman goes to find the man with three tempi of piva and one natural stepe beginning with the left foot and when the woman has done two tempi the man goes to meet her with one tempo of piva and one natural step turning in that step to be beside the woman, next to her (al pari de la domna) putting her in front.
All content on this website is released under the CC BY-SA v3.0 license unless otherwise specified. For full details, please see the copyright page.