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Home › Italy, 16th Century › Improvisatory dances › Galliard › Gagliarde from Compasso › Mutanze Scempie

Mutanza scempio 5

Title translation: 
Compasso's fifth single-tempo galliard variation
Source: 
Italian sources, c.1550-c.1620
Compasso (1560)
Dance Type: 
improvisatory
Number of dancers: 
1
Choreography: 

This is danced in place, but turning first one side, and then the other, to your partner or audience.

For this first tempo, angle your body so that your right shoulder is toward your partner or audience. Keep your attention forwards.

  1. kick with the right foot, jumping onto the left foot
  2. kick with the left foot
  3. kick with the right foot
  4. kick with the left foot
  5. cadenza - jump 
  6. land on both feet (left foot behind), facing forwards again

Reverse - turn your left shoulder forwards

  1. kick with the left foot, jumping onto the right foot
  2. kick with the right foot
  3. kick with the left foot
  4. kick with the right foot
  5. cadenza - jump
  6. land on both feet (right foot behind), facing forwards again

 

Discussion: 

I don't know whether per fiancho here means "going sideways" or "turning the body sideways but dancing on the spot". I've taken it to mean the latter; though you could equally dance a cinquepasso going sideways to the left, then another going sideways to the right.

As so often in galliard it's not clear which foot to start on: the first move of a cinquepasso can be seen as "kicking with foot X" or "jumping onto foot Y (while raising foot X)", so the usual principle - start with the left foot - isn't tranparent. As always, the really important principle is alternation: what you do on one side you should repeat on the other.

It's also not clear to me which shoulder should come forward with which foot - either pairing works.

Condensed version, for calling: 

On the spot, cinquepasso with the right side forwards:

  1. kick  
  2. kick
  3. kick
  4. kick
  5. jump
  6. land facing forwards

Turn to the other side

  1. kick 
  2. kick
  3. kick
  4. kick
  5. jump
  6. land facing forwards
About this translation: 

Katherine Davies, 2016.

Translation: 

The cinque passo (five-step) to the side.

Transcription: 

5. Li cinque passi per fiancho.

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