Our Repertoire
 

Types of Events:
Our Shows:


Centuries offers many types of events. Our main events break down in the following categories: 

Workshops, Balls, and Dances - These are primarily participatory events, often sponsored and arranged by Centuries Historical Dance. They include a workshop, either as part of the event, or separately, held in the afternoon as preparation for the evening event. Attendees pay for the opportunity to dance and learn dancing. No formal demonstrations are included. These events usually include some type of refreshement, usually cookies and lemonade. Many of the afternoon events have recorded music, whereas evening events are slightly more formal, and offer live music. 

Parties - With parties, our participation is open to the discretion of the party organizers. Often, we add atmosphere to themed parties by giving a formal dance demonstration or two, in period costume. These will often be followed by a brief workshop in which party attendees may participate. Occasionally, we add atmosphere and enthusiasm to corporate events or parties by being present in our costumes, and offering lively character impersonations, chatting with attendees, or improvising dance. Live music and refreshments at these events are at the discretion of the party organizers. We've offered diversions for Murder Mysteries, atmosphere to Gangster parties, color to Dickens Christmas parties, and culture and style to Renaissance Festivals. 

Full Shows - Centuries has several shows that can be put on with minimal preparation for the venue. These are self-contained performances that require little set or lighting design other than a large empty space. These shows are educational and informative, as well as entertaining, containing a lecture component in addition to high energy dancing and glorious period costumes.

The various programs focus on different periods of historical dance, from the Renaissance to the twenty-first century. The demonstration aspect gives examples of popular dances created during the discussed period in the proper costumes so as to show the effect of the fashion of the day on the way people moved. The lectures include discussion of the social, political, and economic climate in which the dances developed, also affecting the ways people moved.

The shows are created, researched, written, and directed by Centuries artistic director Renee Camus, and feature material based her findings using primary and secondary sources including books, newspaper and magazine articles, photos, and video where available. The dances in the shows are choreographed primarily by Renee, who expertly blends original choreography with steps she reconstructs from period sources. The routines generally include sections of "organized improvisation" in an effort to fully capture the improvisatory nature of social dance.

The shows are typically between 30 and 50 minutes long, but can be made shorter or longer. The programs contain some form of audience participation, from basic Question and Answer periods following the program, to brief participatory workshops during the show. Though easy to produce and usually performed with recorded music, these shows are expandable to more complicated productions with lighting, set design, and live music, if desired. 
  
Some of the shows we offer: 

We are continuing to add to our repertoire and will continue building shows. Of course, we are willing to collaborate with you to determine the best type of event for your needs. 

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Shows we're working on: 

1890s- The Belle Epoche
1920s
Dickens
Civil War
 

In the future:
Baroque
Dance through the Centuries (though much of this can already be found in Play Something We Can Dance To)

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Show Descriptions

Nobiltá di Dame: Dances of the Renaissance -
Nobiltá di Dame, translated as The Nobility of Ladies, is a demonstration of court and peasant dances primarily from the sixteenth century. Included in the lecture is information about the fashion, social and political climate, and ballroom ettiquette of the time. Performed in peasant Renaissance costume, the show features examples of couple and group social dances such as the pavane, galliard, Spanish pavane, canary, and various branles (pronounced brawls) including Washerwoman's, War, and Pease [sic]. The steps and figures are reconstructed from 16th century manuals, primarily Orchesography (1589), by French dance master Thoinot Arbeau, and Nobiltá di Dame (1600), after which this show is named, by Italian dance master Fabritio Caroso. The show also includes a few country dances reconstructed from the collection of the seventeenth century English dancing master, John Playford. The show is complete with opportunities for brave audience members to try their hands (or feet) at the dances.

At the Moulin Rouge: the History of the Cancan

What Goes Around, Comes Around: A Comparison of the Cancan and the Charleston

Play Something We Can Dance To: Band Music and the Dance
This is more the brainchild of Renee's father, renowned musicologist and band master Raoul Camus, who had previously written a paper called "On the Cadence of the March," discussing the proper tempi for military band marches. This time, we decided to collaborate on a similar lecture and demonstration discussing the proper tempi for popular dances of the past. The paper is geared more toward musicians and band directors who are often given the direction, for example, to play in "tempo di polka (polka tempo)" and would need to know exactly what 'polka tempo' is. This lecture/demonstration assists with that. In generic dress, the dancers give brief, primarily improvised examples of a number of dances from the Baroque through the twentieth century, danced to familiar band pieces, including John Philip Sousa's The Washington Post. The lecture begins by defining and demonstrating basic dance terminology and steps, and continues with examples of Viennese and Boston waltzes, schottische, polka, galop, mazurka, cakewalk, one-step, fox-trot, and others.
 
Dance Mad: Dances of the Ragtime Era -
Initially created for presentation at the Great American Brass Band Festival in June 1997, Dance Mad: Dances of the Ragtime Era offers examples of dances from 1897 to 1915. It focuses on the period around 1913-1914 when America was so taken with Ragtime music and its influx of new dances, particularly the turkey trot and one-step, that the nation had gone "dance mad." The 45-minute lecture/demonstration offers descriptions of the period, including fashion, new laws, advancements for women, and discussion of Vernon and Irene Castle, the leading exhibition dance team and their improvements on the dance world as well as the socio-political world. All these facets directly affected dance movements, and are illustrated in choreographies of the Cakewalk, Castle Walk, blues, tango, maxixe, fox-trot, and animal dances such as the grizzly bear, bunny hug, snake dip, crab walk, and turkey trot.

It Don't Mean A Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing: The Evolution and Development of Swing Dance -
When the Society for American Music posted a call for papers for their annual conference to be held in March 2004 in Cleveland, Ohio -- home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- Renee was inspired to create this program, which she and Alex presented at the conference. The program is a 50-minute lecture/demonstration on Swing dance, including its development and its many variants. It moves in chronological order, documenting the development of swing and simultaneously showing a brief history of twentieth century social dance from the 1920s to today, including the current swing revival. The dances include the Charleston, Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, St. Louis Shag, West Coast Swing, the Twist and other 1960s fad dances, and Hustle. The lecture is enhanced with period video examples and performances of the dances choreographed by Renée and Alex.

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updated: 3/7/05