The Canary dance (known as Canario in Italian sources, Canarie in French ones) was a
Renaissance dance inspired in an indigenous dance and song of the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
(probably the one known as
Tajaraste Tajaraste (From Berber TAJARAST) is combined music and dance typical of the Canary Islands, (Spain). It is specific to the islands of Tenerife and La Gomera
La Gomera () is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off ...
) that became popular all over Europe in the late 16th and early 17th century. It is mentioned in dance manuals from
France and
Italy, and is mentioned in sources from
Spain and
England, as well, including in plays by
William Shakespeare.
The dance, which is most often choreographed for a single couple, has been characterized as "a fiery wooing dance" with either Canary origins or at least a Canary flavor from its "rapid heel-and-toe stamps" and distinctive music. It was also called frogs legs, because it was an energetic dance that featured jumps, stamping of the feet and violent movement, accompanied by music with syncopated rhythms.
While there are choreographies for the canario as a stand-alone dance in the dancing manuals of Fabritio Caroso, Cesare Negri, and Thoinot Arbeau, it most frequently appears as a section of a larger dance or suite of dances.
[Sutton, "Canary," vol. 2, pp. 50-52.] Several Baroque composers (notably
J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suite ...
) used the distinctive rhythm of the canary in a few pieces, such as the gigue of the
French Suite in C Minor, and it also appears in one of the
Goldberg Variations (Variation 7).
Canario choreographies and reconstructions
Il Canario: The Canary of Cesare Negri with its Variations€”reconstructed by Delbert von StraĂźburg
Reconstruction video clips
Il Canario from Ballare 2010, Bauska (uploaded Jan. 5, 2011)Canario for Three (uploaded May 16, 2010)Canario de J.H. Kapsberger (uploaded Mar. 13, 2008)Canario, performed by Saltatriculi early dance ensemble (uploaded Aug. 22, 2011)
Notes
References
* Arbeau, Thoinot. ''Orchesography''. (''Orchésographie'', 1589.) Translated by Mary S. Evans and edited by Julia Sutton. New York: Dover, 1967.
* Brissenden, Alan. ''Shakespeare and the Dance''. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, 1981. (1st edition), (2nd edition).
* Caroso, Fabritio. ''Courtly Dance of the Renaissance: A New Translation and Edition of the “Nobiltà di Dame”'' (1600). Edited and translated by Julia Sutton. New York: Dover Publications, 1986, 1995.
* Cohen, Selma Jeanne, ed. ''International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc''. 6 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. (1st edition), {{ISBN, 978-0195173697 (2nd edition).
* Kendall, G. Yvonne. “''Le Gratie d'Amore'' 1602 by Cesare Negri: Translation and Commentary.” PhD diss., Stanford University, 1985.
* Negri, Cesare. ''Le Gratie d'Amore''. Milan, 1602.
External links
El canario baile
Partner dance
Dance forms in classical music
Spanish dances
Baroque dance
Renaissance dance
