Medieval Dance Trivia Quiz

Answer: Charlotte

The Charlotte is one of the French Renaissance dances as detailed in "Orchesography" by Thoinot Arbeau. The three incorrect options are English dances from John Playford's 1651 "The English Dancing Master", a guide to local English dances. None of these dances remain popular, although elements have them have been incorporated into modern dances, so the tradition lives on.

Answer: The galliard is much more physically demanding.

A tourdion is a lower, more subdued version of the galliard. The galliard is extremely physically demanding and full of lively hops and jumps. Queen Elizabeth I's favorite dance was the galliard and it was often considered her main form of exercise. She danced the galliard for most of her life, even when she was older and the dance was tougher. By all contemporary accounts, the Queen was an excellent galliard dancer.

Answer: La Guerre

A basse danse is a slow dance in which the performers glide across the floor without ever lifting their feet from it. La Guerre is a French circle dance in which the dancers leap and jump about. The term basse danse translates to low dance, a reference to the dancers staying low to the floor.

Answer: "De Arte Saltandi & Choreas Ducendi" by Domenico da Piacenza

Domenico da Piacenza published many balli (or dances) in 1455 which were mostly performance dances for the nobility. The Gielosia is one of his 'flirty' creations and allegedly a favorite at the court of Duke Ferrara. Frenchman Thoinot Arbeau wrote his manuals in 1589. Fabrito Caroso and Cesare Negri were the two great 16th century Italian dance masters and published their works in 1581 and 1602 respectively. All three of the incorrect manuals were influenced, at least in part, by Domenico da Piacenza.

Answer: Piva

A piva is the fastest and is danced in 2/4 time. A saltarello is in 3/4 time and the Quadernaria in 4/4 time. The bassadanza is the called the queen of measures and is danced at the very slow and elegant 6/4 time.

Answer: False

There are no existent sources available to tell us how the courante was danced. Its existence is mentioned by Arbeau and a couple of steps mentioned but there is no choreography for it. Only a brief step or two is mentioned.

Answer: Pansotti

Pansotti is a triangular-shaped stuffed pasta from Italy. Petite Vriens is a three-person dance created by Domenico da Piacenza. Amoroso is a flirty dance created by Cesare Negri. Rostiboli Gioioso is lively dance also created by da Piacenza.

Answer: Ballo del fiore

During the ballo del fiore, the man would doff his hat and hold it in his irregular (left) hand with brim facing towards his thigh. He would position his sword behind him and parallel to the ground so as not to interfere with the dance steps. The lady would hold her kerchief or fan in her right hand. Etiquette was very important to the Italians.

At the end of the dance, the couple would exchange flowers.

Answer: Allemande

An allemande is a western European line dance from the 16th century, usually involving a saltarello or hopping step. The tango is an Argentine dance that originated in the 1880s. The time warp is a dance from the film "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and the Dance of the Five Sons is a fictional ancient dance featured in Ngaio Marsh's "Death of a Fool", a mystery novel.

Answer: Antonio Cornazzano

Antonio Cornazzano was a dancing master in his own right. He was taught by da Piacenza, who was also called Domenico da Ferrara. Da Piacenza created several popular dances of the day and was often called in to choreograph dances at royal weddings. He received the Order of the Golden Spur, sometimes referred to as a papal knighthood, for his contributions to dance in Italy.