The Canary dance (known as Canario in Italian sources, Canarie in French ones) was a

Renaissance dance Renaissance dances belong to the broad group of historical dances, specifically those during the Renaissance period. During that period, there was a distinction between country dances and court dances. Court dances required the dancers to be trai ...

inspired in an indigenous dance and song of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

(probably the one known as Tajaraste) that became popular all over Europe in the late 16th and early 17th century. It is mentioned in dance manuals from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and is mentioned in sources from

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, as well, including in plays by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Choreography

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) 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).

References

Literature

* 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), (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
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Canario choreographies and reconstructions

��reconstructed by Delbert von Straßburg

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)
{{Baroque dance Partner dance Dance forms in classical music Spanish dances Baroque dance Renaissance dance Music of the Canary Islands