The Marshallate of Dance

[ This article appeared in volume 2 of the Letter of Dance. ]

by Justin du Coeur

[Recently, in the Barony of the Bridge, grumblings have been heard, saying that dance is more dangerous than fighting, because dancers don't have to be authorized to go out onto the floor. So it probably shouldn't have been a surprise when, at the annual Black Rose Ball, the following was stuffed into my hand:]

[Subsequently, the following article (by me) appeared in Not Necessarily the Pikestaff, the East Kingdom benefit parody newsletter... - Justin]

From the Marshall of Dance

Four groups in the East have Marshalls of Dance whose certifications have lapsed. You know who you are; please send proof of recertification from your local folk dance groups, or I will be forced to advise the Seneschal to suspend your branches.

The winner of the Interkingdom Dance Tourney was Master Frederick of the Fleet Feet, who defeated Mistress Ingenia Coromezzo in the finals. It was a best-of-three finals: Frederick easily won the initial Galliard competition with a stunning half-gainer cinq pas; Ingenia outdistanced Frederick considerably in the Ballo del Chasso; and Frederick narrowly won the Freestyle third round, where his Tourdion style overcame her Basse Danse. Congratulations to Master Frederick, who took home a pair of silk slippers as his prize.

All dancers must have their Dance Authorization Cards with them, if they expect to dance. Far too many marshalls have been telling me horror stories about people who assure them that they've simply "left the card at home," then gotten onto the dance floor and sprained an ankle. This simply cannot be tolerated. Marshalls should insist on checking each dancer's Authorization Card, and inspecting their slippers, before every Ball.

The Royalty of the East and Middle have finalized the details of the Pennsic War Points. There will be three Dance War Points this year:

• The traditional Hole in the Wall competition will occur on Friday evening. Each side will receive one point for each dancer fielded, as well as two points for each kidnap of an opposing dancer. (Note that you lose two points for kidnapping someone on your own side, so be sure to look for that red tape on their foreheads before you kidnap them.) This is a contest that anyone can enter, and I cannot stress too highly how important it is that everyone do so. There is no reason for the East not to win this point, if everyone goes out and kidnaps early and often!
• The Dance Flirting point will be held Saturday morning. It will be judged by a panel of experts, who will look for both speed and style of flirting. The dance style will be Geloxia; anyone succeeding in making dates with all three persons of the opposite sex in their set will be looked on quite favorably by the judges.
• Finally, there will be a Galliard Champions Battle on Sunday. This is a new event, open only to Laurels. Each side will choose fifteen dancers, who will then go at each other in fierce Galliard Combat. Comment is being actively solicited for how we may improve this event in the future, so I encourage all to come and watch.

Let's go out there and win these points. I know that they seem like a small drop in the bucket, out of the total 47 War Points, but every bit helps. And if all the Authorized Dancers in the East work at it, we should win qeasily.

In Service to the Dance,
Guillermo de Galliard, EK Marshall of Dance