Rapper: The Miners' Sword Dance of North-East England
2015; Volume: 10; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2056-6166
Autores Tópico(s)Diversity and Impact of Dance
ResumoPhil Heaton, with contributions from John Asher, Rhett Krause, David Lecisam, and Ian Craigs. London: English Folk Dance and Song Society, 2012. 278 pp. Illus. Bibliog. Index. ISBN 978-0-854182-12-1. 112.00. Rapper: History of the Miners' Sword Dance of North-East England Chris Metherell and Rhett Krause. Garland Films GAR027, 2012. 2 x DVD. 115.00. From the complete novice to the most hardened of traditional dancers, this book and DVD have plenty to offer everyone. Covering the history and evolution of the dance through to the present day, the book replaces previously disparate information with .one highly readable and scholarly source. Throughout the book, the traditional dance is always linked to the culture and economics of the mines. This allows Heaton to make new sociological conclusions: for example, linking population change and immigration to the evolution of the dance and connecting the decline of the dance to twelve-month pit openings which reduced the availability of dancers in the winter period. Heaton explores the twentieth-century dance that Cecil Sharp collected, and his analysis of Sharp's collecting technique is a valuable reminder of the intrinsic subjectivity involved in the collection of folk dance. The influence of Sharp in the creation of contemporary rapper is highlighted in several surprising ways. For example, the word 'rapper' itself, used to describe the dance, appears to come from a miscomprehension on Sharp's part of the Geordie dialect. Heaton subtly illustrates the gulf between collector and dancer, but not to the harsh, Harkerian extent seen in the past. Heaton's descriptions of Sharp's confused initial dance notes, alongside scans of the notes themselves, clearly illustrate many of the problems Sharp faced, but in a refreshing, light-hearted, and humorous fashion. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Heaton explores the many different elements to the performance, including the song and play, the stepping, its relationship to clog dancing, and the influence of popular publications such as Kerr's Merrie Melodies on the development of the music. The chapter on swords will be of special interest. He quickly and robustly lays to rest the pit-pony scraper theory, while drawing a subtle conclusion based on evolution from functional everyday objects, perhaps the 'rapper' used to tap signals up and down the mine shaft, to an implement created especially for dancing. The descriptions of swords of different lengths, flexibility, and handle types serve to demonstrate the variety of the swords used by traditional teams into the twentieth century. The twentieth-century competitions are examined and their influence on the dance is considered, from EFDSS competitions which favoured simple over 'fancy' dances, to the establishment of the Dancing England Rapper Tournament in the 1980s, which created a new dancing standard and became a forum for the interchange of ideas. The competition chapter is broken up by entertaining quotations, such as the trials and joys of Douglas Kennedy during the judging of the 1923 North of England Musical Tournament. The issue of women dancing rapper is addressed and the options available to the competition organizers considered, from omitting the word 'rapper' in the title of the women's competition, to allowing women's, men's, and mixed teams to compete in the same competition. …
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