Contrapasso (dance)

From Cunnan

Fabritio Caroso wrote dances primarily for the nobility, and many of his dances are dedicated to prominent Ladies of the time: he wrote Contrapasso itself “in praise of the very magnificent Madonna Felicita Ziletti”. Dances of this type were typically performed in courts by a single couple or set, while other guests watched. Contrapasso seems to be an exception to the rule, in that Caroso seems to describe a dance for an unspecified number of dancers, calling it a “Balleto for uncertain, of doing it in two”. In contrast, he describes the related dance Contrapasso Nuovo, a dance that clearly requires six dancers, as a “Balleto of six”. From this description, I conclude that Contrapasso is a dance that, in period, would have multiple couples on the dance floor at the same time.

Contrapasso is easy to interpret as a romantic dance, especially with an arrangement of the music such as the one by The Dragonscale Consort. The title means “Counterstep”, presumably describing the way the dancers frequently move together around a central point or repeat each other’s movements.

Il Ballarino includes music for Contrapasso in lute notation. The music actually appears earlier in the book under the instructions for Contrapasso Nuovo, which Caroso references at the end of the instructions for Contrapasso.

Contrapasso has been researched before in the SCA. I first learned a version reconstructed by Mistress Mara Kolarova, and the Terpsichore Dance Manual also includes a version of the dance. These versions call the dance Contrapasso in Due, presumably to distinguish it more easily from Contrapasso Nuovo. Both of these arrangements describe it as having 4-count measures, but the music is actually composed mostly of twelfth notes or some such, making it easier to describe in units of six notes, and I have documented the steps accordingly.

Count	Steps
1-12	Start proper, holding hands, and do a Riverenza grave with the left foot.
13-24	Do two Continenze, first to the left and then to the right.
1-12	Do two Passi gravi and one Doppio presto, starting with the left foot.
13-24	Do two Passo backward, starting with the right foot, and then two Riprese to the right
25-48	Repeat the sequence.
1-12	Take right hands and do two Passi gravi and one Doppio to the left, starting with the left foot
13-24	Take left hands and do two Passi gravi and one Doppio to the right, starting with the right foot
25-36	Release hands and turn to the left with two Seguiti ordinarii; at the end bend at the knees a little to perform a meza Riverenza
37-48	Do two more Seguiti ordinarii turning to the right
1-48	Same as the previous verse except take arms (up to the elbow) instead of hands when turning your partner
1-12	Take both hands with your partner and do two Passi gravi and one Doppio presto to the left
13-24	Do two Passi gravi and one Doppio presto back to the right
25-48	Releasing hands, the lady turns as in the previous two verses, but the man will do four Seguiti flanked: two back and two forward. At the end, turn to stand proper and take hands
1-48	Walk forward together doing eight Seguiti ordinarii
1-12	Riverenza to your partner
13-24	Do two Continenze gravi, left then right
25-48	Turn to the left with two Seguiti ordinarii; then do two more Seguiti ordinarii turning to the right
1-12	The man does two Passi gravi, and one Doppio presto forward, starting with the left foot: the lady will do the same backward, starting with the right foot
13-24	The lady will do the same forward, and the man back
25-48	Both do turns with Seguiti ordinarii as before
1-12	The man alone will do the Riverenza with the left foot
13-24	The lady alone will do the Riverenza with the left foot
25-48	The lady will do the two said turns as before. The man will do four Seguiti ordinarii: 2 flanked back, and 2 forward

Music for Contrapasso is available from The Dragonscale Consort on their album, "A Consort of Dances".