The Phoenix Rejuvenated

Описание: When I learned that Beverly Francis and Dorothy Cummings, co-emcees of the 2017 New York Playford Ball, had put Pat Shaw’s The Phoenix Rejuvenated on the program, I thought it would be a fine opportunity to capture the dance done well and a suitable choice—accessible, lively, and while a modern dance, still connected to the Playford past—to help commemorate the 100th anniversary of Pat’s birth. In volume 3 of the Pat Shaw Collection, compiled and edited by Marjorie Fennessy, a footnote informs us that The Phoenix Rejuvenated was “composed for the Phoenix Club of London for its 21st birthday party in October 1975 and based on the dance and tune of The Phoenix (Playford 1670).”

There is no guide in the printed instructions as to what footwork to use in the dance, but the energy and meter of the tune led the dancers to choose a skipping step for the signature figure at the beginning, where the men dance ‘round the women for lead down a double and the women dance ‘round the men for the promenade. While the dance is often done with a promenade hold, as Dorothy Cummings pointed out, the instructions clearly say this figure is done with partners holding inside hands. Speaking of hands, Dorothy offered a key tip in her prompting after the hands-4 to the left halfway: Middles change hands with partners. This simple move orients everyone correctly for the cast and lead figure that follows.

In this rendition of the dance, I especially appreciate the energy and corresponding texture in the stepping that the dancers display, the visual connections they maintain with partners, and the set awareness that their dancing shows. In this regard, I’d like to share with you the reflections of a new and very thoughtful dancer, Ned Liddell, formulated in response to our practice sessions in New York.

“In Phoenix Rejuvenated, which at first I dismissed as being just silly but have come to appreciate for its lightness and humor, the video [not this one but an earlier one he found online—pbr] shows confused coordination between dancers, which is unattractive.... When the men go down outside the line of women and when the women do the same it would be nice if the opposite gender people either turned simultaneously as a set of four or turned individually in time with the music. With the women moving, if turning together, the men would key off the man at the end of the line (since he can't see them but the other three can see him) and turn as four, womp. If individually, which is done a few times in the video very nicely, each man would turn back as the first woman in line passed by, so turn, turn, turn, turn then take hands with partner and promenade.”

As you can see, the dancers and I chose the turn all together option. Many thanks to them for capturing this lively 4-couple set dance and to A Joyful Noise for their inventive, high-energy playing. –Paul Ross