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Bardic Arts

updated ?

Dance

Instruments

Songs

Period

Post-16th century historical

Modern

Yule

Theater

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Modernly, I took acting classes as an extracurricular activity from the second grade through my senior year of high school. I played piano for several years, I've taken a variety of dance lessons since early childhood, and anyone who knows me will tell you I sing A LOT. While I would not consider myself to be particularly skilled at any of these, the participation in performance arts, as a performer or a spectator, has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. Sadly, panic disorder makes performing a frequently unattainable object. 

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A group of children in costume for a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

2003: The Lord Chamberlain's Players in

A Midsummer Night's Dream

As a courtesan, one of the skills I wish to cultivate is the ability to be an entertaining hostess. The ability to tell a witty joke to put a guest at ease, enthrall an audience with an intriguing tale, play a charming melody on an instrument, or sing a sweet (or bawdy!) ballad would be essential tools in the arsenal of a cortigiana onesta. Many of the arts at which performers excel - confidence, reading a room, directing attention where desired, thinking on one's feet, adaptability, maintaining illusions, physical self-control, grace under pressure, among others - all while maintaining poise and serenity - are skills courtesans did (and still do) develop, sometimes as professional performing artists.

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The SCA has an amazingly rich Bardic Arts community which I find inspirational every time I have the privilege of witnessing its performers. It is my wish to pursue such arts to the extent that I can, and possibly push a little further than the edge of my comfort zone. 

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Dance

I've taken dance lessons from a very young age. It started with ballet and tap at age 5, and over the years I tried swing, tango, waltz, foxtrot, polka, salsa, merengue, cha-cha, hip hop, belly dance, a few group dances, and probably a few others I've forgotten about, in various formats ranging from multiple years of classes to single day workshops to watching instructional videos on YouTube. Could I perform any of these at this point in time? Not really (except maybe some ballet, which is what I took the longest). But my goal was never to gain mastery over any of the forms, just to have fun and try something new. 

I'd like to become proficient at some of the social dances we do in the SCA, as part of my general courtesan repertoire. 

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Instruments

The only instrument I've learned to play is piano (unless you count the recorder as a young child). I took lessons from __ to ___ 

I would love to learn to play some period instruments, especially if they're more portable than a piano! I plan to research my options before choosing one or two.

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Songs

A list of songs I'm trying to learn for casual bardic circles. I've separated the songs by when they were written: Period (pre-17th century), Post-16th century historical (between 1600 and the last century or so), and Modern (roughly the 20th century onward). Bawdy and non-English songs are marked in parentheses, and recordings of songs that I've bought to learn them with are linked thus: "(rec)"

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Period:

Songs that can be dated back to SCA period or shortly thereafter.

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Post-16th century historical:

The lyrics are not obtrusively modern and still work for the atmosphere of a casual bardic circle.

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*this song was featured on episode 4 of the first season of Harlots!

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Modern:

These songs were written by modern artists, some of whom are Scadians.

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Yule:

Almost every Yule song I know I got from a songbook compiled by Lady Jeane Kilmeny, the one exception being "Drink to the Holly Berry." 

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Theater

It's been a while since I was in a theatrical production, but I always find them a blast, whether I'm onstage or working behind the scenes. I'd love to be able to participate in a play or two in the SCA someday. This is a long-term goal, and not one I'm actively working towards at the moment.

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In chapter 3 of her book The Rise of the Diva on the Sixteenth-Century Commedia dell'Arte Stage, Rosalind Karr talks about how the roots of the prima donna actresses were likely as cortigiane oneste ("honest courtesans," upper class courtesans of the Italian Renaissance).

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Bibliography

Kerr, Rosalind. "Iconic Prima Donnas." The Rise of the Diva on the Sixteenth-Century Commedia dell’Arte Stage. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015. 

Songs
Theater
Instruments
Dance
Period
Post-16th century historical
Modern
Yule
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