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:]

Dance Authorization Card

[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:

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


Webbed by Gregory Blount of Isenfir (Greg Lindahl) (lindahl@pbm.com)