The Dances of the Processions of Seville in Spain's Golden Age (review)

REVIEWS Brooks, Lynn Matluck. The Dances of the Processions of Seville in Spain's Golden Age. Kassel: Edition Reichenberger, 1988. 41 1 pp. Brooks' monograph is a comprehensive history of the dances that accompanied Sevillian religious celebrations, particularly the feast of Corpus Christi, which in the Golden Age was at least as ostentatious and costly as current Holy Week processions. She explores every aspect of the performances: history, choreography, costumes, music and the convoluted economic arrangements involving the City Council, dance directors and financial underwriters. First Brooks reviews the Church's ambivalent attitude toward the dance: its proscription of secular dance as pagan and erotic and its perfunctory endorsement of sacred dance as an expression of joy and harmony (2). Yet in Spain, particularly in Seville, not only the religious dance of the seises but courtly danzas de sarao and popular danzas de cascabeles sponsored by the City Council became indispensable features of Corpus Christi processions and reached their zenith in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In fact they were a matter of local pride, reflecting the wealth, flamboyance, and religiosity of the city. Each dance, Brooks explains, "had its own title, separate performers and musicians, special costumes, and distinct choreography" (37). The Corpus Christi celebration began at 4:00 AM when the participants assembled outside the cathedral. They entered the church where each group performed in the nave. There were so many participants that the procession did not leave the cathedral until 10:00 AM, whereupon it made its way through the city streets. Included, in addition to the dances, were such traditional modes of entertainment as the tarasca, gigantes, cabezudos and the autos sacramentales mounted on pageant wagons. Chapter HI traces the history, training, music and dance of the seises, also called cantorcicos, cantorcicos seises and seisicos. Theirs was the only religious dance officially sponsored by the cathedral. The seises performed at the feasts of the Holy Spirit and Immaculate Conception; also at the fiesta del obispillo when one of their own was crowned bishop. On Corpus Christi day they 163 164BCom, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Summer 1992) danced around the custodia, the elegant feretory containing the Host, as it was carried through the streets. We know, too, that the seises impersonated the angels and shepherds in Nativity plays staged in the cathedral under the guidance of professional directors. Thus they become an important element in the origins of the Spanish stage. The dance of the seises, unlike the dances sponsored by the municipality, was executed "with the greatest seriousness and composure" (125) as it imitated the pavana and other courtly Renaissance dances. Chapter IV emphasizes the uniqueness of the Corpus Christi dances sponsored by the city, for, unlike the dances that were incorporated into Christmas plays, those for Corpus Christi remained detached from a written text. The so called "regular" dances which included the tarasca and sword dance, were expanded by the danzas de invenciones, original creations that elaborated historical and allegorical themes. Unfortunately, with the exception of a few details recorded on "scrawled, hasty-looking scraps [of paper]" (153) little is known about their choreography, probably because of the absence of an effective system of dance notation. The danzas de sarao, aristocratic invenciones, elaborated pastoral themes offering a highly romanticized image of the shepherd 's life. They boasted brilliantly costumed dancers who executed complex geometric patterns in a show of technical virtuosity designed to dazzle the general public. Other invenciones exploited the heterogeneity of Renaissance society: represented were various "naciones" such as gypsies, Moors, Negroes, Turks, French, Portuguese, all elegantly attired. Specific dances included thepavana, gallarda, torneo, turdión, baja, alta, alemana, españoleta, as well as dances of popular origin, folia, villano, chacona, canario, which had infiltrated high society. The popular danzas de cascabeles were "actionpacked " dances in which "story, action, music and costumes created a unified statement" (173). Moreover, the story was not necessarily popular; rather there were such biblical themes as David and Goliath and Queen Elena's discovery of the cross. The dance steps anticipated modern flamenco. These were noisy performances with hand clapping and foot stamping. The bells (cascabeles ) sewn to the dancers' costumes only increased the racket. Chapter V elaborates...