Peter Harrop Steve Roud Popular Books
Peter Harrop Steve Roud Biography & Facts
Rapper sword (also known as short sword dance) is a variation of sword dance unique to Northumberland and County Durham. It emerged from the pit villages of Tyneside and Wearside, where miners first performed the tradition. The dance requires five performers who co-ordinate themselves while using "rapper swords" made from flexible steel. Accompanied by traditional folk music, the dancers wear hard-soled shoes that allow for percussive foot movements. Mental alertness, in addition to physical agility, is required in order for dance participants to use the swords effectively without causing harm to themselves or the other performers. History Whilst substantial evidence for the origins of the rapper sword tradition does not exist, as of 2012, since the publication of Rapper; The miner's Dance of North East England by Phil Heaton it is generally accepted that the dance was originally performed in the mining villages of the Northumberland and Durham coalfield in North-East England. The dances derive from a well-defined geographical area with an intensity of activity traced to pits along both the Durham and Northumberland banks of the river Tyne, south into County Durham past Sunderland and along the Northumberland coast. The earliest definite account of hilt-and-point sword dancing in England dates back to an article in 1715 describing a dance in the Tyne Valley to the west of Newcastle upon Tyne. The dance described closely resembles long sword dances of the Yorkshire and rather than the rapper dance. A documented account of the Tyne Valley dance has been located in a 1715 article, in which a fairly accurate description can be read. Later references to sword dancing in the northern counties include a dance described in 1787 in the Cumberland Packet newspaper of January 1788, and a description from Teesdale in 1778, referenced by Hutchinson in his View of Northumberland. At some stage in the nineteenth century, the rigid swords were replaced by flexible rappers in the coalfield. Very little is known about this major development in the tradition because of an absence of sufficient evidence, and it may have been entirely accidental. It used to be commonly thought that the flexible version was used for removing dirt from the backs of pit ponies, but there is no available documentation to verify this theory. It seems that two factors have influenced interpretations of when the rapper sword was introduced: firstly, the relocation of a steel works operation by Ambrose Crowley to the Derwent Valley, before which time it is believed that suitable steel for flexible swords would most likely have been unavailable; and secondly, the prohibitive expense of such instruments before the Bessemer process in 1855 that allowed steel to be made inexpensively. The dance involves five people, with many including characters, such as Tommy and Betty, who announce the dance, engage the audience and most importantly, collect money from the onlookers. The performers are connected by short swords bearing two handles, with the handle on at least one end being fixed. The other handle is either fixed or swivelling, based on the preference of the rapper side. The flexible rapper swords form an unbroken chain connecting the dancers. The dance is related to the Long Sword dance of Yorkshire, as well as other sword dances in Europe. Some of the earliest teams used hornpipes, rather than the jigs used in the modern era. Nineteenth century During the nineteenth century, teams of rapper dancers from the pit villages of Tyneside and Wearside would travel annually to the towns of Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland and Durham to perform the dance for the crowds, asking for monetary consideration. This was later revived as a source of income during the miners' strikes and lay-offs, especially when the collieries were closed down over winter. Sword dancers of the North East were also active in the political struggles of the coalfield. A team of Tyneside Rovers were part of an early march on parliament in 1890, and another team from Hebburn were part of the famous Jarrow Crusade in 1936. Teams were also reported all over Durham and Northumberland as dancing out and collecting in the 1926 miners' strike and later in the Great Depression. Twentieth century By the early twentieth century, the tradition was beginning to die out, but was revived by the interest generated after Cecil Sharp published notations for five of the traditional village dances in his book, The Sword Dances of Northern England. After the First World War, the revival was marked by the fierce competition between pit villages in the rapper classes of the newly instituted North of England Musical Tournament held annually in Newcastle upon Tyne. After the Second World War, the tradition progressively declined in the original pit villages, partly as a result of social changes in the mining communities. However, another revival was initiated after the war, in 1949 by students at Kings College in Newcastle upon Tyne (now the University of Newcastle upon Tyne), which subsequently spread beyond the traditional area. Revival teams worldwide now perform the rapper tradition, sometimes learned from published notations, sometimes taught by rapper dancers in what is almost a continuation of the earlier oral traditions. Twenty-first century The dance has transformed as it moved into the twenty-first century: the pace has quickened and is performed at around 140–160 beats per minute, with different team styles using different rates. It is nonetheless typically performed in a smooth and graceful manner, with one figure flowing seamlessly into the next. A number of acrobatic figures can be employed, including forward and backward somersaults over the swords. The dance is now almost always performed to jigs (perhaps 90% of the time), with the normal form of rapper stepping being a form of shuffle imported from the local clogging tradition. The jigs used include local tunes and many instruments can, and have been, used to accompany rapper dances (the most popular being fiddles, tin whistles and accordions or melodeons). Many rapper jigs used for the last hundred years are tunes that were probably imported by Irish and Scottish immigrants to Tyneside in the nineteenth century. The music is usually performed solo, although it can be performed as a duet; however, rapper is not usually performed to a band. There is much controversy in the rapper community over the use of any form of percussion to accompany rapper beyond the rapper stepping included in the dance. In modern times, the competitive element of rapper sword dancing has been revived in the form of the Dancing England Rapper Tournament (DERT) competition, and in recent years its American counterpart, Dancing America Rapper Tournament (DART). Costume The costume in which the dance is usually performed, referred to as the kit, is a stylised version of the working clothes of the local nineteenth century c.... Discover the Peter Harrop Steve Roud popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Peter Harrop Steve Roud books.
Best Seller Peter Harrop Steve Roud Books of 2024
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A Green Kind of Witch
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The Three Little Pigs
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Whiskey Girl
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Caught Up with the Captain
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You Are Kind
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His Own Heaven
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The Target
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Holy Bible
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Teased by Fire
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Law of Attraction
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Little Women
Louisa May AlcottAn Apple Books Classic edition. Meet the Marches! Louisa May Alcott’s classic introduces us to four unforgettable sisters: beautiful Meg, tomboyish Jo, delicate Beth, and Amy, the ...
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Silenced Girls
Roger Stelljes“ Wow wow wow!  Grips you in a choke hold and  does not let go … Oozes suspense and  bonechilling twists and turns .  Astonishing … One of those...
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Meditations
Emperor of Rome Marcus AureliusMeditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161–180 CE, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy.
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Become A Better Version of Yourself
Ben LeightonThis ebook contains golden nuggets on how to motivate, inspire and improve your current situation. It encompasses the holistic view of self improvement from mental& emotion...
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Dream Psychology
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Alpha
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Salvation
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Becoming Lady Dalton
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The Honeymoon Homicide
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Hard Love
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Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove
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Coffee Girl
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Dracula
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Bewitching a Highlander
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A Christmas Carol
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School of Potential
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The Odyssey
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My Paper Heart
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Death at Hazel House
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Once Upon A One-Night Stand
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Rogue Alpha
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The Seduction Series Boxset
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Saltwater Cove
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All Fired Up
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Good Guy
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Eternal
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Silver Santa
Lacey SilksTrapped together on Christmas, their unintended onenight stand becomes a lifechanging encounter amidst the snow. Laura Young's professional role as a security guard at the Sil...
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A Bookshop to Die For
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Escape, A New Life
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
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Awaken Me
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Enemies With Benefits
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Teach Me
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The Next Girl
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Just Me
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Finding Cinderella
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Peace on Earth
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The Icing on the Cake
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How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days
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The Four Loves
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