Frequency Asked Question Answers in Dance
FAQ Questions>>Dance Base FAQ Answer
27.  What are some problems encountered in reconstructing old dances?
Answer:
There are many difficulties inherent in translating a verbal description into a physical movement. The greatest problem is often how to fill in the blanks to add the movements and styling points the writer has to left out an either unknowingly or because he or she supposed that the contemporary reader took them for granted.Often the step descriptions themselves can be inaccurate or unclear. Has the writer or editor made an error? How do the movements fit the counts of the music? What style should be used? Has the writer always defined his or her terminology clearly? Because of all these factors different reconstructors often reconstruct the same dance with slight personal variations. There is never only one correct way to interpret any dance from the past, but there is a parameter within which individual interpretation can be seen to be "correct" or acceptable.