Ball games at balls. Historical ball: not only dancing
Games were an indispensable accessory of secular living rooms. Parlor games, they were called petit-jeux, created an atmosphere of ease and jokes. The players demonstrated a quick reaction, the ability to improvise, sometimes rhyme.
The most common games are "rhymes", "mail", "biography", "public opinion", "friends", "letter", as well as charades and puns, live pictures.
There was also a popular game - There was another version of this game called "Cupid's Jokes".
Young nobles were fascinated by more mobile entertainment with an element of prank and light tomfoolery - “musical chairs”, “feather”, forfeits.
One of the most favorite games was theatrical charades. Participants were divided into two groups: "actors" and "spectators". The actors conceived and acted out a riddle on stage, and the audience guessed it.
For example, three small performances were created from the word chu-gesture-knapsack, each of which depicted a separate part of the word. The audience tried to guess what each scene could mean, if this did not work out, the actors were asked to provide a whole word, and then the fourth performance was played. Charades brought the joy of acting, made it possible to invent costumes, scenery, find application not only for their talents and abilities, but also for antiquities stored in heavy chests and cabinets.
Fanta is a parlor game, the meaning of which is to perform the so-called penalty tasks for fantas (players who drew a card).
The nobles wrote down various tasks on paper, and then let the hat go around with them, forcing the lovely ladies and gentlemen to pull out a random phantom and perform it. This game was also revered at hussar parties.
There is another variation of this game - one of the players takes on the role of manager. Approaching each of the players, he offers a series of questions or comments that must be answered, but with the condition not to use the words “yes” and “no” in his answers. The one who uttered any of these words pays the steward "forfeit", that is, gives him one of his things: a ring, a watch, etc. When all the forfeits are collected, the steward sits down and, taking one of them, asks : "Whose phantom?" - "My!" - the owner of the thing answers. "What to do with him?" - "What do you order." Taking out, the collector says: whose phantom is taken out, that one will be, for example, a mirror, or an oracle, or a funny one, etc. When all the phantoms are taken out, then the offenders go around all the players one by one and each offers what he is ordered to be. The one appointed to be a mirror goes around everyone and offers to look into it; the oracle offers to predict fate; funny tries to make everyone laugh. Sometimes, when ransoming forfeits, it was required to compose a whole story, in which there should have been several obligatory words, or to compare each of the participants in the game with a flower and explain the similarities. After the execution of the order, the phantom returns according to its belonging; the same is repeated with other phantoms with a variety of orders.
mail
The fantas are performed as follows: for example, the fanta of one young man is a ring. This phantom is assigned to be a mirror. He stands in the middle of the room, all the players come up to him and stand face to face and begin to do whatever they want, for example, comb their hair, fix something on themselves. The mirror should do the same thing that the players do. After that, a fan is given to him. The game of mail can end at the request of the players.
home productions
Suitable gestures and body movements are best studied in front of a mirror, but one must observe that they are not "too much" or "too little".
When choosing a play, if you do not rely on yourself, it is best to seek advice from an experienced person. Plays should be avoided in which one role is the main one, the rest are only secondary, because envy and ill will can easily arise because of this, and trouble for the mistress of the house. The most suitable plays are small vaudevilles, of which there are many.
Put living pictures so that they fully reproduce their artistic models is very difficult and almost impossible without preparation.
If the idea of staging live pictures arose during the evening and everything is done in haste, then the audience will not be strict about the lack of costumes, lighting, etc.; on the contrary, they will serve as entertainment and the subject of pleasant conversations.
If the pictures are timed to coincide with a known, appointed day, then the requirements for both the performers and the production are different.
When pictures are put up on the occasion of some family celebration, then care must be taken that their subject fits the celebration.
In addition to choosing a picture, the placement of performers and the right lighting cost a lot of work.
Several rehearsals are also necessary, and the last one is done in costume and full lighting whenever possible.
It is quite natural that when staging live pictures, each participant must unquestioningly obey the orders of the leader, since he alone can judge whether the pose is correct and whether the live picture requires any changes.
There is another stage entertainment which is perhaps more enjoyable than theatrical plays and live pictures, namely— riddles in faces. At first glance, it seems that the performance of such charades is much easier than the production of theatrical plays. But this is completely wrong. In a theatrical play, the author provides a completely finished frame, in which the performers only have to give the roles a certain character. The writer has already prepared the conversations, the plot and the effects of the denouement. When posing riddles, all this must be created from very poor indications contained in the chosen word.
The riddle in the faces is an improvisation in which each scene means a syllable of a well-known word. The last scene should express the whole word in its entirety. The persons who are going to pose a riddle secretly agree on what word the improvisation they are undertaking should mean. The attractiveness of the riddle in the faces lies not in the difficulty of guessing the word, but in the greater or lesser amusingness and quirkiness of the staged scenes.
The setting of riddles can be different. The funniest one is the one in which everything is improvised, quickly performed without special preparations, costumes and pretensions. This, however, requires practice in this kind of amusements, the gift of resourcefulness in answers and wit.
Another way is to find scenes from different authors who are able to express the syllables of the chosen word. This makes it possible to insert one or two pieces of music or a witty conversation in verse or prose. This requires talent and necessarily several rehearsals, which are very entertaining for the participants; this makes for some very interesting performances. Few things can be more pleasant to entertain guests.
Consider how you can arrange such a cute game.
Let's deal with the characters and costumes first. Among intimate acquaintances, there are likely to be a few persons who are inclined to take part in amusements, are gifted with liveliness, and are inspired by merriment. They are very good for setting riddles. Sometimes it is quite difficult to find participants for such fun. Ladies are more fond of theatrical performances, where it is more convenient to show a pretty toilet.
Scenery for staging riddles is usually not needed. Just a screen is enough.
As for the costumes, the question here is to increase the entertainment of the performance. There is a lot to be learned from old dresses. You will have to sacrifice a few wardrobe items. If the dresses or hats of the old aunt or grandmother are still preserved, then this is wonderful. Add to this a few pieces of red, white, green and yellow matter.
Someone should be chosen as a costume designer, who should ensure that the characters are content with the existing material.
A little wire, horsehair, and linen are enough to make magnificent beards of young men, robbers, tyrants, noble fathers, hermits, etc., and also wigs. The two ends of the wire are bent and hooked behind the ears, just like the arches of glasses. The wire passes in an arc over the mouth, and a little horsehair is attached to it with a thin wire, even pulled out of the mattress, in the form of sideburns, long or short mustaches, etc., completely changing the face. Linen, silk or cotton wool are used in the same way. You can make wigs the same way.
You can also get everything from dressers and hairdressers. Let us only note that the preparation of home-made accessories provides future actors with many pleasant hours, especially in bad weather.
Others have a special talent for creating cute costumes and hairstyles from ordinary material. In one minute they will roll a large turban around your head and stick a large feather on the side, then they will throw on a wide skirt, pull the front panel back and attach it to your belt to turn it into trousers, gird it with a red scarf, hang an old saber, put a pistol in your belt, dress up in a colorful waistcoat, they will attach a huge beard and in a quarter of an hour they will turn you into a ferocious pasha.
Facial riddles can be acted out in a close circle of acquaintances, because the audience is required to be indulgent, without which the actors will feel constrained. Caricatures of celebrities, parodies of their works, bizarre fiction - everything is allowed here.
There are no rules for this kind of game. Therefore, we can advise you not to forget only three things:
1) be silent while the other is talking
2) turn your back to the audience as little as possible
3) to take care of the brevity of intermissions between three or four scenes,
constituting one riddle so that the audience does not get bored, does not cool off and does not forget the content of the beginning of the performance.
The troupe must elect a director or steward from among themselves, who is obliged to arrange the scenes before they begin, so that everyone knows what he will have to represent and where to take his place.
Note that for the riddles in the faces, costumes are less important than conversations. In this respect, everything should go smoothly, lively and witty.
It happens that among very young people, there is one who is able to assume the female roles of soubrettes, ingenues and even first mistresses. This can only increase the fun of the show.
Still, the most common game in the drawing rooms was cards.
In some living rooms they played incredibly exciting and quite harmless. In the 70s of the 19th century, the venerable Elizaveta Petrovna Makulina was in the service of Empress Maria Alexandrovna and, among other things, was in charge of the Empress's wardrobe and diamonds, her apartment was located in the building of the Winter Palace, above the Commandant's Entrance and overlooked Palace Square almost opposite the Alexander Column . On Wednesdays, zhurfixes were arranged here - ladies' receptions.
These were fashionable evenings for which the golden youth of St. Petersburg gathered. In addition to dancing and other entertainments, people always played in the living room of Elizaveta Petrovna.
“Her weekly parties on Wednesdays usually attracted, in addition to relatives ... quite a few acquaintances: artists, artists and golden youth - officers of the guard regiments ... Occasionally only, and then at the end of the evening, in the hostess’s cozy boudoir, separated by a fancy drapery from her bedroom, not a large, but a serious batch was made - for a small one in preference.
They sat up after midnight, about 12 o'clock they laid the table. Then they played preference, drew, were fond of burime and charades.
Young people separately, a parte, amused themselves by playing “pullies and crosses,” an unpretentious game in which there were many funny situations. According to the rules, the number of players was unlimited. Circles were drawn on the table with chalk from the center to the edge. Each of the players had to put a ring, a token, a coin or any small object on the first circle from the edge.
“The cards were dealt by the one who opened the smallest one, which was considered a trump card. Each of those present, in turn, pulled out a card at random from the neighbor on the right, and when the turn reached the dealer, the cards were opened, and whoever had the smallest trump card moved forward one circle, dealt cards to everyone except himself, and did not take part in the game until as long as the newly opened cards did not give a substitute. The main and almost the most interesting and essential interest of the game was the address to you with those with whom you usually spoke on you, and vice versa.
Everyone tried to catch on this, to force them to move forward one lap, and whoever hit the center first gave a phantom. The jury chosen according to the notes awarded forfeits played at the end of the game.
Once, two young artists had to divide the table in half and depict a woman's head. Both of them coped with their task with unusual talent, and everyone felt very sorry for erasing such successful drawings and annoyed that it did not occur to anyone to offer pen, pencil and paper. Sometimes the jury appointed as a fanta the reading of poetry, showing card trick, musical impromptu or rebus solution. This game caused a lot of noise and laughter.
E. Keller "Secular life in the interiors of the capital's mansions."
"Russian games for all ages"
“The life of the landowner is a curious page in history... No matter how much I study the old estates, one can never feel tired and satiated,” wrote the well-known researcher of the Russian noble estate Yu.I. Shamurin.
The culmination of the art of receiving guests was a ball - a special event in the life of a person in the 19th century. This is also a "fair of brides", and therefore a cause for excitement not only for a young lady, but also for her parents, and a "place for confessions", and an opportunity to express yourself, take the first steps towards a successful career.
“A ball is life in miniature,” wrote one of Lermontov’s contemporaries, “with all its seductions, intrigues, oddities, intrigues, with everything that is sweet and bitter in it.”
Traditionally, the ball season did not last long: from Christmas until Lent. But often balls were given both in summer and in autumn to mark some event, for example, the arrival of an important person. The organization of the ball was associated with "great preparations" and waiting for him in a house adapted to the bliss of a quiet family life often became "a misfortune for a whole week" because of the "washing, polishing and cleaning" of all rooms. In addition to these troubles, the hostess had to "quite in advance" take care of the gentlemen for the invited ladies and young ladies.
The organization of balls until the middle of the 19th century was subject to a rather strict routine, the system of dances, as well as their sequence, were strictly defined. Not only the shoes and pantaloons of men, but also the ladies' toilets, their hairstyles did not allow excessive liberties, especially in the presence of noble persons. An inopportunely sewn bow, a flower pinned in the wrong place could forever destroy the “successful future” of a young girl.
It is no coincidence that the ironic and insightful Pechorin was convinced that "a woman at a ball makes up with her outfit something whole, inseparable, special ...".
G.G. Gagarin. "Ball at Princess Baryatinsky" (Lermontov in the center)
The ball began with a solemn polonaise. This dance represented all the guests, made it possible to examine the ladies, their hairstyles and toilets, and the host and hostess were the first couple. For a leisurely rhythm and ease of movement, they defined him as a "walking conversation." But for many ladies, he turned into a very reluctant test - it was not at all easy to pass in front of those present "with grace and nobility", touching the gentleman's hand with only his fingertips.
The second dance was often a quadrille, which even allowed "some liberties." One of Lermontov's contemporaries, a certain Wurchholtz, recalled this dance: “Ten or twelve couples tied themselves with handkerchiefs, and each of the dancers, alternately walking in front, invented new figures. Especially the ladies danced with great enthusiasm. When it was their turn, they made their figures not only in the hall itself, but also moved from it to other rooms, some led them to the garden, to another floor of the house, and even to the attic. In a word, they did not yield to one another. With all these transitions, one musician with a violin had to constantly jump ahead and suffered to the extreme.
The games and variations that were part of the quadrille made it possible to show what the dancers were capable of - it was not without reason that in the manual for this dance, the author of the manual indicated possible options for pas (chassé, croise, glissé, pirouettes, etc.) that could make the ball a real adventure, because that its participants did not always know how to behave.
The chronicler of the “old life” Pylyaev M.I. described the “funny adventure” that happened in the ecossaise (a kind of quadrille): “Finally, in order to fully enjoy this dance, someone came up with the idea that in the first knee a lady with a whip was chasing her cavalier in order to strike, and in the second, the pursued and the pursuing triumphantly make a promenade, throwing a whip to the next couple.
After the polonaise and quadrille, it was the turn of the waltz. It came into fashion at the beginning of the 19th century and immediately became so popular that already in 1825 the following was printed in the Rules for Noble Public Dances: “It would be superfluous to describe how the waltz is danced at all, because there is almost no one who would not have danced it himself or not seen how it is danced. Young people were especially fond of him, while the Old Believers grumbled that he was “indecent and unnecessarily free”, seeing a young, half-dressed young lady in the arms of a man.
It was possible to maintain decency by strictly following the following recommendations recorded in the "Rules ...": "... do not dance too close to each other, which would offend decency; not too far away, which could prevent turning, ... do not turn the heads of either the lady or the gentleman from one another, ... the eyes should be neither too raised nor lowered, but pleasantly open. Moreover, to have legs stretched out, to dance on toes, avoiding the slightest shuffling, to round off the arms, of which the left of the lady should be deftly placed on the shoulder of the gentleman, and the right of the gentleman should embrace the lady in the middle of the waist ... ".
“A musical poem in sweet forms”, “dance of lovers”, “monotonous and crazy, like a whirlwind of young life” - such epithets were awarded by contemporaries of Lermontov’s waltz, which, according to foreigners, was too fast and airy, Europeans could not stand it and therefore considered unsurpassed masters its execution only by Russians.
The culmination of the ball was the mazurka - the favorite dance of the military youth. It was in it that the skill of the dancer was manifested in all its brilliance and therefore the mazurka was looked at as a solo performance, while the rest became spectators, evaluating the skill of the dancers.
The cotillion ended the ball. This is a kind of quadrille, which was danced to the tune of a waltz. Dance is a game, the most laid-back and playful. It included “figures with jokes, and giving cards, knots made of scarves, and deceiving and jumping off in a dance from one to the other, and jumping over a scarf, and, most attractively, beating a gentleman in his hands after a waltzing couple, so that they stop to dance,” wrote dance master L. Petrovsky, explaining why many young people aspired to the ball: “The only thing to do is to dance the cotillion.”
The tasks for the dance masters were not easy, and the first thing that the teacher and not always obedient spoiled students strove for was the “correct depiction of the appearance of a person” in dance.
The “image” in the “Rules for Noble and Public Dances” was described as follows: “Do not raise your head too much, which could show a proud person who does not want to look at others, or lower it down, which shows humiliation of oneself, and it is necessary to keep straight and even. The eyes, which serve as a mirror of the soul, should be modestly open, meaning pleasant gaiety, the mouth should not be open, which shows the character of a satirical or bad temper, and the lips should be located with a pleasant smile, without showing teeth.
There were no less worries with the fair sex: “Firstly, you need to keep your body and head straight without coercion and establish yourself on the lower back, the movement of the neck should be free and easy, the look is cheerful and affectionate, the shoulders should be lowered and pulled back, the hands should be near bodies and slightly leaning forward so that there is almost no distance between them and the body, put the brushes one on top of the other ... ".
The ball was a very, very expensive event. Confirms the above remark of Pushkin in the address of the father of Eugene Onegin: "... he gave three balls annually and finally squandered." Lighting also required a lot of money. Throughout the evening, hundreds of wax candles, which were quite expensive, were supposed to burn in the hall and other rooms. The maintenance of a home orchestra was also expensive, and its presence was considered one of the most important elements at the ball. Dancing to the piano was not considered a ball.
Most often, in the estates, for the entertainment of guests, they simply “arranged dances”.
The melodies of polonaise, mazurkas, waltzes, quadrilles and in Tarkhany sounded - "when the neighbors came." Lermontov's second cousin recalled this.
I remember one of my dance evenings A.V. Shchepkina: “When dances were arranged, the music influenced, enlivening. The dancing couples, smartly dressed, seemed so beautiful, and spectators from the guests gathered around the dancers. IN great hall it was light; the dancing began at dawn. I, a ten-year-old girl, liked it when older people invited me to a quadrille - it was pleasant for adults to please a child and not be embarrassed to engage such a lady in conversation ... ".
In those days, in addition to fashionable dances, Grosvater and Ecossaise willingly danced. Couples dancing Grosvater (translated from German - German dance) with a crane's gait passed through the whole house with laughter and noise, stepping to the accelerated tempo of the music ... And embarking on an eco-season, they hurried to line up in two rows and couple after couple flew in the middle of the hall. .. These were festive evenings, and all the visitors were animated, naughty, - satisfied with the hospitality and treats of the owner.
Materials of the exhibition "Pictures of Russian Life in the First Half of the 19th". Lithographs, engravings, fashion pictures captured by foreign artists: G. Engelman, D.A. Atkinson, G. Arnie.
Zhmurki
List of used materials
Introduction to the table of contents
Any organizer of a ball or dance evening sooner or later asks the question - what to do with guests who want to take a break from dancing, or those who do not know the program very well and may get bored. Small talk is not given to everyone with the same ease with which they entertained our ancestors, brought up in the traditions of light parlor chatter (or, conversely, complex court intrigues). It happens that from trying to come up with a topic for conversation, to find where to put your hands, and at the same time maintain a kind facial expression, guests get tired no less, if not more, than from the fastest galliards or polkas.
Obviously, the same questions occupied the hosts in the 19th and 17th centuries, and at any other time, with the only difference that the culture of spending time together was alive and did not have to be modeled or recreated. However, it is precisely the difference in general education, in habits and skills that creates difficulties for us when trying to use the "experience of our ancestors." I will give only two well-known examples - joint music-making and cotillion. Playing musical instruments, accompanying each other in the performance of arias, romances or popular songs, joint performance of this or that work for the entertainment of the public or for one's own pleasure was a natural occupation for any educated person from the Middle Ages to the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. How many can do it today? Alas. The lack of knowledge is the first reason for the difficulties that arise when recreating the ballroom "life". The second is the norms of behavior that have changed a lot since ancient and not very ancient times, the blurred framework of etiquette and the permissibility of much that was not allowed before. The piquancy, attractiveness and secret meaning of many ballroom games are often completely incomprehensible to a modern person. That is why many (almost all) figures of the cotillion, which was a wonderful entertainment for the guests of the ball in the 19th century, out of habit evoke best case bewilderment. Get a cracker, extract a folk costume from it, put it on in a special room and, to the sounds of perky music, portray a “folk” dance - what is it? entertainment know. The 19th century has been studied almost thoroughly, but what about the 15th? What to offer the guest of the historical ball of the Renaissance?
Board for board games, Musée National du Moyen Age, France, late 15th century
Whatever you say, you can’t do without board games or their analogues. They were popular at all times, they dispersed boredom and the ancient Egyptians, and the Celts, and the Romans, and the Crusaders. Cards, dice, backgammon, chess and checkers come to mind almost immediately, and rightly so. But if we try to dance exactly the way our ancestors danced, shouldn't we try and play exactly the same rules that they played? In this short article, I will give the rules of some games (oh, by no means all!), which were popular in the XIV-XVII centuries and which are easy to organize anywhere and at any time.
As the experience of using this material at CTC events shows, almost all game descriptions are incomplete or do not fully explain all the situations that arise during the game. Before using this or that game in a wide range, I would advise you to first test it on those who wish, find out all the "pitfalls" and make the appropriate amendments and additions to the rules so that the guests of the ball get the pleasure they deserve, and do not waste time on quarrels and mutual displeasure. We will be grateful for any information about the improvements made and, for our part, over time we will also make the appropriate clarifications.
Card games
Neither the time nor the exact place of occurrence playing cards not known. The ancient Chinese dictionary Ching Tse Tung, which came into vogue in Europe in 1678, says that the cards were invented in China in 1120. The four suits symbolized the seasons, and the 52 cards symbolized the number of weeks in a year. There is also evidence that the Chinese and Japanese, even before the appearance of paper playing cards, were already playing with cards like cards made of ivory or wood with painted figures, and in medieval Japan there were original playing cards made from mussel shells. They were decorated with drawings depicting flowers, landscapes, everyday scenes. With the help of such cards, it was possible to lay out "solitaire" - the shells were laid out on the table and searched for "doubles" among them. In the 13th century, maps became known in India and Egypt.
Regarding the appearance of maps in Europe, there are several versions. According to one of them, the beginning of playing cards dates back to the 15th century and coincides with the appearance of gypsies in European territory. On the other hand, the well-known cards, according to the Jesuit Menestrier, are attributed to the XIV century, when a little-known painter named Zhikomin Gringoner invented cards for the entertainment of the insane King of France Charles VI (1368-1422), who went down in history under the name of Charles the Mad. The cards were allegedly the only means that calmed the royal patient between bouts of insanity. And during the reign of Charles VII (1422-1461) they were improved and at the same time received their current names.
Nevertheless, this is still a hypothesis that is not supported by other data, and some chroniclers attribute the origin of the maps to the 13th century. This assumption has a historical basis, since during the reign of Saint Louis in 1254 a decree was issued prohibiting the card game in France under pain of whipping. An Italian manuscript from 1299 also speaks of the prohibition of playing cards. In 1260, a special workshop of manufacturers and merchants of playing cards was founded in Germany. The Order of Calatrava in 1331 banned the game of cards in Spain, and this prohibition was repeated in 1387 by John I, King of Castile. The existence of cards in Castile under King Alfonso XI is evidenced by his decree in 1332, prohibiting card games. It is also believed that playing cards were brought to Europe by the Saracens. In the chronicle of an Italian city for the year 1379 it appears: "... a game of cards was introduced in Viterbo, originating from the country of the Saracens and called by them naib". Muslims of the East, Arabs, were called Saracens. However, on those maps it is unlikely that human figures were drawn, as they are now, since the law of Mahomet forbids the faithful from making such images. It is possible that Italy is the birthplace of cards with a modern type of pattern. Their oldest copy, engraved on copper, dates back to 1485.
Maps of the modern look did not immediately win universal recognition. In different countries for a long time they had their own distinctive features. Instead of suits, bowls, coins, swords, and sticks were depicted.
| Hand-painted Arabic maps of the late 15th - early 16th centuries. (coins, cups, sticks and swords) |
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| Change card suits in different card systems (left to right: Arabic, Spanish, Italian, German and French) |
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Special cards were in Germany. In addition to the king, queen and jack, there was a knight. A complete deck of cards in Germany contained not 52, but 64 cards, among which were trump cards: the devil, death, etc. The suits of the Germans also had some differences from the generally recognized (French). Hearts had a modern shape, peaks (vini) were drawn in the form of green leaves on the bushes and were called green. Tambourines were depicted in the form of bells and were called bells. Acorns (clubs) indicate a possible Polish influence in the borrowing of German cards depicting clubs in the form of acorns. Modern drawings of suits, adopted in France, were borrowed from oriental ornamentalism. These drawings come from ancient times and have religious and magical significance.
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| Modern traditional playing cards | |||
For better understanding I will allow myself to explain the terms that are used when describing games:
- Bribe, trick, (trick - tracing paper from English :), set- one laying out of cards (one player lays out a card, the second lays out, etc., until someone wins a trick);
- Round, surrender- a sequence of tricks from the first to the last, until all the cards in hand are played (unlike our, say, "Fool", earlier during the game the cards were often not taken from the pack of the remaining ones continuously; first one round was played, then the points were counted or cards interfered, and only after that they took the next ones);
- A game- a sequence of rounds until one of the players wins, determined by the rules of the game.
Unknown artist, Card Players.
Picture from the archives of the Shakespeare Library.
All fours back to index
Game for two players and one standard deck of 52 cards. One of the players is the dealer.The cards are shuffled and each player is given 6 cards. The players look at the cards, then the dealer removes the top card from the flipped deck - this will be the trump card. The second player has the right to agree or disagree with this.
- If he agrees, then the game begins.
- If he agrees, but the top card is a jack, then the game begins, but the dealer receives 1 point.
- If he does not agree, the dealer has the right to still appoint this card as a trump card or also refuse it. If he chooses it as a trump card against the wishes of the second player, the second receives 1 point. If the trump was not recognized, the top cards from the deck are removed until a card of a different suit than the one rejected appears. This card becomes a trump card, regardless of the desire of the players.
The player who was not the dealer starts the game. Each next trick is started by the player who won the previous one. The highest card is an ace, the lowest is a deuce. The highest card wins the trick. Players must lay out cards of the same suit as long as possible. If a player does not have a card of the starting suit (the one laid out by the first starting round), he can play with a trump card. If there is no trump card - any other.
Let me explain with an example: player A lays out the seven of spades. Player B only has a triple of spades. He has to post it. In this deal, player A wins and takes the cards for himself (folds nearby, but does not remove far). The trick is over. The next card is dealt by player A.
Player A again lays out the card of spades - ten. Player B no longer has a spade, but has a trump card. He lays out a trump card, any trump card beats any other, so this change is won by player B and takes his cards. The trick is over. Player B plays the next card.
Player B lays out, say, the queen of hearts. Player A has neither hearts nor trump cards. Then he lays out the eight of clubs and thus transfers the move back to player B. He must deal with the eight of clubs according to the original rules - answer with any club card, trump card, or card of another suit if there are neither clubs nor trump cards - and so on until until someone wins the trick.
The round continues until the players' hands run out of the 6 cards originally dealt. After that, everyone lays out the cards taken during the round and the points are calculated according to the following rules:
- Points for determining the trump card (see above);
- 1 point for using the highest trump per round (that is, the highest trump of the 12 cards involved in the deal);
- 1 point for using the lowest trump per round;
- 1 point for the highest number of card points.
Card points are calculated as follows:
- 4 points for each ace
- 3 points for each king
- 2 points for each lady
- 1 point for each jack
- 10 points for every ten
Please note that points are calculated not only for beaten cards, but for all cards set aside by the results of the round. Cards from two to nine do not bring points.
After one round (one deal) is played, the next one is played, the dealers change. The first player to score 49 points wins.
Alouette back to contents
Option for 2 players
Two are playing. A deck of 48 cards (a regular deck of 52 cards minus tens).
The cards get in the way, the dealer gives each of the players 9 cards face down. The remaining cards are set aside. There are no goats. The highest card is the king, the lowest is the ace (one).
One set consists of players laying out one card each. The player who laid out the highest card (excluding suit) wins. If the cards are equal, they are set aside and the next trick is played. The player who wins it wins both sets - the previous one and this one. If the "tie" falls on the last set, the winner is the player who won the first set in that round. The round ends when the players lay out the last of 9 cards. Whoever wins the most sets wins the round. After that, the cards get in the way again and are dealt. The game is won by the first player to win 12 rounds.
Option for 4 players
The rules are the same, two teams play. Players of the same team sit diagonally apart from each other. The first set is started by the player to the left of the dealer. One set consists of players laying out one card each. The player who laid out the highest card (excluding suit) wins. If the cards are equal, they are set aside and the next trick is played. The player who wins it wins both sets - the previous one and this one. If the "tie" falls on the last set, the winner is the player who won the first set in that round. The round ends when the players lay out the last of 9 cards. The team whose player wins more sets wins the round. After that, the cards get in the way again and are dealt. The dealer is the player sitting to the left of the first dealer. The first team to win 12 rounds wins.
Âs Nas back to index
Persian card game for 5 people and a special deck of 25 cards of five suits (5 cards of each suit), which was probably the ancestor of some types of poker.
The highest card is "Âs" (ace, ace), or "Shîr vaKhurshíd", which gave the name to the game - it is a lion and a sun. The other four suits are "Padishah" (King), also called "Shâh" or "Pishâ", "Bibi" (Queen), "Sarbâs" (Soldier), and "Lakkat" (Dancer). Sometimes the last card looked different and was called "Kouli" - the hunter. Within the same "suit" the cards did not differ, the suits were painted in different colors to facilitate identification.
If there is no special deck for this game, you can make it from a regular deck: set aside five cards of each suit (one (ace), two, three, four, five) as four suits, and take as the fifth suit, for example, kings each suit and a joker (for example, take the king of hearts for a unit, the king of clubs for a two, the king of tambourines for a three, the king of spades for a four and the joker for a five).
The cards are shuffled and each of the five players is given two cards. Each of the players, starting with the one sitting to the left of the dealer, makes a bet or skips a move. Each of those remaining in the game takes two more cards. They again make bets in the same order or skip the move (thus, those who skipped the move for the first time and those who miss it now have already dropped out of the game). Each of the remaining players takes the fifth, last, card. All remaining players reveal their cards and have best set kart takes all bets.
The price of the drawn cards (starting from the highest):
- Five cards of the same suit (five "kings", five hearts, five diamonds, etc.);
- Five cards of the same value (five fives, five threes, etc.);
- Four cards of the same value;
- Three cards of one rank and two of another (full house);
- Three cards of the same value;
- Two cards of the same rank.
Basset back to contents
Gambling for any number of players. It probably appeared in the middle of the 15th century in Italy.
The number of cards is determined by the number of participating players according to the following principle:
- 1 standard deck of 52 cards for 2-3 players and dealer;
- 2 decks for 4-7 players and dealer;
- 3 - 8-11 players and dealer;
- 4 - 12-15 and dealer;
- 5 - 16-19 and dealer, etc. One deck should be added for every four new players.
The dealer deals 13 cards face up to each player. The dealer does not take cards. Then each player decides which of his cards he will bet on. He can bet on any card or on all cards at once. The size of the bet is not limited and not regulated (but it may be limited by the rules of the gambling establishment or the mutual agreement of the players). The bet is made as follows: the player puts money on the card he has chosen. Each player must place his bet before the dealer begins to reveal his cards.
The dealer then reveals the top card, which was face down on the pile of remaining cards.
The dealer wins all bets placed on cards of the same value as the open one.
After that, the dealer removes the next two cards. He wins all bets placed on cards of the same value as the first withdrawn card and pays all bets placed on cards of the same value as the second withdrawn card. After accounting for all wins and losses, he draws the next two cards, then the next, and so on. in the same way. Cards whose bets have been lost are eliminated from the game.
If the player wins the bet, he can either remove the card from the game and take the winnings (initial bet + dealer's payout), or keep both the card and the bet on it (in the original amount). To mark that the winning card and bet are still in play, the corner of the card is folded over. If the card remains in play and loses, the dealer takes the original bet and the card is out of the game.
If the card remains in the game and wins a second time, the bet on it is paid out seven times. A card that wins twice can be removed from the game or left with the original bet size. The second corner of the card is bent. If the card remains in the game for the second time and loses, the dealer takes the original bet and the card is out of the game.
If the card remains in the game and wins a second time, the bet on it is paid out 15 times, and so on. (the third win in a row is paid 30 times, the fourth - 60 times). A card that wins 4 times in a row is out of the game.
School of Lucas van Leyden, The Card Players (c. 1550/59)
Bone-ace back to contents
The game is first mentioned in the dictionary " The World of Wordes" by Florio in 1611. Like the previous one, it is considered one of the ancestors Black Jack. The game is designed for a standard deck of 52 cards and from two to eight players.
The dealer distributes 3 cards to each of the players - the first two face down, the last face up, while all three cards are dealt at the same time, and not one for each player in a circle.
The game consists of two parts.
Part one (The Bone): the player whose face-up card gives the most points wins. The winnings - one coin or bets previously agreed upon by the participants - are paid out by each player. If the number of points is equal, the player closest to the dealer clockwise wins. The highest value card is the Ace, and the Ace of Diamonds wins against all cards.
Part Two: All three cards are revealed and the player whose cards are closest to 31 (but no more than 31) wins.
In both parts, points are calculated as follows: ace - 11 points, king, queen, jack and ten - 10 points each, the remaining cards give the number of points according to their value. The winnings are also paid by all players.
Karnöffel back to index
German card game for a deck of 48 cards and four players.
Karnöffel is one of the oldest card games described. The earliest of known versions its description refers to 1426.
Originally, Karnöffel was played with a "German" deck of 48 cards, consisting of cards from two to ten, Jack (Untermann), Knight (Obermann), and King (Köning). The lowest card is a deuce, the highest card is a king. Although there is an opinion that early versions German decks may have included one (ace), no actual evidence of this has been found. However, after the ace became the highest card of the French deck, the same thing happened with the deuce in the German one. In many later German games, the deuce is considered the highest card. Pay attention to the fact that there is no Queen in the deck. It is curious that the Knight is often confused with the Lady, although the image shows a man.
Since the German deck is not easy to find nowadays, you can play the French deck by removing the aces from it and playing Queens as Knights.
Karnöffel is played in pairs, the players of the same team are located diagonally from each other.
The dealer deals each player five cards at a time (rather than one card at a time), the first card face down, the rest face down. The youngest of open cards(or, in case of coincidence, the first open) becomes trump for this round, after which the players take all five cards for themselves.
The player to the left of the dealer lays out a card. Each next player clockwise also lays out one card, the sequence of suits, as in other games, does not matter. The player who laid out the highest card (or the highest trump) wins the hand, puts the cards aside and begins the next hand. The game continues until all cards have been laid out. The team that wins the most out of five deals wins the set. The player who first laid out a card deals cards in the next round. Teammates are not prohibited from consulting each other.
Unlike most other card games, in this one certain trump cards have "special powers" in a number of situations:
- Trump jack: beats all other cards;
- Trump Seven (Devil): beats all other cards except the jack, but only if it was laid out first. Otherwise, it's not the devil, but just a seven. It cannot be laid out in the first deal;
- Six of Trumps (Pop): Beats all cards except those mentioned above;
- Trump Deuce (Kaiser): beats all cards except those mentioned above;
- Trump Three: Doesn't beat the king and none of the above cards
- Trump Four: Doesn't beat the king, queen, or any of the above cards;
- Trump five: does not beat the king, queen, jack and none of the above cards.
Thirty and one back to the table of contents
The game dates back to at least 1440. This year, Bernadine of Sienne mentioned this game in his anti-gambling guide. The described game, popular in Spain and Ireland, is one of several games that existed in the 15th-17th centuries. and became the progenitors of modern Black Jack.
Any number of players can participate, starting from two. Each player is dealt three cards from a standard 52-card deck, face down, starting with the player to the left of the dealer.
After the deal, the players look at their cards and each player, starting with the same player to the left of the dealer, can throw off one card, put it face up. Instead, he may take the top card from the remaining deck or the previous card from the pile of discarded cards. Players continue to throw off one card in a circle and take new ones until one of them hits the table twice. After that, everyone except the knocker must discard one more card for the last time, and then the cards are revealed. The player who has three cards of the same suit in his hand, giving the closest number of points to 31 (but not more than 31), wins. The one who scores exactly 31 points wins automatically: he does not have to wait for someone else to knock on the table or knock himself. The cards are shuffled and played in the next round.
Points are calculated as follows: 11 points for an ace, 10 points for a king, a queen, a jack and a ten, 9 for a nine, 8 for an eight, etc. Three cards of the same value, but different suit, give 30.5 points.
Caravaggio, "Shuler" (c. 1596)
Dice games back to contents
The game of dice has been popular all over the world since early times. There were hundreds of different variations of the game. Here we will consider only those games that do not require anything from the players, except for the actual six-sided, most popular in our time, dice (and, of course, money to place bets).
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| Dice players, from a German manuscript, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. Nr. 3049 (1479) | Close the lid to the table of contents
Municipal Autonomous General Educational Institution
average comprehensive school№21 Chelyabinsk
Ballroom entertainment
Research
Supervisor: , teacher of local history, the highest qualification category, MAOU secondary school No. 21
Chelyabinsk, 2013
Introduction ................................................ ................................................. ..............3
1.1. What is a “ball”?………………………………………. ............................................4
1.2. Varieties of balls………………………………………………………….4
1.3. Organization of balls……………..…………………………………………..5
1.4. Ballroom traditions and etiquette………………………………………………..6
1.5. Ballroom costume…………………………………………..............................7
1.6. Duties of the Cavalier……………….……………………………………..9
Chapter 2
2.1. The game of "live" pictures……………………………………………………….9
2.2. Phantoms and a seance………………………………………………..10
2.3. Solitaire and its varieties…….………………….......11
2.4.Mail…………………………………………………………………………12
2.5.Charades……………………………………………………………………….13
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………… 13
Literature…………..…………………………………………………………..14
Appendix
Introduction
On the eve of the cadet ball, I would like to find out the answer to one simple question: what is a ball in general? Let's look at how the balls were held, and what passions they aroused, what they taught, what traditions they followed. Judging by the literature, the ball is luxurious outfits, duels over insulted honor or rivalry in love, champagne to the bottom and card games until the morning. But, if we turn to historical sources, we will see that the ball is a purposeful action, the main task of which was to create conditions for communication between young people, to develop in them the habit of following special etiquette, to develop taste. That is, it is quite an educational event and, moreover, it is a whole performance, which, with a traditional composition, allows for a lot of options and unexpected plot twists.
The relevance of research is to study the traditions of holding balls in Russia and Europe, which affects the upbringing of the younger generation.
Tasks:
1. Develop the ability to apply the acquired knowledge in practice.
2. To cultivate responsiveness to the beautiful in life and art, love for national traditions.
3. To form an understanding of the role of holding balls in the life of Russia in the 17th - 19th centuries. in. and modern society.
Object of study are the ballroom traditions of Russia.
Subject of study are entertainment at balls.
Research hypothesis lies in the fact that the ballroom traditions of pre-revolutionary Russia are reborn in modern Russian society.
Research novelty is to compare ballroom entertainment in Russia in the 17th-19th centuries. in. with holding balls in Russia of the 21st century.
social significance- the work can be used in the lessons of history, local history, MHK and classroom hours.
Chapter 1
1.1. What is a "ball"?
The word "ball" came to Russian language from German; in translation, it means "ball".
In the old days in Germany, there was such a custom: on Easter, rural girls with songs went around the houses of their girlfriends who got married over the past year. Each of them was given a ball stuffed with wool or down. In response, the young woman undertook to arrange refreshments and dances for all the youth of the village, hiring musicians at her own expense. How many newlyweds were in the village, so many balls were given, or balls, that is, dance parties. In Russia, until the end of the 17th century, nothing like balls existed. In 1718, by Peter's decree, assemblies were established, which became the first Russian balls. During the XVIII - XIX centuries. balls became more and more firmly part of Russian everyday life and soon ceased to be an accessory only to the noble way of life, penetrating into all strata of the urban population. Some ballroom dances, such as the quadrille, began to be danced in the 19th century even in the countryside. The ball had its own rules, its own sequence of dances and its own etiquette, specific to each historical era. An obligatory accessory of the ball was an orchestra or an ensemble of musicians. Dancing under the pianoforte was not considered a ball. The ball always ended with dinner and very often included additional entertainment, in addition to dancing: a small concert of specially invited artists or amateurs - singers and musicians - from among the guests, live pictures, even an amateur performance.
1.2. Varieties of balls
Balls performed very important social functions. They made it possible to establish and maintain links between different circles of society (within the same social stratum).
court balls, rather prim and boring, were considered official events. They were attended by thousands of guests. Participation in court balls was obligatory for those invited. High-society balls were given by representatives of the noblest and richest families of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Guests were convened at the choice of the owners of the house from among their friends, relatives and high-society acquaintances. Here, most often, secular debuts of young people and girls took place, which they began to bring to light. The brilliant youth of the Guards traveled to Moscow from St. Petersburg with pleasure. In the hall of the Noble Assembly, balls were held twice a week, which gathered up to five thousand people. At such balls it was possible to have fun from the heart, in contrast to the decorous and ceremonial court balls in cold Petersburg. Weddings were arranged at Moscow balls "Moscow was famous for its brides, like Vyazma for gingerbread," Pushkin wrote.
4
Public balls often given in the provinces. Funds for such balls were collected by subscription (pooled), or tickets were sold for them, which anyone could buy. Family balls were usually the most cheerful and relaxed. They were timed to family holidays invited relatives and close friends. Charity balls were held, for which tickets were sold, and charity trade was organized in the halls. All proceeds from the ball went to the benefit of some orphanage, educational institution, victims of natural disasters, etc.
The most laid-back of the balls - family. Family balls were organized on the occasion of memorable family dates, for which invitation cards were distributed in advance. All kinds of auctions and competitions were held in the halls, and the proceeds went to help shelters. In the feature film "Anna on the Neck", the main character Anna, performed by the famous actress A. Larionova, was invited to hold such a charity lottery.
Children's balls- these are special balls that were held in the first half of the day either in private homes or in dance classes. Very young children and teenagers were brought there. Girls of twelve, thirteen or fourteen years old, who were considered brides, also danced at children's balls. Children's balls were distinguished by fun, the relaxed atmosphere of children's play imperceptibly turned into fascinating coquetry.
Balls were a special tradition cadets and junkers. Their distinctive
a feature was that, under the strict supervision of educators, cadets, junkers and their peers from gymnasiums or institutes of noble maidens met at these balls. At these balls, the future elite of Russian society was taught to apply the rules of etiquette in practice, to behave correctly. It was at these balls that the irreconcilable rivalry of representatives of various corps in the art of dance took place. Cadet balls have always been distinguished by the spirit of competition. It was especially honorable for each educational institution to be recognized as the “first number” in dancing, so they prepared very carefully for the ball in order “not to drop the honor of the corps before society”
Masquerade balls were especially loved by society. Mandatory attributes were masks, domino raincoats. The atmosphere of mystery was conducive to liberated communication. Prepare for the ball in advance. The host and hostess could ask someone from the invitees to help. It turns out that even in the time of Catherine II, organizers of holidays offered their services. Food, drinks were often delivered from clubs or restaurants.
Much attention was paid external design holiday. Florists decorated the premises with garlands of fresh flowers, executive young secretaries sent out invitations. Balls were held in special halls - apartments, allowing you to organize ballroom dancing. The ballrooms were surrounded by dining rooms, pantry, smoking rooms. Particular attention was paid to musical numbers. Having their own orchestra was a great pride of the hosts. Every noble house had collection musical instruments. In Russia, the performances of famous performers were in constant demand. Dinner and musical evening were an invariable component of the ball.
1.1. Organization of the ball
All responsibility for holding a private ball, of course, lay entirely with the host and hostess, but often they resorted to the help of persons from the list of invitees. Guest service, food and drinks for the ball can be provided by the club or restaurant of the hotel where it is decided to hold a gala event, and if the balls were held at home, you can contact the food delivery and guest service agency. The decoration of the room was ordered to the florists, and the chores associated with inviting guests were entrusted to the secretaries.
The organization of the public ball was entrusted to the preparatory committee, the functions of the chairman of which were comparable to those of the hostess. Each member of the preparatory committee was given some specific assignment for organizing the ball: one was engaged in invitations, the other - in the decoration of the room, the rest - in the choice of the orchestra, treating the guests.
In wealthy houses, receptions served as ceremonial apartments - usually they were located in an enfilade, the central part of which was occupied by a ballroom, and living rooms, pantry and dining rooms were located on the sides. The most noble and wealthy people built separate buildings for these purposes. In poorer houses, living quarters were used for reception. At the beginning of the 19th century, almost every noble house had musical instruments, often expensive, richly decorated. Naturally, chamber music was performed at home concerts - European composers were listened to and loved in Russia. In addition, famous musicians were invited to rich houses. At first they were mainly vocalists, soloists of court theaters or guest performers, then, with the development of instrumental performance, virtuosos- pianists and violinists.
1.4. Ballroom traditions and etiquette
The main entertainments in the 19th century were the ball and dinner. Meanwhile, they were essential, but by no means obligatory components of the party. The Russian noble culture of the 19th century developed a flexible system of elements in this regard, which could vary depending on the occasion, the number and age of guests, and many other circumstances.
Even in the era of Peter the Great, the first guide to etiquette and good manners appeared. It was called "The Honest Mirror of Youth, or an Indication for Worldly Behavior." Here the most general instructions were given on how to behave in society. For example, a courtier was not advised to "walk around the table with his hands and feet everywhere, but eat quietly, do not draw on plates and tablecloths with forks and a knife. When you talk with people, be polite, courteous, talk a little, but listen. A courtier should not snore with your nose and blink your eyes, and shake your neck and shoulder, supposedly out of habit.
Similar instructions were published later. Among them were written in verse:
Try to keep your nose fresh and clean;
I didn’t snort, I didn’t sniff, I wouldn’t whistle,
Try to keep your hands at the table like that,
So that the ladies' dresses do not get dirty.
The organizers of the ball, exactly at the appointed hour, gathered at the entrance to the room where the solemn event was to be held to greet the guests. If the ball was private, the guests were met by the host and hostess, if the ball was public, the responsible members of the preparatory committee.
The guests entered the private house where the reception was organized, and before coming up to the hosts and greeting them, they took off their outer clothing in the cloakroom. After shaking hands with the hosts, the guests proceeded to the ballroom.
In the ballroom next to the dance floor, tables and chairs were almost always set up, where you could relax between dances. It was customary for men to invite to the dance the women they sat next to at the table, their wives and the hostess of the reception. If the hostess was sitting at another table, the man should not invite her until he was sure that all the ladies sitting at his table had partners or were busy talking with their neighbors so that not a single woman was left without attention. According to the rules of good manners, only young people of both sexes could dance the entire ball.
It was possible to change partners only in between dances or when the musicians were playing an encore. When the dances ended, each guest had to go up to the host and hostess before leaving, thank them and say goodbye.
1.5.Ballroom costume
The clothes for the ball were subject to certain rules. Until the 60s of the 17th century, it was considered indecent for men to come to the ball in trousers. For this, there were special short, knee-length, light pants. They wore white stockings and open shoes with buckles. For the ball, a dark tailcoat was required, which was worn with a light waistcoat and a white tie (bow tie).
Ladies' ball gowns of the 19th century were usually sewn with short sleeves, open, from thin and light fabrics - silk, gauze, muslin, lace. The dance dress was a little shorter than was customary for everyday wear: it opened up the feet to the ankles. The length of the dress indicated to the experienced eye whether the lady was going to dance. It was for this reason that Natasha Rostova's dress in the novel "War and Peace" had to be hastily shortened before the ball: it seemed to the household that the ballroom cavaliers would mistake Natasha for not dancing.
Ball gowns for girls going out into the world for the first time (they were called debutantes) were prepared especially carefully. Traditionally, they were light, more often - white, and got off with artificial snowdrop flowers, forget-me-nots, pale daisies. Bouquets of such flowers were pinned to the hair.
For subsequent balls, the young girl's dresses could be a little more magnificent, but, according to Russian tradition, a girl from good society should not wear jewelry (except for a modest string of pearls or a chain with a small pendant), expensive, bright or dark fabrics, feathers and furs. All this was allowed only to married ladies. A ball gown without a single color spot was considered the height of elegance and good taste. In order not to crush the ballroom toilet, they threw over it a spacious cape, called "sorti de ball".
A young girl appeared in society with flowers or bows in hair, but a married lady usually wore headdress : light hat borderless (current), beret or at least a tattoo from ribbons and lace. This rule reflected an old Russian custom, according to which married women were not allowed to appear in public with their heads uncovered. Men appeared at balls without hats. Non-dancing ladies came to the holidays in long dresses made of dense and relatively heavy, "not ballroom" fabric - velvet, silk damask, wool, etc.
Airy and light ball gowns turned out to be amazing
fragile. Ballroom shoes were often worn to holes in one evening, and after the ball, when cleaning, the servants would certainly sweep out of the hall pieces of lace, crumpled detached flowers, sequins and feathers.
In the 19th century, they came into fashion from time to time ladies gloves without fingers, covering only the palm. A ring over an ordinary glove in the 19th century was considered a terrible bad taste, but it was not forbidden to wear bracelets in such cases.
ball gown it was just on the surface. In fact, it was a very expensive piece of tailoring art. It was based on a corset - this is such an instrument for torture by beauty. If you want to be beautiful - lace up and pull, even if the waist is less than 60 cm - still pull it off. A well-tailored corset could shrink the waist up to 20 cm. Petticoats made the dress sway and rustle excitingly. The dress had to match the chosen style and era. Fashion of any time strictly regulates cutouts, cuts, fabrics and trim elements.
Movement in a ball gown- this is a special art: you need to pick up skirts in time for a step or curtsy, not to mention such an aerobatics figure as climbing stairs. In dances, a long train is simply thrown over the arm or attached to the wrist with a specially sewn loop. Putting on a dress with a train, the lady must remember that before leaving the place, you should see if anyone is standing on it.
Ballroom shoes. Here every century has its own requirements. Shoes with curved toes - to a dress with "hellish windows" (deep cutouts on the sides of the dress), satin ballet shoes - to the Empire style. But for dancing on the floor, it is most convenient to take dancing shoes. And don't forget the rosin on the soles! Now one can only wonder how, with all this, the girl at the ball managed to remain languid, graceful, airy and tender.
1.6. Duties of the Cavalier
Special duties were assigned at the ball to gentlemen. They had to be perfect. At the ball they were under the most scrutiny.
In order for an ordinary man to be perceived as a gentleman for a ball, he had to be trained in dancing (to perfection), understand gallant etiquette, and be able to apply it to a lady.
To conduct conversations, he had to understand politics, weather, literature, painting, music, be able to joke and quote the classics.
That is why gentlemen of the Junkers and the Cadets were especially valued. Trained in etiquette, literate, well-mannered, shining with dressing and epaulettes, and most importantly - dancing like gods. Many came to the cadet balls to watch exactly how the cadets dance, to learn manners from them.
Chapter 2 2.1. The game of "live" pictures
Popular youth ballroom entertainment of the late XVIII - early XX century - a game of "live" pictures. It was especially common at family balls and evenings. They showed live pictures before the dances or in between them. They required preparation and rehearsals, so they were prepared in advance, often as a surprise for one of the family members.
For live paintings, several plots were chosen that were well known to everyone present: religious, literary, historical, mythological or fairy tales, for example, Apollo and the Muses, Three Graces, Moses in the Desert, Siegfried and Krimgilda (from the ancient German epic " The Song of the Nibelungs"), "Mary Stuart in Dungeon", "The Underwater Kingdom", etc. Then the roles were assigned. If it was possible, they drew scenery, selected props and sewed costumes, and if not, they managed with improvised means: instead of decoration, they hung drapery, costumes were reduced to several details - a cloak, a crown, etc.
During the performance, the participants of the live picture went on stage to the music, arranged themselves in a group corresponding to the plot, and, on command, froze in complete immobility - as in a picture. A minute later, on a new command, the poses changed, and a new scene arose on the same plot, and then again. Such a lively picture was considered especially exquisite, in which, after all the movements of the characters, a scene arose that exactly repeated some well-known painting. During one performance, three to five live films were shown, in which mostly young people and teenagers took part.
2.2. Fanta and séance
The guests at the ball very often played forfeits. For example, a young lady, in order to redeem her phantom, had to sing, dance, cry pretend and kiss the first gentleman who enters the hall. Shortly before midnight, those who wished were invited to participate in séance- such a popular entertainment at the balls of the 19th century. A special board, divided into sectors "Yes", "No", "Possibly", with a rim of numbers and a magnet, answered all the questions that the moderator asked. For example, one of the ladies wanted to know if her daughter would be happy in the next few years. The spirit answered evasively: "Perhaps," but the numbers suggested what needed to be done to ensure the happiness of her daughter.
2.3. Solitaire and its varieties
At the ball they liked to guess on cards, play solitaire.
Solitaire called a card game, designed most often for one player. Its essence lies in the purposeful movement, replacement and combination of playing cards, the initial alignment of which is completely random. Cards are moved in advance known rules so as to achieve some specific result. This is both entertaining entertainment and a way of divination.
Solitaire is an excellent remedy for stress, because for all the frivolity of the game, a person who decides to spend time laying out cards will have to be attentive and calm. This can be judged by the very name - solitaire, or in French patience, translated into Russian means "patience". Exist different versions the origin of solitaire. But according to one of them, we owe this game to the prisoners of the 17th century, languishing in the dungeons of royal France. It is no coincidence that many solitaire games are named after famous personalities of that era. In prison, cards were the only entertainment, and noble prisoners contributed to their history. But soon the casemates turned out to be cramped for new game, and she came into fashion with royal court, and the French monarchs themselves became her ardent admirers.
Solitaire very varied. This game can be played not only alone, Sympathy Solitaire, for example, is designed for two people. Some solitaire games require intense attention and combinatorial abilities, the result of others depends on luck and on how the card "falls". Some layouts take quite a lot of time, others are very simple and can be played casually, in just a few minutes. One person could play solitaire "Napoleon", "Catherine the Great",Paganini, Garden, Divination » and others .
2.4. mail
Worked at the ball mail. Postmen were always ready to convey a message of any value, whether it was a declaration of love or information about a new discovery, someone's admiration for a person they liked or a fragment of a literary duel. If someone at the ball did not know how to confess his love, make a beautiful compliment, or just say something pleasant, if his heart was struck by a person he recently knew, a stranger or a stranger, he used the mail. If someone just wanted to attract the attention of the opposite sex, then the mail came to their aid. Etiquette did not allow postmen to divulge the secrets of the heart or the name of the sender.
A game "My Secret Friend"- mail attachment. The participants of the ball at the entrance wrote down their number and full name. on a specially prepared form. The gentlemen put their form in one container, the ladies in another,
2.5. Charades
At the ball, they not only danced, played, but also solved charades.
Charade- this is a kind of complicated riddle: the word to be guessed is divided (usually by syllables) into separate words, and each of them, and then the whole, are described through a paraphrase. If the riddle goes back to deep mythological antiquity, to test rituals, archaic tabooing of objects or actions (for example, hunting), to relaying experience using clichéd formulas (hence the transition of riddles into proverbs and sayings). Charades have been known since the 3rd-6th centuries, however, in the form of poems, and then dramatizations, they gained particular popularity in the salon culture of the 18th century, which is associated with the general gravity of art. baroque with paraphrase) describing one concept with the help of several).
Conclusion
The ball is an indispensable attribute of Russian culture, which came to us from Western Europe. It was intended to determine the type of social behavior within society. The ball was organized, had a clear structure, a certain order of dances and strict etiquette. At the same time, dances were not only a means of pleasant pastime - they were given extremely great importance in the social behavior of a person, they were a necessary condition for upbringing and education, and not only higher education society, but also the average.
Literature
1. Theological and mores of the Russian nobility in the first half of the XVIII century. M., 12.
2. Balls and holidays in Russia. M., 2000. S. S.
3. Vasilyeva-Rozhdestvenskaya - household dance. M., 1963. S. 128-129. .
4. Merry antiquity: about the amusements of the Russian court under Peter I; about the first balls in Russia. /Comp. . Kaliningrad, 2005. S. 63. 1.
5. 5. Goltsev and manners in Russia in the 18th century. SPb., 1896. S. 24;
6. Diary of a chamber junker. 1721-1725 Translation from German. Part 2. M., 1902. S. 71.
7. Zakharova Russian balls. M., 1998. S. 7. 3.
8. Zakharov's ceremonials and ceremonials of power in Russian Empire. XVIII - early XX century. M., 2003. S. 228;
9. Princes of Peter the Great. M., 1909. S. 6
10. Kolesnikov in Russia XVIII - early XX century. SPb., 2005. S. 185.
11. About the first balls in Russia // Polar Star. SPb., 1823.
12. Kornilovich of Russians under Peter the Great. SPb., 1901. S. 56.
13. Pylyaev life. SPb., 1897. S. 127
14. Shubinsky balls in Russia // Historical essays and stories. M., 1995. S. 26.16-19.
Appendix
Role-playing game Ball "War and Peace"
Ball in Austria
Dance in the system of noble education
