Sir Toby
and Sir Andrew make numerous references to specific Renaissance
dance steps in Act One, scene three of Twelfth Night.
On the one hand, the court dance terminology reminds the audience
of the men's aristocratic background and experiences. On the
other hand, these terms call attention to the distance between
model knights' actions and the riotous, drunken behavior of
Sir Toby and Sir Andrew. Just as Sir Andrew lists dancing in
between fencing and bear-baiting, dance in general in Act One,
scene three, bridges the distinct worlds of high and low entertainment.
Sir Andrew
states, "I am a fellow o' the strangest mind i' th' world;
/ I delight in masques and revels sometimes altogether"
(I.iii. 109-110). Masques and revels were courtly entertainments
where nobles danced and performed for each other. In one sense,
this statement implies that Sir Andrew is privileged enough
to have attended court masques and similar entertainments. At
the same time though, this comment can be taken ironically.
While revel was a general term for partying and dancing, the
revels-which were also called the measures - were a particular
part of a court masque. If you interpret "revel" as
referring to the part of the masque where the performers descend
from the stage to dance with nobles in the audience, then it's
rather foolish for Sir Andrew to say that it is strange for
him to enjoy both masques and revels together. To make a twentieth-century
parallel, it's as if he says, "I am a man of strange tastes;
I like musicals and dancing, sometimes even together!"
The ambiguity of the phrasing allows both for the possibility
that Sir Andrew has attended many courtly entertainments and
enjoys a variety of them and the option that Sir Andrew is trying
to impress Sir Toby and actually has no idea that revels are
part of all court masques.
Similarly,
when Sir Toby asks his friend how well he dances, Shakespeare's
juxtaposition of dance terms beside the word 'knight' allows
for varied interpretations. Sir Toby follows his first question,
"Art thou good at these kick-shawses, knight?" (I.iii.
111) with the similar, "what is thy excellence in a galliard,
knight?" (I.iii. 115). "Kick-shawes" refers to
the series of kicks and jumps that comprise the basic galliard
step. In placing "kick-shawses" and "galliard"
adjacent to "knight," Sir Toby reminds Sir Andrew
of his aristocratic breeding by asking him about his knowledge
of a courtly dance. Sir Toby acknowledges and complements Sir
Andrew on his social position by assuming that he is familiar
with the galliard and its steps. Yet, if the actor playing Sir
Toby stressed the word 'knight' in these lines, they become
a taunt; if Sir Andrew can not dance well, he is not living
up to the title of knight.
Sir
Andrew's initial response to Sir Toby's query, "Faith,
I can cut a caper" (I.iii. 116), also supports
multiple readings. The caper, which Brissenden defines
as "a high spring during which the dancer rapidly
moves his feet,"37
is one of the more difficult steps in the galliard,
the most taxing Renaissance court dance. Four small
kicks in front at about a forty-five degree angle
followed by a large jump comprise the basic galliard
step. Arbeau writes that "there are many dancers
so agile that while executing the saut majeur [or
large jump] they move their feet in the air and such
capering is called capriole [or a caper]."37b
On a tangential note, the step survives intact in
the cabriole step in ballet as a jump where the back
leg, brushing front or back, beats against the other
leg in the air. Therefore, when Sir Andrew claims
he can cut a caper, he is asserting not only can
he do a galliard, but he is so good that he can execute
the extra-difficult variation. For a young, sober,
physically fit person the caper is a challenge. For
Sir Andrew? A director may decide either way, but
it is important for him or her to realize that Sir
Andrew's boast is a bold assertion indeed.
Several
other instances further complicate the meaning of these dance
references. Earlier in Act One, scene three, Sir Toby mentioned
Spanish wine, "O knight, thou lack'st a cup of canary!"
(I.iii. 78). Shakespeare's use of this term although it almost
certainly refers to the Spanish wine and not the Spanish dance
still prepares the reader for a passage on dancing. Likewise,
Sir Toby's response to Sir Andrew's boast, a pun on caper, takes
the reader from masked balls to the Renaissance table, "And
I can cut the mutton to't" (I.iii. 117). These lines associate
dancing with wine, mutton, and thus by indication, the sin of
gluttony. Sir Andrew's retort to the mutton line, "And
I think I have the back-trick simply as strong as any man in
Illyria" (I.iii. 118-119), possesses a bawdy second meaning
which similarly associates dancing with scurrilous activities.
The back-trick
or ruade, another galliard step, involved kicking one leg backwards
at the knee sometimes while jumping. Although the dance step
bears no lewd implications, the English name Shakespeare uses
for it, 'the back-trick' could also refer to an underhanded
deed or a sexual act-as in a prostitute's turning tricks-involving
the backside or posterior.
Continuing
in this vein is Toby's "My very walk should
be a jig" (I.iii. 124) and "I would not
/ so much as make water but in a sink-a-pace"
(I.iii. 124-125). To "make water" alludes
to urinating while a "jig" refers to the
lewd song and dance performed after most plays especially
in outdoor theaters. The term "sink-a-pace"
is an English spelling of the French cinque pas or
five steps, the literal name for the galliard. On
this passage Alan Brissenden writes, "A jig
is vulgar company for these other, courtly dances.
But Sir Toby lowers the dignity of the cinquepace
by making a pun about urination, which perhaps shows
the level at which he thinks about Sir Andrew, whose
leg, he goes on flatteringly to say, must have been
'form'd under the star of a galliard'."38
Given Sir Andrew's prior boast that his legs look
particularly good in red stockings and his previous
record as consistently mistaken about his personal
attractiveness, any comment regarding Sir Andrew's
legs must be viewed with suspicion.
From the
scene's early references to meat and drink, dance associations
deteriorate to sexual indulgence and urination. By juxtaposing
dance terms with references to social position, sinful indulgences,
and urination, Shakespeare reveals that context is what makes
dancing courtly or otherwise.
