Choreographer, Teacher & Historian
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Home  The Coranto Early Dance Group |
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| Coranto |
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Coranto Early Dance & Music was founded in 1991 by Diana Scrivener. Since then, it has specialized in performances of period dance and music, because as Artistic Director, Diana believes very strongly that excellence of demonstration, authenticity of style and increased awareness of this important aspect of history should be promoted at every opportunity.
To this aim, the group has given numerous performances, both informal and formal, to a wide cross-section of the public and in a variety of venues country-wide. This has allowed the social dancing of our ancestors to remain the vital and dynamic art-form that it truly deserves to be, by exposing it to audiences who, in other circumstances, might not experience, or have any knowledge of this type of dance. |
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Coranto was a recipient in the first round of the A4E Express Awards, supported by the National Lottery, through the Arts Council of England.
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| Special Events & Television |
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| The group has appeared on national and local television. For nine years it danced for English Heritage in its Special Events Programme, performing Tudor, 17th and 18th century dance suites with much acclaim. |
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| "Coranto offer very good value for money, are highly professional and are very popular with visitors at English Heritage sites." (Howard Giles, former Head of Special Events Unit, English Heritage)
"The children enjoyed the dancing. They were fascinated and sat still because it was something unusual to watch." (Parent of 3 young children)
"Coranto Early Dance & Music enhanced the experience by an order of magnitude!" (Visitor at Old Wardour Castle, having watched the Millennium event in May 2000) | |
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Concerts |
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"I was very pleased to attend a concert at Chettle House given by Coranto. It was a most enjoyable, informative and relaxed evening.....of the highest quality. The audience was captivated and enthralled by the performance." (Kate Montefiore, Arts Development Officer for North Dorset District Council 1996-2000)
With a minimum of four dancers, Coranto recreates the atmosphere and style of the Elizabethan, Baroque and Rococo. Clothed in authentic reproductions of period dress, which enhance the opulence and elegance of the time, the dancers will delight the audience with intricacies of style and footwork. The accompaniment is provided by a harpsichord and the group performs to a diversity of music, ranging from William Byrd and Purcell to Handel and Mozart. |
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Venues have included the Assembly Rooms at Devizes, the Aix-en-Provence Room in the Guildhall at Bath, Chettle House - a Queen Anne house in the English Baroque style, The Guildhall at Salisbury, Wyndham School in Whitehaven, Cumbria, Nether Compton Village Hall, Urchfont Manor and numerous castles and stately homes in the care of English Heritage. |
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| Lecture Demonstrations |
| These may be arranged to suit whatever is required.
A typical format would be a short introductory talk, illustrating the salient points of the period with musical and dance examples, together with some quotations from contemporary literary sources.
In the second part of the programme, the audience would be able to watch dance suites and listen to beautiful musical interludes. There would be the opportunity for questions and answers at the end of the session.
Alternatively, if less live dance and music was required, the programme could include video footage and taped music. This would involve one speaker and offers a very economical event for smaller organisations. |
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