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Hornpipe


The following boxes contains demonstration videos of the Hornpipe dance - courtesy of YouTube
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Since sailors, first went to sea, they have sung and danced to entertain themselves. With respect to the dance, it was simply a demonstration of exuberant spirit. You can appresiate that some shipmates are good, playing the fiddle, and others are gifted with a pleasant singing voice. So it is that sailors admired anybody with the ability to provide a dramatic rendition of a monologue, tell a good story, and of course skip a jig or two..

This ability to dance, is demonstated in the following general video, compare the lass at the stage front centre with the general melee. She certainly has this gift, as do the trio behind her.

 

Edinburgh Tatoo 2005

 

The skills of a topman, (a man who worked the upermost sails) in the Sailing Fleet, relied on his being very nimble footed with quick reactions. Such skills were usually found in the younger men, and they were quick to demonstrate such sure footed abilities at the forebits in the evening watch.

The sailors's dance as we know it today, dates back to at least the eighteenth century. Previously from the 1450's period, sailors would dance or jig by himself in any available space. (There were no ballroom type spaces on the early sailing ships and no women to dance with. - Thus essentially he would show his dancing ability by doing a jig on the spot. (Think Michael Flaterley and river dance or Irish dances) Such demonstration would be exuberiant and involve kicking his legs out and jumping or hopping on one foot. To the rhythem of any fast fiddle tune.

The word hornpipe, was first applied to a reed pipe atached to a cow or animal horn. Whose distinctive sound, lent itself to distinctive syncopated tunes in 3/2 time. Often known as maggots from the Italian maggioletta. Thus the sailor, used the quick intricate steps of these and other Irish, Scottish and English dances and joined themn together or embrodied those copied from other matelots. Gradually such dances took on a distinctive style and were named after that early insrument as hornpipes.

You should also mote that Hornpipes performed ashore are often performed by dancers with clogs, especially in Northern England, and this style also became popular and evolved seperately, but sailors would generally work bare footed or wear soft soled shoes to feel the ropes beneath their feet..

By the end of the seventeenth century shipboard dance tunes, were invariably these hornpipes or sometimes jigs but now more and more often they were now in 4/4 or 2/4 common time.

In the Eighteenth century, it became fashionable to celebrate English Naval successs of the French or Severn Years War. By an exhibition dance or ballet. In which the actions of sailors in the battle were given.Whether these ballets copied actual shipboard dances was not easy to say. But certainly the fist sailors dances are recorded with typical seamanlike panytomine. on the London Stage of the period. Often between the acts as scenery was changed. The more popularly acclaimed exhibitions were by real Naval seaman.

Whilst shapely femal dancers made their reputation on such acts and dancing. One Nancy Dawson a sailors sweatheart of the times was closely involved with the dances promotion, though her tunes were often in 3/2 time.

It is noted in the accounts of Captain Cook's voyage he would encourage his crew to perform hornpipes as exercise during spells of calm weather and such dances were referred to as the Jig of the Sea' But such records were only made in a sustained period of calms, whilst the normal sail routine served, t keep the men in the peak of fitness.

Thus by 1760 the association with the archetypal sailor of those times, popularly known in colloquial conversation as "Jacky Tar". as dancing a popularly known style of dance expresion. Such also now being referred to or known as Jacky Tar's.

In 1760 a play-bill of Drury Lane announced between acts, that a Hornpipe would be danced by a real sailor from The Royal Sovereign (A Royal Naval Ship of the Line.) This style of dance illustrating the events of battle and the men going about there duties used the common time tunes.

 

Even so sailors aboard ship still did not exclusively dance the sailors hornpipe as depicted in the videos here, but would exhibit any jig or steps that readily came to mind.

The earliest description so far located, is of a RN officer exhibiting his skills during a run on shore to the tune of Fishers Hornpipe, it was generally represented as a free jig.


As this style of dance was developed so the influence of popular celebrities like Nancy Dawson (18th century), Tippy Cooke(served at Copenhagen in 1801 with Nelson) and Durang (both nineteenth century) etc. Meant that the dance performed in public was much as we know it today, and preferentially performed to a tune in four four time, became laballed as the Sailors Hornpipe

T.P. Cooke in particular made a close study of the dance steps, that were circulating in the ports of Britain and only illustrated in his performance the better examples. .

Whilst it became a signature for most hornpipe tunes to end in the now traditional pom pom sound to raptous acclaim, Such dances from the examples of Nancy Dawson, to that on the decks of a warship were now in a common mould and the early free jig, had come of age as the Sailors Hornpipe .

As such it contines to be heralded as the solo National Dance of Britain.

School boys wishing to be sailors practiced the dance, and its performance was on the curriculum of 19th century naval training ships.

Many tunes were used . Here are two examples of the Fishers Hornpipe, one ofthe most common alternatives.

Fisher's Hornpipe on Guitar
David Schnaufer & Cactus Bros : Fisher's Hornpipe

It is however s the College or Sailors Hornpipe that we most often hear today, and one the RM band just love to play for Royal Naval Performance

Since dancing this myself from 1968 in a military tatoo, I have studied its performance - Alwaysthe best examples are those with free and easy movements - Foot or Hand movements, crisp but fluid in expression.

Common Mistake. - (taught to me by a WW1 sailor who learnt it from his father) - Remember the palms of the hands come in contact with tar and tarred ropes. Consequently they are covered in tar and so should always be turned outward and never for example touch the skin of the arms when the arms are folded. Girlies at Scottish dance exhibitions have never been to sea.

Hornpipe Demonstration - Royal Tourbament 1987

In this example the commentary is rubbish - Don't listen to it there was no need in days of sail to dance to keep fit, clambering around in the rigging did that and in the steam navy, Sport was introduced and PTI's were invented to serve the same pupose.

Comment on performance -