Susan de Guardiola

Status:  
Specialty:  
Range:
 

Active
English, French
Disco, English, French, Vintage

Susan de Guardiola, Photo by Ken Warren

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Susan de Guardiola is a dance historian, teacher, and caller. Based in New Haven, Connecticut, she teaches regularly, leads balls and other dance events, and serves as resident instructor for The Elegant Arts Society.

Susan's particular specialties are Italian dances of the late 16th century and French, English dances of the early 19th century (Jane Austen/Napoleonic Wars), 15th century court dance, 17th century country dance, the Napoleonic and Victorian eras, and the early 20th century/pre-World War I era. Susan also teaches cross-step waltz and conducts gender-role-free dance workshops. She has also been known to admit to a taste for Disco line dances.

She is a popular dance leader at major New England dance festivals and dance weeks. Among the venues Susan has taught include Eclectic Enterprises in Boston; the Toronto English Country Dancers; the Bay Area English Regency Society; Mostly Waltz in Boston and New Haven; Odd Socks in Toronto; Vinnie's Jump and Jive; groups in Connecticut, Denver, and Charlottesville; Lavender Country and Folk Dancers; the Boston Gay & Lesbian Contra Dancers; the Actors Movement Studio in New York City; Dance Flurry; the Down East Country Dance Festival; the Pinewoods English Dance Week; the Newport Vintage Dance Week; Cape May's Spring Festival Victorian Weekend; the NOMAD Arts & Music Festival; the New England Folk Festival; Louisiana for a Song and a Dance; Country Dance New York's Elegant Madness evening of Regency-era Dance; an 1880s ball at New Jersey's beautiful Acorn Hall; and the Town of Bethel (Connecticut) Sesquicentennial Celebration. She has taught historical social dance of various eras in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado, Virginia, Louisiana, Ontario, and more. She also has taught in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Susan presented a paper on 16th century Italian dance at The 42nd International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo. She has lectured on social dance history at the Dolmetsch Historical Dance Society, the International Congress on Medieval Studies, and Stanford's Historical Dance Week, and is the author of Capering & Kickery, a Blog covering historical social dance.

Susan performed and served as dance consultant for A&E's "Biography" episode on Jane Austen.

Some of the many dances Susan has taught include Aeroplane, American Schottische, Ardente Sole, Ballo del Fiore in Terzo, Ballo del Fiore, Ballroom Foxtrot, Ballroom Waltz, Bizzaria d'Amore, Black Alman, Bonaparte's Retreat, Boomps-a-Daisy!, Bowdoin, Branles, Caledonian Quadrilles, Caledonians Quadrille, California Bus Stop, California Hustle, Cally Polka Quadrille, Carillon de Dunquerque, Castle Polka, Castle Schottische, Castle Walk, Cellarius Waltz, Chiaranzana, Chivonian Circles, Contentezza d'Amore, Country Bumpkin, Country Dances, Cross-Step Waltz, Dances from Arbeau, Dances from Caroso, Dances from Negri, Diagonal, Disco Duck, Dolce Amoroso Fuoco, Dun's Second Set of Quadrilles, Earl of Essex, Early Playford Dances, Early Quadrilles, Ecossoises, Esmerelda, Fancy Medley, Fascination, Five-Step Boston, Five-Step Schottische, Five-Step Waltz, Flower Girl Dance, Folk Waltz, Foxtrot, French Jete/Quick Sauteuse, French Quadrille, French Quadrilles, French Sauteuse, French Slow Waltz, Furioso, Fusion Polka, Gagliarda di Spagna, Galliard Lyonnaise, Galliard, Galliard, Galop, Gavotte Glide, Gavotte, Gitana Glide Two-Step, Glide Waltz, Gothic Dance, Half & Half, Harvard, Hesitation Waltz, Holly Berry, Hollywood Line Hustle, Horse Guards, Hot Chocolate, Hungroise, L.A. Line Dance, La Boulangere, La Caccia d'Amore, La Koska, La Russe, La Tempete, La Troika, Lancers Quadrille, Le Klondike, Le Triangle, Light Dragoons, London Polka Quadrilles, Loomis New Gavotte, Lorayne Alman, Lulu Fado, Madam Sosilia Alman, Maxixe, Mescolanzes, Metropole, Mid-century Waltz, Mid-Lothians Quadrilles, Midnight Fever, Military Schottische, Military Two-Step, Military Waltz, Mistletoe Hesitation, Mrs. Henderson's Double Quadrille, New Waltz, New York Bus Stop, New York Lancers, Newport, Octagon Lancers, Old Alman, One-Step, Original Galopade, Parisian Varieties, Pas Saute, Pasadena, Passo e Mezzo, Pavane, Polka Mazurka, Polka Quadrille, Polka Redowa, Polka Russe, Polka, Polo Quadrille, Pompadour Waltz, Pop Goes the Weasel, Quadran Pavan, Queen's Almaine, Racket Waltz, Racket, Ragtime, Redowa, Rollercoaster, Rotary Waltz, Round Two-Step, Royal Galopade, Royal Lancers, Royal Scotch Quadrilles, Rustic Reel, Rye Waltz, Saratoga Lancers, Sarocco Five-Step Waltz, Scotch reel for Four, Scotch reel for Six, Scotch reel for Three, Sicilienne, Sir Roger de Coverley, Soldier's Joy, Spanish Dance, Spanish Dances, Star, Swedish Dances, Tantivy, The Cheat, The Hand Jive, The Lambeth Walk, The Line Hustle, The Line Walk, The Madison, The New Yorker, The Palais Glide, The Stroll, The Union Dance, The Valencia, Thomas Wilson's Waltz Sequence, Three-Step Boston, Tinternell, Tourdion, Tres-Chic, Turkeylone, Twinkle Hesitation, Two-Step Quadrille, Veleta Waltz, Villanella, Virginia Reel, Waltz Quadrille, Waltz Two-Step, Waltz-Galop, Waltz-Minuet, Washington Post, Wiener Waltz, Yale Blues, Yale University York, York, Zingerilla, and Zulma L'Orientale.