Paine's 4th Set of Quadrilles: Part 2 L'Eté

Hello everyone,

It's time to look at part 2 of Paine's 4th Set: L'Eté, which is definitely a shorter figure than yesterday's "Le Pantalon". The way I think about these figures is: part 1 introduces the couples (since the figures in Le Pantalon are executed by head couples in the 1st repetition, and then by the side couples). Now, we introduce the individual dancers according to the ladies' positions within the set.

2nd Figure: L’Eté

** I'm going to give a pretty in-depth break down of this dance with timing and steps used, so don't be alarmed. It may seem overwhelming at first if you are not familiar with this style - but it will help if you are practicing at home or with a group.

A: Honours (8 bars).

B1: 1^st woman and 3^rd man en Avant et en Arriere (or, advance and retire - 4 bars); Traversé (or, cross over - 4 bars).

• 1st Wo. and 3rd man opposite her advance (1 skip change into the middle + jeté assemblé) and retire (1 skip change backwards - beginning on the left foot back + jeté assemblé)
• 1^st woman and 3^rd man cross the set, changing sides (man on the outside, woman on the inside) using 3 skip changes + jeté assemblé.

B2: 1st woman and 3rd man Chassé right & left (4 bars); de-traversé (4 bars).

• 1^st woman and 3^rd man chassé (or slipping step) to the right (2 chassés + jeté assemblé), and back to the left (2 chassés + jeté assemblé)
• They cross back to their places v(man on the outside, woman on the inside), coming in to face their partner using 3 skip changes + jeté assemblé.

A: Head couples (1st and 3rd) Balance (4 bars) & Turn partners (4 bars).

• Head couples turn in to face their partners and do 2 chassés to the right + jeté assemblé, 2 chassés to the left+ jeté assemblé.
• Head couples right-hand turn partner to place (3 skip changes + jeté assemblé).

The figure is then performed by 2nd woman and 4th man, 3rd woman and 1st man, and 4th woman and 2nd man.

So, this is my interpretation of the original figures, as this seems to work best with the music. 

However, the original instructions do include an extra "chassé to the right and left" BEFORE the traversé, or 1st w. and 3rd m. cross over. This element fits with the music after the advance and retire, but it affects the next section. Instead of having 4 bars to cross the set, one would need to traversé in 2 bars (which seems too hurried to me - it also leaves no room for a proper jeté assemblé). However, Thomas Wilson's Quadrille and Cotillion Panorama does provide such a break down in timing:

So, a traversé can be performed in either 2 or 4 bars segments. After the traversé are the chassés right and left; this figure would overlap the obvious break in the music. Generally, figures are performed in 4 or 8 bar phrases, as I have shown in my reconstruction. However, adding that extra chassé throws off this nice symmetry.

My reconstruction following the 8 bar structure:

8 bars
4 bars	4 bars
Chassés right and left	De-traversé

With the extra chassé:

** in this 2nd reconstruction, the chassé begins halfway through the 4 bar phrase, and completes it halfway through the next phrase. 

Paine's 1st Set of Quadrilles, like his 4th Set, also includes this extra chassé (see below). 

However, historic dance groups do not seem to perform it with this extra figure. Once again, here is the Nederlands Historisch Dans-en Theaterensemble doing Paine's 1st set, and they do not do this extra chassé.

 The 2nd figure, L'Eté, starts at 2:16.

Here is the Quadrille Club from England also performing Paine's 1st set without the extra chassé.

L'Eté starts at 1:34.

However, since we do not know what reconstruction Mr. Baert will be calling in Brussels, I've included the breakdown if you do L'Eté with the extra chassé. I've changed the colour of the text where the reconstruction differs from my own:

Figure 2 – Tune: La Nouvelle Eté (this link goes to the animation that follows this breakdown at Regencydances.org)

A: Honours (8 bars).

B1: 1^st woman and 3^rd man  en Avant et en Arriere (or, advance and retire - 4 bars); Chassé right and left (4 bars).

• 1st Wo. and 3rd man opposite her advance (1 skip change into the middle + jeté assemblé) and retire (1 skip change backwards - beginning on the left foot back + jeté assemblé)
• 1^st Wo. and 3^rd man chassé to the right (2 chassés + jeté assemblé), and back to the left (2 chassés + jeté assemblé).

B2: Traversé (2 bars), Chassé right & left (4 bars), de-traversé (2 bars).

• 1^st wo. and 3^rd man cross the set changing sides (man on the outside, woman on the inside) using 2 skip changes. This has to be done really fast to cross the set in the correct amount of time!
• 1^st woman and 3^rd man chassé to the right (2 chassés + jeté assemblé), and back to the left (2 chassés + jeté assemblé).
• They cross back to their places (man on the outside, woman on the inside), coming in to face their partner in 2 skip changes.

A: Head couples (1st and 3rd) Balance (4 bars) & Turn partners (4 bars).

• Head couples turn in to face their partners and do 2 chassés to the right + jeté assemblé, 2 chassés to the left + jeté assemblé.
• head couples do a right-hand turn with their partner (3 skip changes + jeté assemblé).

I know it seems a bit confusing, having these 2 versions, but hopefully one of these will be called at the ball! That's all for now - until next time... Happy dancing!