A Recap

Hi everyone,

Today I'll be recapping some basics of English Country Dance and preparation for the Duchess of Richmond's Ball!

English Country Dance

This dance form can be danced in duple minor sets (2 couples performing the figures), triple minor (3 couples performing figures, or triple sets (only 3 couples do the entire dance). See my post on progression for more details!

In ECD, the 1s always progress DOWN the set, while 2s and 3s (in a triple minor dance), work their way UP the set to eventually become 1s.

To get familiarized with some of the figures used in English Country Dance, I would recommend Thomas Wilson's "An analysis of country dancing, wherein all the figures used in that polite amusement are rendered familiar by engraved lines. Containing also, directions for composing almost any number of figures to one tune, with some entire new reels; together with the complete etiquette of the ball-room."  This book is really good because it provides bird's-eye view diagrams of the individual figures and traces the path performed by each dancer!

Some basic figures we covered for the Duchess of Richmond's Ball include: 

• pousette
• 1st couple leads down and back to 2nd place OR casts into 2nd place
• swinging (turn by 1 hand)
• turning (by 2 hands)
• circles (for 4 and 6)
• changes of rights and lefts
• stars
• allemande

More complex figures: 

• promenade
• Triumph
• circle for 3 with 2nd woman or man going under the arch made by 1st couple

Footwork: skip change, slipping step, jete assemble for those who want to do more advanced footwork. Country dances can also be danced in 3/4, so you can use a waltz

Cotillion

A dance involving 4 couples in a square formation.

This style of dance includes a "chorus" figure that repeats throughout the dance, and a series  of "changes" (ie. circle for 8, ladies' star...).

The German "quadrille" for the Duchess of Richmond's Ball is more similar to the cotillion, with its repeating grand chain, than the quadrille itself! You can use a basic skip change for this dance.

Quadrille

Another dance involving 4 couples in a square formation.

This dance evolved from the cotillion, keeping "chorus" figures and removing all of the extra changes. This made the dance shorter and more concise.

The 5 parts of Paine's 4th Set of Quadrilles are a great example!

Quadrille Figures: 

• chaine anglaise (changes of rights and lefts)
• balancez (facing partner, chasse right and left)
• tour les mains (turn your partner)
• chaine des dames (ladies' chaine - Pantalon)
• demi-promenade (promenade halfway to the other side of the set)
• en avant et en arriere (advance and retire)
• traversez (cross set)
• chasse (slipping step right and left)
• dos-a-dos (back-to-back - Poule)
• chasse croise (couples chasse - women left and in front, men right and behind, and set to corner, and back - Finale)
• grand promenade (skater's hold around the set - Finale).

Basic footwork: skip change, slipping step, jete assemble.

Polonaise

This dance is performed in 3/4 time with a strong emphasis on the 1st beat of each bar.

This dance was used to open balls in Europe, less so in England.

Couples form 2 lines (as in English Country Dance) and follow the head couple around the room. In playing follow-the-leader, the couples will create patterns on the dance floor (ie. couples lead to the top of the room, women split off and go one way, while the men go the other way... something like that).

If you are interested in learning more footwork, check out my polonaise post to see my video on the polonaise step.

Footwork: Polonaise step.

Ecossaise

This dance is interesting because its form changes depending on the country.

In England, this is a duple minor dance in which 1st couple is improper (on opposite sides).

In Europe, and for the Duchess of Richmond's Ball, we will be dancing in triple SETS with 1st couple on their proper sides. The version to be danced at the ball seems less interactive, in terms of dancing with a partner, as each dancer keeps changing sides and positions throughout the dance!

If the music is in 4/4, I would suggest skip change, if in 3/4 a waltz time step.

Waltz

The Regency slow waltz is in 3/4 time and features couples rotating in a circle.

The waltz was more common in Europe and was slowly adopted in England by the bon ton!

See my video on the Regency waltz to learn how to do this dance!

That's all for now - now I need to focus on getting some sewing done! After the weekend, I will (hopefully) update the German quadrille and Paine's quadrille pages with videos from our dance practice. Until then... Happy dancing!

The Ecossaise

Hello everyone,

Today I'll be reconstructing the diagrams Mr. Baert sent for the Ecossaise! When I last wrote on the subject of this dance form, I noted that the English Ecossaise was a duple minor dance in which 1st couple was improper (man on the woman's side, woman on the man's side). However, the Ecossaise on the European continent seems to have taken a different form. 

The Ecossaise that the dance master will call is a triple set (not longways), so only 3 couples dance in each group. 1st couple is also "proper", although the lines change sides throughout the dance. I made contact with Mr. Baert and he said that the instructions sent out are actually for 4 Ecossaises, but that he will be doing 2 or 3 on the night of the ball. The figures provided all seem to flow into each other, so I don't know how he will choose which figures to call. So, I will reconstruct the figures in the order that he has sent out. I have redrawn the figures in colour so that you can trace the path of each dancer.

** I will look into timings and footwork for this dance and update once I have the information. I will also try to create video clips for some of the figures.

The 1st image in each diagram demonstrates the figures, and the 2nd image is to reflect the position in which the dancers end each figure.

UPDATE: A group of us in Canada got together to try out the figures and do some troubleshooting, so underneath certain figures, I will provide some tips and potential timings that we worked out, in a different colour.

Ecossaise 1

Figure 1: All 3 men cross the set by left shoulders and loop anti-clockwise around their partner, ending up in front of them in a single file line (4 bars).

Figure 2: Taking hands in a single file line for 6, all promenade to the men's side, placing 1st couple at the bottom and 3rd couple at the top (4 bars).

Figure 3: 2nd couple advances and retires WHILE 1st and 3rd couples change places on the outside of the set. I'm not certain but, to take up less room in the ballroom, perhaps 1st and 3rd couples use a slipping step and skip sideways up or down the set (4 bars).

• Instead of skipping sideways with a slipping step, one could face up (1^st couple) or down (3^rd couple) and use a skip change in a single file line with hands.

Figure 4: The 3 woman cross the set back to place WHILE the men cross the set by left shoulders and dance anti-clockwise around their partners to place. The set with 2 lines has been re-formed (4 bars).

• Women should lag behind and take small steps so that the men can cross around them faster in 4 bars of music. If the women are already in position on the other side of the set, the men have to go even wider around them, which makes it harder to for them get back to place in 4 bars.

Figure 5: 1st couple casts to 3rd place (2nd and 3rd couples move up - 4 bars).

Figure 6: All couples cross the set by left shoulders, placing men on the ladies' side and ladies on the men's side (4 bars).

• When we crossed the set by left shoulders, we also did a little loop (women downward, men upward) so that the partners are opposite each other, rather than on a diagonal.

Ecossaise 2

Figure 7: Men will promenade anti-clockwise in a single file line on the outside of the set to the men's side, placing 2nd man at the bottom WHILE the ladies promenade clockwise in a single file line on the inside of the set to the ladies' side, placing 2nd woman at the bottom. These 2 lines move at the same time (4 bars).

Figure 8: 3rd couple (in the middle) do a back-to-back WHILE 1st and 2nd couples circle around them. I'm not sure if this is with hands or without - there might not be much room to do the back-to-back if the circle with hands is small (8 bars?).

• For this figure, the back-to-back would be really tiny and cramped in the middle if 2^nd and 1^st couple took hands and circled around them.
• When practising, we also found that it was really hard to get all the way around the circle in 4 bars, so maybe it’s done in 8 bars? That means, the 3^rd couple in the middle might need to do 2 back-to-backs to fill up the music.

Figure 9: 1st couple casts down to the 3rd place, WHILE 2nd couple casts up (1s on the outside, 2s on the inside) AND 3rd couple (in 2nd place) leads through the bottom couple (without hands) and casts back up to 2nd place (4 bars). 

•  For this figure, it almost seems like the 3^rd couple are following the 2^nd couple, who cast up to 1^st. The 3s still end up in 2^nd position, but that’s the track they seem to follow.

Figure 10: 2nd couple crosses down the set diagonally, and loops around 1st couple (2nd man beside 1st woman, 2nd woman beside 1st man) to form a line for 4. The gentleman should always allow the lady to cross diagonally in front of him (4 bars).

Figure 11: 3rd couple does a 2-hand turn WHILE the line for 4 promenades anti-clockwise in a single file line around them (8 bars?).

• We couldn’t get around 3^rd couple in 4 bars, so we allotted 8 bars to complete this figure. However, that means the 3^rd couple would do a 2-hand turn 2x around.

Figure 12: 3rd couple dance, moving outside the set (3rd woman clockwise; 3rd man anti-clockwise) around the line for 4. They come together in the middle behind the line to lead under the 1st couples arms (raised in an arch) and back to place (4 bars).

• For the 3^rd couple, it was pretty tricky trying to get around in 4 bars,
• Also, in the video (at the end), I accidentally called the figure backwards, so the dancers start by going through the middle and around the 1s and 2s, when it should be the other way around… Whoops!

Ecossaise 3

Figure 13: 2nd couple crosses up diagonally, in front of 1st couple, back to their place at the top of the set. Like last time, the man should let the lady cross in front of him first (4 bars).

Figure 14: The 3 ladies dance anti-clockwise around the men's line and place themselves beside the men in a line for 6. 2nd woman (being at the top) has to go furthest on the man's side, to place herself next to 1st man. 3rd woman (in the middle) has to reach the middle position on the man's side, to place herself next to 3rd man. 1st woman (at the bottom) loops around 2nd man and takes her place next to him at the top of the line (4 bars).

Figure 15: 1st man and 2nd woman raise their arms in an arch WHILE the other 4 dancers take hands and promenade clockwise in a single file line under their arms. Make sure the lady ends up on the right side of the man to form 2 lines (8 bars?).

• Passing through the arch and getting into position was tricky in 4 bars. The 3^rd couple barely made it through the arch, let alone into proper positions for the next figure. It would work better if 8 bars of music were allotted to this figure.

Figure 16: The set for 3 couples then take inside hands and "re-sets" itself into beginning formation (like an English Country Dance with men on one side and women on the other - 4 bars).

Figure 17: The 3 woman turn over their right shoulders to dance in a little (clockwise) loop back to place WHILE the 3 men take hands in the single file line and follow 2nd man (at the bottom) and cast up. This returns 2nd man to his partner and 1st man to his partner (4 bars).

I hope that helps to clarify the diagrams - I spent a lot of time thinking about how best to describe the action in each figure. They look a bit confusing to start but they can be worked out!

Here's a little video showing each figure - we were troubleshooting to see what worked with timing and footwork!

NOTE: There is a small error in this video. In figure 12, the 3s go through the arch and around the line for 4, when it was supposed to be going around and then through. I wonder if that order would change the timing...

It was also a surprisingly cold May day, so we had to bundle up to practise!

We did try the steps with a skip change, waltz step, strathspey etc. Since we don't know what the music sounds like, or even the time signature, it's hard to know which one we will be using at the ball - probably skip change.

ANOTHER UPDATE!

We had another dance practise to prepare for the ball - this time with music... Not perfect, but it's getting there! We used the tune "Royal Chase" from the DHDS CD Dances for Jane Austen!

We did come up with some pretty interesting short names for the figures to jog our memories  - ie. sliding doors (fig. 3), donut hole (fig. 4), "not a hey" (fig. 9), reset (fig. 16)... so you aren't hearing things! It definitely helps with so many figures. Try coming up with your own - see what works for you!

That's all for now - until next time... Happy dancing!

What dance is that? Explaining the Polonaise and Ecossaise

Hi everyone,


When I saw that we would be doing a Polonaise and some Ecossaises at the Duchess of Richmond's Ball, I was not quite so familiar with these dance forms, so I did a bit of research!

A Polonaise is a processional dance, in which the couples form a line and follow the lead couple around the room, so it shouldn't be very tricky! If anyone has done a Grand March at a ball before, this should be similar.

The Polonaise is danced in 3/4 time, with the first beat of each bar heavily emphasized. Regarding steps, one can take a larger first step, followed by 2 shorter steps to match the music. Below, I've included a video of me doing a Polonaise step, similar to my  jeté assemblé video in my last post. If anyone has any other tips on performing a Polonaise, please post a comment.

I have a source for an 1815 Polonaise Russe, which comprises the couples promenading about the room following the head couple. At the leader’s command, all face partners and balance (ie. Setting), doing several steps in place. At this point, if they are in a circle, each man can move on to the next woman. So a Polonaise doesn't seem to be a concrete entity, but has the ability to shift and change depending on the lead couple.

I've found a video on Youtube of the Jane Austen Dancers in Bath doing a Polonaise at the Corsham Ball in 2011, which uses some other steps and patterns. I'm not sure what Mr. Baert has in mind for his Polonaise, but I guess we follow the leader!

The Ecossaise should be relatively simple as well. This dance form, popular in Russia and Germany, is similar to the English Country Dance but the 1st couple starts "improper" (lady on the man's side, man on the lady's side).

X = man
O = woman


Ecossaise Formation:

O     X
X     O
O     X
X     O
O     X
X     O


** It is important to note that, once you progress to the bottom or top and are "inactive" or have nobody to dance with for 1 repetition of the dance, make sure you switch sides to be ready to dance with the next couple.

Instructions for the Ecossaise were published in England in Thomas Wilson's 1818 Ecossoise Instructor. Here is an excerpt from that publication:

“The figures are less complex from their being shorter than those of the English country dance; the respective minor sets in the dance being formed of but two couples instead of three, the number required in English country dancing. All those figures usually performed by 3 couples in English country dancing are of course excluded…”

So, in England, an Ecossaise is a duple minor (figures for 2 couples) dance, never a triple minor. I'm not sure if the Ecossaise was performed differently in Germany or Russia. 

I don't have copies of the Almanach Geselligen Vernügen (in English, Almanach for Convivial Pleasure) for 1814 or 1815, and I can't read German, which is a bit of a problem, but I will post a couple of English examples from the Ecossoise Instructor to give you an idea of some of the figures used in this form of dance! These particular dances won't be danced at the Duchess of Richmond's Ball, but they might be useful as a guide. Some of the names of the figures are different, but are done in the same way as in English Country dance.

Some figures include:

• Circle for 3 on the lady's side (or gentleman's)
• Cross over 1 couple and 2-hand turn your partner to place
• Figure 8
• Changes of rights and lefts
• Set and change sides
• Pousette
• Circle for 4

** The figures are largely the same as English Country Dance!

The Alexander (1818)

A1: The Orbit

• 1s lead down between the 2s WHILE 2s cast up; then 2s lead down between the 1s WHILE 1s cast back to place

A2: 1st couple 2-hand turn

B1 & B2: Progressive turn (aka pousette)

• 1s and 2s take partner by both hands and trace an acw (anti-clockwise) path 1.5x round the other couple (placing 2s above the 1s) to progress to the next couple

The Fair Circassian (1818)

A1: 1s circle for 3 on the lady's side

A2: 1s circle for 3 on the men's side

B1: Progressive pass and back (aka 1s lead down the middle and come back to 2nd place to progress)

B2: Turn 4 (aka circle for 4 to the left)

The Volga (1818)

A1 & A2: Quadruple change

• a circular hey, or changes or rights and lefts, but changing shoulders instead of hands.

** So you follow the same pattern as the chain figure, but perform it without taking hands.

B1: Crossed circle (aka back-to-back)

B2: Progressive pass and back (aka 1s lead down the middle and come back to 2nd position to progress)

Overall, I think the Ecossaise is not too foreign a dance form to learn at the ball. Fingers crossed! That's all for now - until next time... Happy dancing!