Mosquitoes at Dusk - Paine's Quadrille

Yesterday evening we had a little dance practise of Paine's 4th Set of Quadrilles so that we could do some more filming for those who are interested in learning this dance. It is exactly 2 weeks before the Duchess of Richmond's ball! Since we didn't have the music for Paine's 4th Set, we were using the music from his 1st Set for the videos.

You'll notice that the light levels in each video gets slightly darker, but hopefully the motions will still be pretty clear...

Paine's 4th Set:

Le Pantalon

L'Ete

La Poule

La Pastourelle

It got pretty dark outside, so pay close attention to the figures in this video... It was chaos on the dance floor - we couldn't see a thing! 

Just joking! I'll post videos of the last 2 segments hopefully tomorrow!

June 4 UPDATE: The last 2 videos of the quadrille!

La Pastourelle

La Finale

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

Paine's 4th Set of Quadrilles: Part 5 La Finale

Today, I'm looking at the last section of the quadrille - La Finale! We finally made it! As usual, I will give a thorough breakdown of the figures. If anything seems unclear, please let me know and I will try explaining another way...

In an earlier post, I mentioned that the 1st figure (Le Pantalon) introduced the couples in the set, then the 2nd figure (L'Eté) introduced and allowed the individual dancers to shine. In the final figure, the movements are choreographed to unite all the couples in motion at once, almost acknowledging and saying "thank you" to the rest of the set for dancing together!

Here are the original figures:

The figures should seem familiar for this figure, because the L'Eté figure forms part of the movements for this section. Thus, the question of reconstruction (with or without that extra chassé) once again arises. So, I will provide both versions as I did before.

5th Figure: La Finale (without the extra chassé)

A: Honours (8 bars).

A: All eight dancers Chassé Croisé & back, with demi-balances (8 bars).

• Everyone chassé croise (men behind the woman to the right, women in front of the men to the left) in 2 chassés + jeté assemblé; set to your corner; chassé back to place (men behind the women to the left, women in front of the men  to the right) in 2 chassés + jeté assemblé; set to your other corner.

The L’Eté Figure - as -

B: 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 woman and 3rd man advance (1 skip change + jeté assemblé) and retire (1 skip change + jeté assemblé).
• 1st woman and 3rd man cross the set (man on the outside, woman on the inside - 3 skip changes + jeté assemblé) to change places.

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

• 1st woman and 3rd man chassé right (2 chassés + jeté assemblé) and 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 (3 skip changes + jeté assemblé).

D: Head couples Balance & Turn partners (8 bars).

• 1st and 3rd couples face their partners and do 2 chassés right + jeté assemblé, then 2 chassés left + jeté assemblé.
• Partners do a right-hand turn (3 skip changes + jeté assemblé).

E: ALL 4 MEN Turn their left corner and form 2 opposite lines and advance and retire (8 bars).

• All men 2-hand turn the lady to their left (not their partner) to form opposite lines (3 skip changes + jeté assemblé).

• the 2 lines advance (1 skip change + jeté assemblé) and retire (1 skip change + jeté assemblé).

F: 2 lines advance and retire a 2nd time, set to the opposite line and turn partner to place (8 bars).

• the 2 lines advance AGAIN (1 skip change + jeté assemblé) and retire (1 skip change + jeté assemblé).
• 2-hand turn your partner to place (3 skip changes + jeté assemblé). 1st and 3rd couples will turn their partner (who is opposite them), and the 2nd and 4th couples turn their partner (who is beside them in the line). 

• I believe the direction of the lines may shift depending on which couple is active. I'm not 100% certain, but this is what I believe may happen. 

G: All 4 couples Grand Promenade all round (8 bars).

• 4 couples take promenade/skater's hold with crossed arms and process anti-clockwise around the  set (7 skip changes + jeté assemblé). I would recommend 4 skip changes to reach the opposite side from where each couple started to stay on track with the timing.

Repeat for other pairs of dancers starting with L'Eté figure, not the Chassé Croisé (ie. 2^nd woman/4^th man; 3^rd woman/1^st man; 4^th woman/2^nd man).

At the very end, after every couple has gone through the L'Eté figure and the Grand Promenade, finish with:

A: All couples Chassé Croisé (8 bars).

• Everyone chassé croise (men behind the woman to the right, women in front of the men to the left) in 2 chassés + jeté assemblé; set to your corner; chassé back to place (men behind the women to the left, women in front of the men  to the right) in 2 chassés + jeté assemblé; set to your other corner.
• This begins and ends the dance in a nice communal figure in which all couples are in motion.

Now, the original instructions include an extra chassé, so I will provide the breakdown for this reconstruction as well. I've changed the colour of the text where the reconstruction differs:

5th Figure: La Finale (with the extra Chassé)

A: Honours (8 bars).

A: All eight dancers Chassé Croisé & back, with demi-balances (8 bars).

• Everyone chassé croise (men behind the woman to the right, women in front of the men to the left) in 2 chassés + jeté assemblé; set to your corner; chassé back to place (men behind the women to the left, women in front of the men  to the right) in 2 chassés + jeté assemblé; set to your other corner.

B: 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).

C: 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.

D: 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).

E: ALL 4 MEN Turn their left corner and form 2 opposite lines and advance and retire (8 bars).

• All men 2-hand turn the lady to their left (not their partner) to form opposite lines (3 skip changes + jeté assemblé).
• the 2 lines advance (1 skip change + jeté assemblé) and retire (1 skip change + jeté assemblé).

F: 2 lines advance and retire a 2nd time, set to the opposite line and turn partner to place (8 bars).

• the 2 lines advance AGAIN (1 skip change + jeté assemblé) and retire (1 skip change + jeté assemblé).
• 2-hand turn your partner to place (3 skip changes + jeté assemblé). 1st and 3rd couples will turn their partner (who is opposite them), and the 2nd and 4th couples turn their partner (who is beside them in the line). 

G: All 4 couples Grand Promenade all round (8 bars).

• 4 couples take promenade/skater's hold with crossed arms and process anti-clockwise around the  set (7 skip changes + jeté assemblé). I would recommend 4 skip changes to reach the opposite side from where each couple started to stay on track with the timing.

Repeat for other pairs of dancers starting with L'Eté figure, not the Chassé Croisé (ie. 2^nd woman/4^th man; 3^rd woman/1^st man; 4^th woman/2^nd man).

At the very end, after every couple has gone through the L'Eté figure and the Grand Promenade, finish with:

A: All couples Chassé Croisé (8 bars).

• Everyone chassé croise (men behind the woman to the right, women in front of the men to the left) in 2 chassés + jeté assemblé; set to your corner; chassé back to place (men behind the women to the left, women in front of the men  to the right) in 2 chassés + jeté assemblé; set to your other corner.

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

Paine's 4th Set of Quadrilles: Part 4 La Pastourelle

We're almost there - today I'll break down the 4th part of Paine's 4th Set: La Pastourelle with appropriate steps and footwork for those who are interested! 

The tune for this figure is a bit different than a regular quadrille, as it is 36 bars long, rather than a standard 40 bar tune! Therefore, in, what I call the 'A' section, I've grouped the movements into a 12 bar sequence rather than the typical 8 bars. 

As usual, here is an image of the original figures.

4th Figure: La Pastourelle

A: Honours (8 bars).

B: 1^st couple En Avant et en Arriere twice (or, advance and retire - 8 bars).

• With inside hands, the 1^st couple advance (1 skip change + jeté assemblé) and retire (1 skip change + jeté assemblé). They advance again (1 skip change + jeté assemblé), then the 1^st man retires WHILE the 1^st woman continues to advance and takes her place on the left of the 3^rd man (1 skip change + jeté assemblé).

A: 3rd couple and 1st lady Tour de mains trois (or, circle for 3 - 4 bars); 1st Gentleman En Avant et en Arriere twice (8 bars). This section is a bit odd because it's a 12 bar section, rather than the standard 8 bars. 

• The group of 3 circles left (3 skip changes + jeté assemblé).

• 1st man then advances (1 skip change + jeté assemblé) and retire (1 skip change + jeté assemblé) TWICE.

C: 3 opposite En Avant et en Arriere twice (8 bars).

• 1^st lady and 3^rd couple opposite join hands and advance (1 skip change +  jeté assemblé) and retire (1 skip change +  jeté assemblé) TWICE. See the bottom section in the image below.

A: Head couples (1^st and 3^rd) Circle for 4 halfway (4  bars); demi-chaine anglaise (4 bars).

• Head couples advance toward the middle of the set (2 skip changes) and circle left halfway to the opposite side (2 skip changes).
• Head couples do 2 changes of rights and lefts (2 skip changes for the right hand, 1 skip change +  jeté assemblé for the left hand) back to place.

Repeat for the other pairs of dancers (ie. 2nd couple, 3rd couple, 4th couple).

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

Paine's 4th Set of Quadrilles: Part 3 La Poule

Hi everyone,

Today I'll be looking at the 3rd figure of Paine's 4th Set of Quadrilles: La Poule! Once again, I will work on giving a detailed breakdown of the figures to make it easier to practice. Here is an image of the original figures.

3rd Figure: La Poule

A: Honours (8 bars).

B: 1st woman and 3rd man Traversé with the right hand (or, cross over - 4 bars); de-traversé with the left hand (4 bars).

• 1st woman and 3rd man cross the set touching right hands as you pass (3 skip changes + jeté assemblé). In the video of the dance group from the Netherlands, they do a high five!
• 1st woman and 3rd man return, this time taking left hands with each other, and right hands with PARTNER to form a line for 4 (3 skip changes + jeté assemblé). The partners on the outside of the line face opposite directions to their partner. See top image of the plate below:

A: Demi-balance twice (4 bars); demi-promenade (4 bars).

• All take hands in a line for 4 and set twice to your partner (always going to the right first - this means that the middle arms between 1st woman and 3rd man will be extended as each person sets right to their partner; then the arms between the partners will be extended as each person sets left.
• The dancers on the outside ends of the line (1^st man and 3^rd woman) turn into the set to face the same way as their partners and take promenade/skater’s hold (the 1^st woman and 3^rd man on the inside of the line DO NOT turn).
• The head couples promenade halfway to the other side of the set (3 skip changes + jeté assemblé). The couple in which the man was active (3^rd man) will promenade in a semi-circular track to the opposite side. BUT, the couple in which the lady was active initially (1^st lady), will do a different promenade – when 1^st couple reaches the other side of the set, they will turn in towards each other (keeping hands) to face into the set.

C: 1st woman and 3rd man En avant et en Arriere (advance and retire – 4 bars); Dos-à-dos (4 bars).

• 1^st woman and 3^rd man advance (1 skip change + jeté assemblé) and retire (1 skip change + jeté assemblé).
• 1^st woman and 3^rd man do a back-to back. I would recommend starting this on the left foot (1 skip change forward on the left foot, 1 step to the side, 1 skip change back + jeté assemblé).

** The figure in La Poule is similar to this image, but only 1st woman and 3rd man do the back-to-back, rather than both couples illustrated here.

A: Head couples (1st and 3rd) En avant et en Arriere (or, advance and retire – 4 bars) ; demi-Chaine Anglaise (or, 2 changes of rights and lefts – 4 bars).

• Head couples take inside hands and advance (1 skip change + jeté assemblé) and retire (1 skip change + jeté assemblé). I think of the C & A parts as: I advance with the opposite person, then do a back-to-back, and finally pick up my partner.
• Head couples do 2 changes of rights and lefts back to place (2 skip changes with the right hand to cross the set, 1 skip change + jeté assemblé with the left hand).

** The chaine anglaise in La Poule only consists of 2 changes to get halfway, not the 4 changes pictured here, but the motion is the same.

Repeat for the other pairs of dancers (ie. 2^nd woman/4^th man; 3^rd woman/1^st man; 4^th woman/2^nd man). 

Remember, you have not finished dancing when you have danced your part (as active woman or man), as you will form the line for 4 etc. when your partner is active.

The 3rd figure of Paine's 1st and 4th Sets are the same, so if you watch this video of the , this may help to illuminate the movements.

** La Poule starts at 3:35.

Here is the Quadrille Club from England performing Paine's 1st Set as well.

** La Poule starts at 3:46.

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

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!

Paine's 4th Set of Quadrilles: Part 1 Le Pantalon

Hi everyone,

Today I'm going to tackle the first figure of Paine's 4th Set of Quadrilles (c. 1815): Le Pantalon. Quadrilles have some stock figures, which, once learned, make it easier to learn a quadrille at a ball. James Paine (a band leader, publisher of Quadrilles and music seller) used some "stock" figures in his quadrille sets. For example, the "Pantalon" figure appears in both Paine's 1st and 4th sets.

For an amazing, and very energetic video of Paine's 1st Set of Quadrilles (of which the first 3 figures of his 4th Set are the same), check out the Nederlands Historisch Dans-en Theaterensemble performing at a Jane Austen Ball in 2006.

Basic Steps:

• skip change (forward and backward)
• chassé/slipping step
• jeté assemblé

There is more complicated footwork, but these are just some basics to get you through!

A really important step used in quadrilles is the jeté assemblé, which I mentioned in my first post on the Duchess of Richmond's Ball. I'll post the video again...

X = man
O = woman

Quadrille formation (man on the left, woman to his right):

• 1st and 3rd couples = head couples
• 2nd and 4th couples = side couples

1st Figure: Le Pantalon

** 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).

• honour (bow/curtsey) to your set and to your partner.

B: Head couples (1st and 3rd) Chaine Anglaise (or, changes of rights and lefts - 8 bars).

• Think of the 4 changes of rights and lefts in English Country Dancing - this is the same figure!
• I would recommend 2 skip changes/hand in the chain.
• 2 skip changes crossing the set with the 1st change of hands (right) + 1 skip change along the set with the 2nd change of hands (left) + jeté assemblé.
• repeat back to correct sides.

A: Head couples Balancez et tour de mains (or, set and turn partners - 8 bars).

• Head couples turn in to face partner and do 2 chassés (slipping step) to the right + jeté assemblé, 2 chassés to the left + jeté assemblé (4 bars).
• right-hand turn your partner to place with 3 skip changes + jeté assemblé (4 bars)

C: Head couples Chaine des dames (or, ladies chain - 8 bars).

• 1st and 3rd women cross the set by right hands, and turn the opposite gentleman by the left hand, coming back across the set by right hands and turn your partner with the left to place + jeté assemblé.
• this is the same kind of motion as "swinging corners", except the women initiate instead of the 1st couple in English Country Dance.

** See middle figure for ladies' chain, and bottom for changes of rights and lefts.

Here is the diagram for swinging corners from English Country Dancing:

A: Head couples Demi-promenade and demi-chaine anglaise (8 bars).

• taking skater's or promenade hold as described in my Brussels Waltz post, head couples cross the set to the other side in 3 skip changes + jeté assemblé.
• head couples do 2 changes of rights and lefts back to place in 3 skip changes + jeté assemblé.

Side couples (2nd and 4th) repeat the figure.

For anyone interested in other quadrille figures, have a look at Thomas Wilson's "The quadrille and cotillion panorama, or, Treatise on quadrille dancing in two parts: with an explanation, in French and English, of all the quadrille & cotillion figures generally adopted, as described by diagrams on the plate."

Here's the whole plate illustrating the quadrille figures in this publication for anyone who's interested!

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