Here's a first for Kickery: a reconstruction of an entire quadrille! The Original Set of Schottische Quadrille [sic] was published in Boston in 1862 in a compilation manual attributed to Elias Howe. I have found no other sources for this particular quadrille.
I'm going to work through the entire dance figure by figure with a bit of discussion about the choices I made in this reconstruction. Those who just want to print out the calls and take them off to teach it without having to sort through my reconstructive nattering, despair not: there's a link at the bottom of this post to a PDF handout you can download.
General Performance Notes
- All moves are done using schottische step patterns rather than walking. Four bars = one schottische pattern.
- Part one (P1) of the schottische is (step-together-step-hop)x2; part two (P2) is (step-hop)x4. Note that part one is not "run-run-run" even when dancers are moving straight forward!
- All promenades are done with partners side-by-side, his right arm around her waist, her left hand on his shoulder. “Schottische” is done in normal closed ballroom position.
- Finish each figure with a final step-close instead of step-hop for a stable and graceful ending.
- For the half right and left moves in Figure 1, mid-century sources are contradictory about whether both hands or used or whether the move is "pass right shoulders, give left hands." My preference is to use hands on both passes.
The lengths of the figures are, respectively, 56 bars, 64 bars, 120 bars, and 88 bars, including an eight-bar introduction in each. It is unclear in the source whether said introductions ought to be included and each figure danced separately or whether (since they are not mentioned in the source) the music ought to be played straight through with no introductions after the first and no pause in the dance. I have decided to include the introductions both because Howe never mentions introductory bars even in quadrilles known to include them and because the length of the quadrille seems excessive to do without any pause.
In reconstructing schottische quadrilles, one common problem is that there seems to be vastly too much music and dance for the distance one has to travel unless one makes the set ludicrously large or the dancers' steps unpleasantly small. I have addressed this throughout by reference to the floor patterns of the early schottische in its usual couple form: rather than progressing on part one, the dancers would move back and forth, either toward the center of the room and away or along and against the line of dance. (I have previously summarized these variations as well as posted a fuller discussion of the earlier form of the dance.) When part one is nullified as a traveling sequence and the only progressive movement is done on part two, the problems with matching distance to music and dance resolve themselves easily. I have made specific choices below on when the movement of the couples should be "in and out" or "back and forth" for practical reasons; having each couple move in the direction of their choice would wreck the symmetry of the dance.
Figure 1
8b Honors to partners and corners (see previous posts on ladies' and gentlemen's honors)
8b Heads promenade half round, then sides promenade half round
4b Half right and left on diagonals (heads face right, sides face left)
4b All schottische to places (heads outside, sides inside; see note 2 below)
4b All promenade half round
4b Half right and left on diagonals (heads face right, sides face left)
4b All promenade half round
4b Half right and left on diagonals (heads face left, sides face right; return to original places)
16b All schottische round (see note 3 below)
Notes on Figure 1
- This is a fairly straightforward figure. Each pair of couples moves halfway around the set, then the next two moves take them a quarter of the way back each time to get back to places. This is followed by a halfway move, a quarter move, another halfway move, and another quarter move to get everyone home again before the final "chorus" figure of sixteen bars of schottische. Of note for dancing: the half right and left on the diagonals is done with the same couple every time.
- On the "all schottische to places" early in the figure, the head and side couples in closed position move toward each other on the diagonal on part one, the men coming briefly back to back before the couples retreat. Part two of the schottische then has each pair of couples moving around each other counter-clockwise (line of dance) back to their original places with turning step-hops.
- In the final sixteen-bar "all schottische round," which serves as a chorus at the end of each figure of the quadrille, all four couples schottische in toward the center and out again on part one, then use the turning step-hops of part two to move to the next couple's position. This is performed four times to bring each couple back to place.
Figure 2
8b (Wait)
2b All half-turn CW, cross partners, & move sideways to corners (P1, but see note 1 below)
2b Turn corners there by right hand (P2), ending in closed position
4b Schottische back to ladies’ places (see note 2 below)
24b Repeat previous eight bars three times to bring all ladies back to original partners
8b All promenade round
16b All schottische round as in Figure 1
Notes on Figure 2
- This figure turned out to be the most challenging of all of them to reconstruct because of the peculiarly described chassé-croisé ("All chassa across--gentlemen passing in front of ladies") in the original instructions. It is unusual in the extreme for a gentleman to pass in front of a lady (showing her his back) in a chassé-croisé; more typically the ladies pass in front of the gentlemen. And with the ladies moving left and gentlemen moving right, everyone would have to make a change of foot sometime before taking closed position to schottische back to the lady's place. It is also completely unclear how this ought to be stepped. My rather radical solution (the greatest stretch in this entire reconstruction) involves considering "in front of" as meaning "closer to the center of the set." Both partners to start the move the first time by turning halfway clockwise as individuals, leaving them facing outward. They then move across each other to the corners; the gentleman is passing on the inside of the set and the lady on the outside, but with the turn, her back is now to him rather than his to her, thus preserving the standard etiquette. They do the first half of part one (step-together-step-hop) ending with the usual half-turn clockwise at the end, then the second half, with no final half-turn, meeting a new lady or gentleman at the corner for the right hand turn. This preserves the use of schottische step-patterns and avoids any need for changing feet in mid-figure.
- In the schottische back to the lady's place, each couple should move back and forth along the outside of the set in part one, then use the turning step-hops of part two to travel. Precision in performance of this move is critical; the couple must neither overturn nor underturn, but end with the gentleman facing out and lady facing in. The gentleman is then already positioned for the chassé-croisé described in the first note, and should gently unfold the lady so that she faces outward to start her own cross. On the final repetition, they need merely unfold and face counter-clockwise around the set for the promenade.
Figure 3
8b (Wait)
16b Head couples schottische round (see note 2 below)
4b Sides schottische into center and out (P1), ladies change places (P2 with straight step-hops)
4b Sides schottische forward and back to couple at left, ladies change on diagonal (see note 3 below)
24b Repeat above, side couples doing the schottische and heads leading the exchanges
48b Repeat above
16b All schottische round as in Figure 1
Notes on Figure 3
- "Head couples" and "side couples" are defined by the gentleman, since the ladies are constantly changing partners. The figure is not equal; the head ladies will do more closed-position schottische and the side ladies more place-changing. The figure was originally even more unequal, with the heads and sides alternating the schottische part but the exchanges always being led by the side couples; I have altered the figure so that the one pair of couples will schottische and the other will then lead the exchanges in order to better balance out dancing time.
- When head (or side) couples schottische, part one should be done on the diagonal, moving back and forth toward the next position in the quadrille, then part two's turning step-hops actually take the couple to that position, being careful not to collide with the two uninvolved couples.
- When the side (head) couples are schottisching back and forth toward the head (side) couples, only one couple is moving. The other couple watches until the moment when the ladies change places.
Figure 4
8b (Wait)
4b All four ladies pass one place to the right (see note 1 below)
4b Ladies balance to new gent (P1) then turn him (P2) (see note 2 below)
24b Repeat three times to return to original places
4b Gents right hands across to opposite places (see note 3 below)
4b All balance to corners and turn
4b Ladies right hands across to opposite places
4b All balance to corners and turn
4b All grand right and left half round (see note 4 below)
4b All balance to partners and turn (gents end step-close for foot change)
8b All promenade
16b All schottische round as in Figure 1
Notes on Figure 4
- When passing one place to the right, in part one the ladies should move back and forth sideways along the diagonal of the set, facing in, just as if they were dancing with a partner. They then use the step-hops of part two, done straight rather than turning, to move to the next lady's place.
- Balances consist of part one done back and forth sideways, starting to the right; the two-hand turns are done with the step-hops of part two.
- Gentlemen should start their hands across on the right foot in order to be prepared for the balance and will have to change feet after the final partner turn.
- On the grand right and left, it is important not to rush through the changes. Each change (right or left hand) takes one bar of schottische; half of either part one or part two.
Source
Howe, Elias. American dancing master and ball-room prompter. Boston, 1862. The original text of the quadrille may be seen on pages 64 and 65.
Handout
A printable handout with the calls and notes for this quadrille in PDF form may be downloaded here. Please credit Susan de Guardiola when teaching or performing this reconstruction.
I am deeply indebted to my dance-testers: Marc, Keira, Alex, Franzo, Al, Jan, Emily, and Lynn. Their feedback on the second figure in particular was invaluable!
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