Go to the side couples and chassé out

My description of this relatively obscure Regency quadrille figure sequence was originally buried deep within a lengthy post on reconstructing an American Civil War-era quadrille, Wrestling with Belle Brandon.  I'm pulling it out separately here for those whose interests are primarily in the earlier era and adding a clearer explanation of the step-sequences needed.

The figure in question is known in French as a combination of Figurer à Droite sur les Côtés (four bars) followed by Chassé Ouvert  (four bars).  Typically, this is followed by En Avant Les Huit (four bars) and a final Tour des Mains (four bars).  In English, this is usually described as the head couples lead to the right(-hand) side couples and chassé out to form lines across the set, with the follow-up figure being forward and back in lines and turn partners two hands to places. 

This is not a particularly common sequence in the era, though as discussed in the Belle Brandon post, it seems to have been quite popular with at least one mid-19th-century American compiler of quadrilles.  A Regency-era example of its use is found in Barclay Dun's A translation of nine of the most fashionable quadrilles (Edinburgh, 1818).  The first figure, La Portugoise, of Dun's Second Quadrille includes the following instructions:

5th. The first and third couples dance into the middle, turning to the right, and set opposite the second and fourth, with whom they turn, forming a line of four on each side, ... 8
6th. The two lines advance and retire, ... 4
7th. The gentlemen take their ladies, and turn them into their places, ... 4

The "... 8" and "... 4" indicate the number of bars each move takes.

How the figure works
Here's a detailed breakdown of the figure itself:

2b    Head couples move to stand directly in front of their right-hand side couples
2b    All set
2b    Give two hands to facing dancer and turn halfway, opening up in lines of four at the head and foot of the set
2b    All set
4b    Lines forward and back
4b    Turn partners two hands to places

If the number of the set is that the head couples are #1 and #2 and the side couples #3 (to the right of the first couple) and #4, the arrangement of the lines at the head and foot of the set will look like this:

W2  M4  W3  M1
M2  W4  M3  W1

The repeat would presumably have the side couples moving instead of the head couples and the dancers opening out into lines on the sides of the set like this:

M3    W3
W2    M2
M1    W1
W4    M4

My only reservation when I originally reconstructed the figure was that it seemed awkward to turn to places at the end of the figure with the side couples inside the head couples (or vice-versa on the repeat).  But I tested the figure with a group of experienced dancers and found that they were able to make it work without too much trouble.  All that was needed was for each gentleman to move very strongly forward toward his partner at the start of the turn to places, and then drop one hand a little early to move leftward, pulling his partner gently after him along the side of the quadrille into their original places.

Steps
Following are abbreviated instructions for performing the steps used in the sequences below.  These are intended only as summaries and do not include all the niceties of bending and rising required for excellence in period practice.

Chassé (forward or backward): after an initiating hop on the left foot on the upbeat ("and") during which the right foot is extended forward, step with the right foot forward into fourth ("ONE"), close the left foot behind it ("and"), and move the right foot forward again ("TWO").  This move takes an entire bar (and-ONE-and-TWO) and can also be done leading with the left foot and moving backwards.

Jeté: extend one foot out directly to the side (second position raised) and back in, either behind or before, leaping onto it and raising the other foot to point straight down, close along the leg.  This is a sharp "out and in" motion rather than a curving ronde de jambe.  Practice flicking the foot in and out of second position raised will be useful.  The step is initiated on the upbeat ("and") and lands on the downbeat (ONE).

Assemblé: extend one foot out directly to the side (second position raised) then bring it in either behind or before while hopping into the air, landing in either third or fifth position with weight equally on both feet, bending the knees slightly when landing rather than locking them.  Again, this is an "in and out" motion.  The step is initiated on the upbeat ("and") and lands on the downbeat (TWO).

Sissone Dessous: hop on one foot while pointing the other foot straight down, close along and behind the standing leg.  The hop is initiated on the upbeat and lands on the downbeat.  This sequence is typically done in pairs, first on one foot, then the other.

Step sequences
Only two sources in my possession describe this figure sequence: Alexander Strathy, in his Elements of the Art of Dancing (Edinburgh, 1822) and an American dance manual, Elements and Principles of the Art of Dancing by "J. H. G." (known to be J. H. Gourdoux-Daux) translated from the original French to English, with some notable additions and subtractions, by dancing professor "V. G.," known to be V. Guillou (Philadelphia, 1817).  Between the two of them it is possible to work out the step-sequence for the initial eight bars as follows:

2b    Chassé-Jeté-Assemblé (head couples move to face side couples)
2b    Sissone Dessous-Assemblé first with left foot, then right (all set)
2b    Chassé-Jeté-Assemblé (turn halfway and open into lines)
2b    Sissone Dessous-Assemblé first with left foot, then right (all set in lines)

For the advancing and retiring in lines, Strathy gives the following sequence:

2b    Chassé-Jeté-Assemblé (lines forward)
2b    Sissone Dessous-Assemblé first with left foot, then right (all set in lines)

The Sissone Dessous-Assemblé sequence is described by Strathy as "retir[ing] a little," though in practice that seems to be very little -- the dancers have to actively hop backwards on the Sissone Dessous-Assemblé or they actually end up moving slightly forward!

Gourdoux-Doux in the Guillou translation does not give a specific step-sequence for advancing and retiring in lines of eight, though he does describe sequences for advancing and retiring in general.  It is quite common for Regency-era figures to have many possible step-sequences; I have previously discussed a number of them for advancing and retiring.  Given that pleasing flexibility, I would recommend the simpler sequence given across many sources:

2b    Chassé-Jeté-Assemblé (forward)
2b    Chassé-Jeté-Assemblé leading with the left foot back (backward)

Using this sequence instead creates a greater distance between the lines and makes the following turn to places easier to accomplish smoothly.  For that turn, the easiest and most common sequence is simply:

4b    Chassé-Chassé-Chassé-Jeté-Assemblé twice (turn partners to places) 

Special thanks to the students of The Elegant Arts Society who donated their class time to dance-test this reconstruction and to Colin Hume for providing the original incentive to research this figure.