Capering & Kickery

The Original Gallopade

Like the Royal Gallopade, which I discussed here, the Original Gallopade was published in the Companion to La Terpsichore Moderne (Second Edition) by J. S. Pollock (London, c1830) and is a specific choreography that combines galop round the room, short quadrille-like figures, and a final sauteuse waltz.  I'm not sure about the original part; I suspect that the original form of gallopade was nothing but galop.  But that's the title Pollock published it under.

Here is the general description of the dance, as given by Pollock:

La Gallopade may be danced with an unlimited number of persons, standing circularly in couples, following each other round the room.  In the first figure, the gent. passes his right arm round the waist of the lady, and with his left hand takes hold of the lady's right, the lady's left hand resting on the gent's. right shoulder -- the whole of the couples being thus placed, the ladies are all on the outside of the circle.  At the end of the first four bars, the lady crosses to the left of the gent. resting her right hand on the gent's. left shoulder and holding hands in front as before, which brings the ladies to the inside of the circle.  This figure is performed four times over, and occupies sixteen bar of the tune.  At the fourth time, the whole of the party fall back in a circle, the ladies all standing on the right hand of their partners, ready to commence the figures as they occur.  This dance is performed with a particular and characteristic step, of which it is impossible to give such a description, as would enable any one to dance it, without personal instruction.

The English Liked to Waltz

A telegraph from London updates Americans on the early twentieth-century dance scene in London:

Waltz Popular in London

    London, Jan. 2. -- The lancers, quadrille, polka, and mazurka, once popular dances, have now almost disappeared from the ball programmes of fashionable London.  The American two-step to some extent has taken the place of the polka, but the dance most in favor is the waltz, which, according to an Italian expert, the English people seem to dance like persons in a dream, so slowly is the time usually taken.

    --- The New York Times, January 3, 1909

English dance teachers felt that this state of affairs called for high-level assistance, as a later article alerts New Yorkers:

Thinks Waltz Overdone
English Teachers Want King to Lead in Introducing Other Dances

    London, March 13. -- R. N. Compton, President of the Imeperial Society of Dance Teachers, has appealed to the king to assist the movement for breaking the exclusive popularity of the waltz.  He says:

    "If the King would command that one new dance be included in the programme of each State ball he would set a vogue for all the ballrooms of the kingdom.  The mazurka, schottische, polka, and waltz cotillion all have their places in a properly balanced programme, and on such occasions of ceremony as a State ball arranged in honor of some distinguished visitor I would suggest that some one should arrange to provide dances of a former period, as was done at the ball given by the Kaiser in Berlin in honor of the King.  The gavotte, minuet, and pavane suggest themselves, and, in addition, a new dance which would become the dance of the year."

    The last State ball, on July 10, was made up as follows: Waltzes, 10; quadrilles, 3; polkas, 2; galops, 1.  Mr. Compton suggests instead: Waltzes, 6; quadrilles, 2; polkas, 2; mazurka, 1; polonaise, 1; schottische, 1 or 2; two-step, 1; waltz-minuet, 1; and a new dance, 1.

    --- The New York Times, March 14, 1909

Top-down dictation of dance popularity has never worked out all that well, and within a few years most of these dances -- with the notable exception of the waltz -- would be thoroughly out of favor as the new ragtime dances became popular.

Also notice that Mr. Compton quietly slid a waltz-minuet into his suggested ball programme.  I'm sure the fact that he choreographed a waltz-minuet of his own had nothing to do with this...

Both articles are  © The New York Times, though 1909 articles would be out of copyright in the U.S. by now.  Click the article titles to be taken to the original articles in the invaluable The New York Times archive.

An Easy Dos-à-Dos Sequence, 1822

Once a dancer moves past the basic chassé, jeté, assemblé step sequences for early nineteenth-century French quadrilles, the very next step sequence I teach them is this alternate dos-à-dos sequence taken from Alexander Strathy's Elements of the Art of Dancing (Edinburgh, 1822).  In this sequence the dancer advances moving forward, travels sideways for the actual back-to-back part of the figure, then makes a half-turn to travel forward back to place before completing the turn on the final measure.  This is quite beautiful to watch, but the steps are very simple.

I would consider this sequence slightly too elaborate for country dances, which are supposed to use simpler steps.

Here's the sequence:

1b    Chassé forward, passing opposite dancer
1b    Jeté (left foot), glissade dessous to the right
1b    Making a half-turn to face original place, chassé forward, curving slightly
1b    Completing the turn, make a glissade dessous to the left and a final assemblé

The counts are "and ONE and TWO, THREE and FOUR, and ONE and TWO, and THREE FOUR."  Note that the two halves of the figure have slightly different rhythm patterns.  It may help when learning it to clap or chant them several times.

Here's a quick summary of the necessary steps as used above.  These are not full descriptions!  All of them can be led on the opposite foot.

Chassé: after an initiating hop on the left foot on the upbeat, move the right foot forward, close the left foot behind it, and move the right foot forward again.  This move takes one measure ("and-ONE-and-TWO").

Jeté: extend the left foot out directly to the side (second position raised) then, bringing it in front of the right, leap onto it, raising the other foot behind to point straight down, close along the leg.  This is a linear "out and in" motion rather than a curving ronde de jambe.  The step is initiated on the upbeat and lands on the first beat of the second measure above ("THREE").

Glissade dessous: slide one foot to the side and close the other foot to fifth or third position behind.  The slide to the side is performed on the upbeat with the close coming on the downbeat.  This is "and FOUR" in the second measure above, where it occupied the second half of the measure, and "and THREE" in the fourth measure, where it takes up the first half.

Assemblé: extend the left foot out directly to the side (second position raised) then hop, bringing the left foot behind the right 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 lands on the downbeat, ("FOUR") in the fourth measure above.

Lowe's Gallopade Quadrille

Here's an easy and interesting quadrille taken from Lowe's Ball-Conductor and Assembly Guide, Third Edition, published in Edinburgh by the "Messers. Lowe."  The manual is not dated, but internal references and the type of dances included suggest that it is from the late 1820s or early 1830s.  Given the era, I would expect to dance the figures with early nineteenth century quadrille steps, but the steps and sequences required are few and easy.

The Gallopade Quadrille, or Quadrille Galope, is for the usual four couples in a square and consists of three figures, each with three parts.  The format of each figure is:

16b    Galopade
16b    Various quadrille figures
16b    Sauteuse

This gives a length of 48bx3.  Following the third figure, the dancers continue to sauteuse until the end of the music. 

12/16/10: Edited to add: I was unclear above -- the original dance instructions are entirely continuous throughout rather than broken down into separate figures with pauses in between like a typical quadrille.  I noticed the repeating galop-figure-sauteuse pattern and used that structure in my writeup.  There is no indication of any break or pause at any point in the entire sequence.  My thanks to Oleksiy for raising this point in the comments.

I have no specific music for this dance, but using a piece of music at least 16b x 10 (160 bars) long will allow for the standard eight bars at the beginning for bows and an additional eight bars for the final sauteuse.  Lengthier music will permit a longer sauteuse at the end.

Taking the parts piece by piece:

Victorian Polka Workshop, NYC (Wednesday, December 15, 2010)

This Wednesday, December 15th, I will be teaching a workshop on Victorian polka sponsored by Specialty Productions in New York City.  A not-historical-but-very-fun workshop on Cross-Step Waltz will follow.  Both workshops will be at the Sandra Cameron Dance Studio, 199 Lafayette Street (one block south of Spring Street, between Kenmare and Broome).  No experience is necessary and no partner is needed.  The cost is $15 per workshop or $25 for both.  No advance registration needed -- just show up!

Flat shoes are recommended for the polka workshop; spike heels are not-recommended for both.

Polkamania!  A Victorian Polka Workshop
7:00-8:30pm
Basics and variations for the Victorian polka, the international dance fad ("polkamania") of the mid-1840s.  Lively and simple to dance, the polka became a hit and has remained so in many dance communities to this day -- it's still a Grammy Award category!  Easily danced to both
historical and modern music, come learn the basic polka that started it all!
Download workshop flyer.

Cross-Step Waltz
8:30-10:00pm
Created by Richard Powers at Stanford University, Cross-Step Waltz is the newest waltz on the dance floor, spreading quickly because it's easy to learn yet endlessly innovative, satisfying for both beginners and the most experienced dancers. It travels and rotates like traditional waltz but the addition of the cross-step opens up a wide range of playful yet gracefully flowing variations.
Download workshop flyer.

For more information about either workshop, post questions here; call Marc Casslar at (860) 286-9191; or email.

Regency/Jane Austen-Era Dance in the Boston Area! (Saturday-Sunday, December 18-19, 2010)

For enthusiasts of the early nineteenth century, here are two more dance opportunities coming up soon in the Boston area on the weekend of December 18 & 19:

Half & Half Workshop, Boston area (Saturday, December 18, 2010)

Coming up soon in the Boston area: 

I will be teaching a special intensive workshop in the remarkable, unique, exciting-yet-elegant Half & Half. Invented by Vernon and Irene Castle around 1914, the Half and Half is a waltz in 5/4 time which can be danced to both historical and modern music.

The workshop will be held on Saturday, December 18, 2010, from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm, at the Park Avenue Congregational Church, 50 Paul Revere Road, Arlington, Massachusetts.

No partner is needed, but one must already be capable of waltzing – any kind of waltz – to learn the Half and Half in the time available.

Admission is $15; half price for students.

The church is located at the intersection of Paul Revere Road and Park Avenue, one block up from Massachusetts Avenue, in Arlington Heights, MA. Check MapQuest for driving directions. The church is reachable by the #77 (Arlington Heights) MBTA bus line from Harvard Square.

Download a workshop flyer to share with your dance friends.

For more information: email Mike Bergman or call (617) 230-9572.