I was looking for something new to do with galopade for my upcoming classes in Voronezh, Russia when I came across the same set of galopade quadrille figures in several different dance manuals from the 1840s. That seemed to be a sign, and the quadrille turned out to be a fun little set. (Edited 3/21/2015 to add: and the dancers in Voronezh liked it too!)
The quadrille instructions are quite straightforward. There are six verses, each bracketed by the four couples performing a galopade around the set, turning at each position, and a "balance and turn" figure in which they chassez right and left and then turn partners by two hands, ending in close hold to prepare for the galopade at the beginning of the next verse.
Here's the overall pattern:
8b All galopade around the set, turning at each position (four-slide galop four times)
16b (figure of each verse)
8b All chassez right and left, all turn partners two hands
The six verses are:
(1) Chaîne anglaise (rights and lefts); first head couples (8b) then side couples (8b)
(2) Chaîne des dames (ladies' chain); heads (8b) then sides (8b)
(3) Tiroirs (drawers); heads (8b) then sides (8b)
(4) En avant/en arrière deux (forward and back by pairs); 4b per pair
(5) Ladies en avant/en arrière (4b), gentleman same (4b), chaîne des dames double (8b)
(6) Poussette (two couples galop around inside set); heads (8b) then sides (8b)
The quadrille concludes with the dancers doing a "galopade waltz", possibly breaking the set and dancing around the room, until the end of the music. The "galopade waltz" is called that rather than the "galopade" of the earlier figures, suggesting either that the dancers do more turning or that they break their sets. The latter option is found in other nineteenth-century quadrilles that mix couple dancing and figures, which is further suggested by a "Grande Gallope" in the matching position in a different galopade quadrille.
The original instructions use a mix of French terms (tiroirs, poussette) and English ones (rights and left, ladies chain). I've put both in above.
Reconstruction and performance notes
I favor using a galop step throughout the figures rather than walking, a smoother version of the earlier chassé step.
The opening galopade in each figure is given just as that, but the matching figures in very similar galopades in other sources further detail it as "galopade round", "galopade-à-la-chassez", "gallope round", and "gallope round turning in each corner".
Likewise, the balance and turn is described in this dance simply as "set and turn all", but similar galopades give the instruction "facing partners, chassez right and left; turn partners". I have chosen to follow that more detailed version.
Chaîne anglaise (rights and lefts): For this era and at this speed, I prefer this be done with both right and left hands, moving continuously rather than breaking at the halfway point.
Tiroirs (drawers): Most early sources for tiroirs describe it as facing couples changing places by moving sideways across the set, often with the inside couple joining hands, then repeating to return to places. So this figure is effectively an eight-slide galop each way. The first and third couples move inside on the first cross, then outside when crossing back. Durang suggests taking "gallop position", though his illustration (shown at left) shows crossed hands. Dancers may choose any of the three holds (two hands, crossed hands, or closed ballroom position). Durang's instructions:
Les tiroirs
The top couple in gallop position, chassé to the bottom couple’s place, while they glide to the situation of the top couple--the bottom couple join in gallop position and regain their places the top couple dividing, and outside of them, glide to their places.
En avant/en arrière deux (forward and back by pairs): the standard pairs are first lady/second gentleman, second lady/first gentleman, third lady/fourth gentleman, fourth lady/third gentleman.
Chaîne des dames double: Dancers should focus on spotting their vis-à-vis (opposite) and their partner; these are the two people they will turn with.
Poussette: This is not the push/pull poussette of earlier country dancing. By this era, it meant the two couples performing a turning couple dance (waltz, polka, galop, etc.) around each other. It can be done either as a series of four four-slide galops or as a constantly-turning (two-slide) galop inside the set.
Music
There is no specific music for this quadrille. At least six repeats of thirty-two measures are required, with more for the introduction (for bows) and any final galopade around the room. I edited a version of the wonderful "Wrecker's Daughter Galop" track from the Spare Parts album Returning Heroes into the following pattern to allow for the add-ons:
4b + 8b bows + 32b x 6 verses + 40b galopade waltz
I will be happy to send an MP3 to anyone who can demonstrate that they already own the CD, which may be ordered directly from Spare Parts.
Sources
The origin of this galopade is a bit complex to trace, since all of the manuals below are copying each other or some other source. I believe the figures originated in England, but the earliest source I have is American:
(1) The New Ball-Room Guide; or, Dancing Made Easy, by "A Man of Fashion", New York, 1844.
But that book is taken, per the title page, from "the fortieth London edition". I do have a copy of a London manual which looks like it might be the source, but it's an even later edition:
(2) A Guide to the Ball Room and Illustrated Polka Lesson Book, by "A Man of Fashion", London, c1848.
The figures reappear word for word in another American manual which notoriously borrows directly from other sources:
(3) Terpsichore, or Ball Room Guide, by Charles Durang, Philadelphia/New York, 1848.
And finally, they also appear in another Durang manual:
(4) The Ball Room Bijou and Art of Dancing, by Charles Durang, Philadelphia/Baltimore/New York/Boston, 1848.
But that manual is actually just an excerpt from Terpsichore -- see this article for explanation.
But wait, there's more...
Those other sources with extra detail on the galopade and chassez-and-turn? They contain similar galopade quadrilles with the same pattern but some different figures, which suggests to me that the length and mix of figures was fairly arbitrary.
Next up: build your very own galopade quadrille!
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