The Imperial Gavotte is one of the many schottische variations included in M. B. Gilbert's book of couple dances, Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890) and in G. W. Lopp's La Danse (Paris, 1903). It is attributed to Professor A. T. Graves of Albany, New York, and noted by Gilbert to have been accepted by the American Society of Professors of Dancing in New York on September 4, 1889. The Society endorsement gave it enough exposure for it to turn up outside Graves' own studio: in the October 26, 1890, issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri), it is listed as one of the new dances to be taught by John Mahler.
Unlike most schottisches, the Imperial Gavotte does not have distinct first and second halves, merely two measures leading with the first foot (gentleman's left, lady's right) and two measures repeating the same steps led with the second foot.
The dance position is an ordinary closed hold, the gentleman facing the center and the lady facing the wall. The steps below are given for the gentleman; the lady dances opposite.
Imperial Gavotte (four measures of 4/4 time)
1&2 Slide left to side, chassé (close right to left and slide left to side)
3 Close right foot to left
4 Leap sideways onto left foot
(Gentleman faces line of dance)
1 Leap forward along line of dance onto right foot
(Gentleman facing the center again)
2 Slide left to side
3 Close right foot to left
4 Leap sideways onto left foot
Repeat all of the above starting on the right foot. See note below regarding turning.
Reconstruction and Performance Notes
The reconstruction above is based on Gilbert. Lopp describes the last step as leaping from the left foot onto the right, but since he then gives the repeat starting on the right foot, I believe this is simply a mistake. There are no other discrepancies between the two descriptions.
Ambiguous in both descriptions, however, is whether the Imperial Gavotte makes a full turn or simply swings back and forth, and if it does make the turn, exactly where and how. The absence of specific instructions to turn could mean that the variation doesn't rotate fully. But it also could simply have been omitted; neither Gilbert nor Lopp were the most careful of editors.
One could interpret the leap sideways onto the left foot on beat four of the first measure as "leap sideways and continue turning clockwise", and the leap forward with the right foot on beat one of the second measure as completing the turn. The leap sideways onto the left foot at the end of the second measure would likewise make a half-turn, enabling the gentleman to lead the repeat with the right foot and continue turning clockwise. But it works equally well for the dancers to simply swing back and forth (counter-clockwise on the leap forward onto the right, then clockwise to slide sideways again on the left, etc.) and never actually make a proper turn. This pleasant ambiguity allows for some variation when dancing.
Music
I think "Imperial Gavotte" is more likely to have been the name of a piece of sheet music with which this variation was associated rather than these particular steps. On January 12, 1898, an "Imperial Gavotte" is listed in The Evening Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) as one of the pieces played in concert at an event in honor of Andrew Jackson. Unfortunately, "Imperial Gavotte" is a generic enough title that there seems to have been at least two pieces of music by that name.
An "Imperial Gavotte" by M. Z. Hanau, published in 1885, may be seen online at The Library of Congress, here. The timing is about right, but it includes no dance instructions, so there's no way to be certain. An "Imperial Gavotte" by A. C. Carpenter is listed in The Universal Handbook of Musical Literature (c1900), here. I haven't been able to locate a copy of this piece.
In the absence of definitively associated "Imperial Gavotte" sheet music, the steps work just fine to any suitable period schottische. Lopp gives a tempo of 76 beats per minute.
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