Capering & Kickery

Thinking about the Four Step

Original photo: Barry Lewis

The photo at left (click to enlarge) was taken in June, 2018, at the Laws Railroad Museum and Historic Site in Bishop, California.  I've cropped it to focus on the dance program board shown, which is hanging in the music room there.  It gives a program that probably dates from around 1910.  Most of the dances were well-known couple dances, plus (of course!) the quadrille, which was probably the first set or a called quadrille.  I've discussed some of the others, such as the Rye Waltz, the Newport, and some versions of the Paul Jones, on Kickery in the past.  There's some mystery about what exactly would have been danced for the minuet -- the Oxford Minuet?  One of the  choreographed "waltz minuets"?  A Menuet de la Cour? 

But to me, the most interesting puzzle on there is what exactly was meant by a "Four Step".

In the 1900s and early 1910s, there were sequences called the four-step in several different dances -- a four-step Boston, a four-step grapevine, a four-step in the tango, etc.  I don't really envision any of those to have been listed as a separate dance, however.  Noted dance historian Richard Powers stated in a Facebook comment on the photo that the four-step was an early name for the one-step, though I don't know how common that usage was, since I have not come across it myself.  But it's not the only possibility.  Let's look at a few of the others!

A shorter Victorian "Sir Roger de Coverley"

Over the twelve years I've been writing Kickery, I've twice discussed versions of Sir Roger de Coverley, the English "finishing dance" that was the direct ancestor of America's Virginia Reel: a Regency-era version from Thomas Wilson and a Victorian-era version probably originated by Mrs. Nicholas Henderson.  The latter version of the dance, which shortened the figures and added an introductory figure for all the dancers, appeared in several English sources from around 1850 to 1870.  But it was not the only version in mid-nineteenth century England; at least two variations of a full version more like the Regency one continued to appear in dance manuals, and a fourth version, shortened even further, turned up occasionally as well. 

 

The dance being strongly associated with Christmas due to its appearance at Mr. Fezziwig's ball in Charles Dickens' 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol, Christmas Eve seems an appropriate time to discuss this extremely short version.

Over the twelve years I've been writing Kickery, I've twice discussed versions of Sir Roger de Coverley, the English "finishing dance" that was the direct ancestor of America's Virginia Reel: a Regency-era version from Thomas Wilson and a Victorian-era version probably originated by Mrs. Nicholas Henderson.  The latter version of the dance, which shortened the figures and added an introductory figure for all the dancers, appeared in several English sources from around 1850 to 1870.  But it was not the only version in mid-nineteenth century England; at least two variations of a full version more like the Regency one continued to appear in dance manuals, and a fourth version, shortened even further, turned up occasionally as well. 

 

The dance being strongly associated with Christmas due to its appearance at Mr. Fezziwig's ball in Charles Dickens' 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol, Christmas Eve seems an appropriate time to discuss this extremely short version.

Chivers' Second Set of Caledonians (1 of 2)

In the mid-1820s, London dancing master G. M. S. Chivers published two additional sets of "Caledonians" figures, over and above his first set of Caledonians, which became the standard nineteenth-century version.  The second set has some appealing variations in the figures: alternating half-figures for head and side couples; solos for both gentlemen and ladies in separate figures; a "meanwhile" figure to occupy the less-active couples; and a demi-grande-chaîne figure broken into quarters by extra full turns.  There's nothing too exotic, but it's a fun little set, fairly straightforward to reconstruct and easy to dance for anyone with general experience with Regency-era quadrille steps and figures.  I'll include the first couple of figures below and follow up with the remainder in a second post.

A note about music: my only source for Chivers' Second Set of Caledonians is his Dancing Master in Miniature (c1825), which gave figures only, no music.  I have not, so far, found the specifically published sheet music for them.  Given the degree to which sets of quadrille figures were recycled for different sets of tunes during the nineteenth century, I would not feel at all uncomfortable about dancing them to more-or-less random sets of Scottish music, either from another published set of Scottish-themed quadrilles or assembled from period Scottish tunes.  The length and repeat structure of the figures matches the standard "first set" of quadrilles.

On to the figures!

December 2019 Gig Calendar

December will be a quite month of hibernation, research, and private lessons and classes.  The dance series at the American Center at the U. S. Embassy will continue with one regular dance and a holiday party!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday, December 1st ~ Moscow
16:00-18:00.  Private lesson.

Tuesday, December 3rd ~ Moscow
19:00-22:00.  Private class.

Friday, December 6th ~ Moscow
Masterclass: 19th Century American Social Dances
for the American Center in Moscow
18:30-20:00.  Free, beginner-friendly class on mid- to late nineteenth century contra dances and quadrilles.  No experience necessary, no partner needed.  Note that (1) we will be dancing on lightweight carpet, so the slipperiest possible shoes are encouraged (but dance-floor-restricted shoes are not necessary), and (2) embassy security procedures are in effect, so pre-registration is strongly encouraged; follow the class link above.  Part of a regular series happening roughly every other Friday.

Saturday, December 7th ~ Moscow
20:00-22:00.  Private lesson.        Cancelled

Tuesday, December 10th ~ Moscow
19:00-22:00.  Private class.

Tuesday, December 17th ~ Moscow
19:00-22:00.  Private class.

Friday, December 20th ~ Moscow
Masterclass: 19th Century American Social Dances
for the American Center in Moscow
18:30-20:00.  Holiday party!  Free, beginner-friendly class on mid- to late nineteenth century contra dances and quadrilles.  No experience necessary, no partner needed.  Note that (1) we will be dancing on lightweight carpet, so the slipperiest possible shoes are encouraged (but dance-floor-restricted shoes are not necessary), and (2) embassy security procedures are in effect, so pre-registration is strongly encouraged; follow the class link above.  Part of a regular series happening roughly every other Friday.  This week will be an informal party - light refreshments will be served and festive attire is encouraged (but not required).

 

Saturday, December 14th ~ Moscow
17:30-19:30.  Private lesson.

Saturday, December 21st ~ Moscow
17:30-19:30.  Private lesson.

Tuesday, December 24th ~ Moscow
19:00-22:00.  Private class.

Sunday, December 29th ~ Moscow
19:00-21:00.  Private lesson.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am available for private lessons in Moscow (primarily Thursday nights and irregular weekends) or while on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

Moscow, Russia: December 1-31

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coming in January: public classes in Moscow and more dances at the American Center!