A History of Country Dancing
with an emphasis on the steps
Anne Daye, HDS Director of Education and Research
The Country Dance of the Later Stuarts
The Civil War and the Commonwealth caused a hiatus in English social life, particularly following the departure of royalty and many aristocratic and gentry families for France and the Continent. A new energy came with the Restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660.
Samuel Pepys went to Whitehall on New Year’s Eve 1662, where he saw the King dancing:
‘After seating themselves, the King takes out the Duchess of York; and the Duke, the Duchess of Buckingham; the Duke of Monmouth, my Lady Castlemaine; and so other lords other ladies; and they danced the Bransle. After that, the King led a lady a single Coranto; and then the rest of the lords, one after another, other ladies; very noble it was, and great pleasure to see. Then to the country dances; the King leading the first, which he called for; which was, says he, ‘Cuckolds all awry’ the old dance of England’.
Thus the King and his brother adopted French practice in the branle and courante, alongside the English vernacular country dance: a canny mix of foreign fashion and national practice. Across the next three decades in England, a transition in social and theatre dance was made from the ‘Renaissance’ system of dancing (pavans, almains, galliards) to the ‘Baroque’ or ‘French’ system, known also as ‘La Belle Dance’ (bourées, minuets, rigaudons) with some dances keeping the same name but changing significantly in character, such as the courante. The country dance proved a flexible choreographic formula that could absorb a major change in stepping practice. Through the continuing editions of Playford’s book, now called The Dancing Master, we can trace the shift from the Renaissance system to the Baroque in England. It is corroborated by the manuscript records of the measures (known as the Inns of Court measures), which indicate the longevity of the Renaissance system from mid-sixteenth century to post-Restoration.
See a later instalment for further information on this important change.
French stepping
The foundation step by 1700 was the pas de bourée, also known as the fleuret. It comprises three paces, but is completed within one bar. Tomlinson in The Art of Dancing and Three Dances 1735 says they ‘consist of three plain, straight Steps, but a Movement is added to the first of them.’ Rameau in Le Mâitre à Danser 1725 calls this ‘un pas coulant’ – a flowing step. As this is danced one fleuret to a bar, the relationship with the musical phrase loosens. It also leads to the use of the fleuret for all dance metres, including triple metres, whereas the Renaissance double step only works with duple or compound duple metres.
Country dances in distinct French dance metres appear alongside dances to English tunes: bourée, minuet, rigaudon, courante. Also, for the first time, dances in the British metres of hornpipe and slip-jig appear, so the new French steps allow for country dances set to British vernacular tunes. Additionally, we have evidence of jig steps from dancing masters, that suit country dance figures.
Bibliography
Playford, J. (1651) The English Dancing Master. London: Playford. Facsimile reprint: Dean-Smith (ed.), London, Schott, 1957
Rameau, P. (1725) Le Maître à Danser. Paris: Villette. Facsimile reprint: New York, Gregg 1970
Tomlinson, K. (1735) The Art of Dancing and Six Dances. London: Tomlinson. Facsimile reprint: New York, Gregg 1970
Wilson, D. R. (1987) Dancing in the Inns of Court. Historical Dance, 1987, 2 (5), 3 – 16
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