To me, the word "quadrille" would usually suggest either Tony's definition 1 or
his definition 3.
Reading Tony's definition 4 reminds me that I have occasionally noticed the
word "quadrille" in titles of tunes in 6/8 meter. Looking in the book
_Advanced Square Dance Figures of the West and Southwest_ by Lee Owens and
Viola Ruth (1950), I notice that the tunes therein include "Blackberry
Quadrille," "Blacksmith's Quadrille," "Bony Smith's Quadrille," and "Ruth's
Quadrille," all in 6/8. Also included, however, is a tune titled "Canyon
Quadrille," which is in 2/4 (but with a lot of dotted notes).
I was unaware of the usage given in Tony's definition 2: "... a set of (usually
three) squares done with the same partner." Having read it, I can see how the
term formerly used for those 19th-century dances in five or six figures (with
the same partner, but with pauses in the the music between figures) could have
come to be used for sets of three squares with the same partner as done in some
areas in the mid 20th century.
While looking around on Youtube a few years ago, I came across some videos of
"quadrille" dances in Vienna with couples arranged not in square sets but in
what resemble Becket contra lines. Here's an example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IQ1-nRxr64
Note that there is no progression. Each couple dances pretty much exclusively
with the couple across from them, the only interaction with dancers from an
adjacent foursome being an occasional acknowledgment as couples dance forward
and back on a diagonal. The figures are of the sort that might have been
danced alternately by head and side couples in a 19th-century quadrille in
square formation. I'd guess that the change to a Becket-like formation was
intended to reduce the amount of inactivity, to make more efficient use of
floor space, or both. It might also reduce the total duration of the figures.
I have no idea whether the change in formation is a recent innovation or
whether it goes back many decades, perhaps even into the 19th century.
While looking for a video of a quadrille in Vienna to cite in this message, I
also discovered some videos of "quadrilles" as danced in Jamaica, some in
square formation and some not. I won't cite any video in particular; readers
who care cane easily find examples for themselves. I don't think I can offer
any better speculation than anyone else about how these dances might have
evolved into what they are now from whatever sort of "quadrille" or other dance
might have preceded them.
Lest digressions obscure my main point, I'll repeat that the notions of
"quadrille" most prominent in my mind are Tony's definitions 1 and 3.
--Jim
> On Feb 21, 2020, at 9:55 AM, Tony Parkes via Contra Callers
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Here’s my take on it, from the glossary of my forthcoming book _Square Dance
> Calling: An Old Art for a New Century_:
>
> Quadrille (1) A formal square dance in five or six figures,
> introduced in the early 19th century; the original figures were selected from
> the cotillion (definition 1), although additional figures were written later.
> (2) In the Northeast, a term used until the mid-20th century for a set of
> (usually three) squares done with the same partner. (3) A term used by modern
> square dance callers for a square phrased and prompted in New England style.
> (4) In some areas, a fiddle tune in 6/8 meter.
<snip>
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