In his book "Hoedowns, Reels and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance" Phil Jamison discusses quadrilles on pp 33-35 and elsewhere, especially Chapters 2 & 3. Thanks, George Mercer
On Fri, Feb 21, 2020 at 4:13 PM jim saxe via Contra Callers < [email protected]> wrote: > 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> > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >
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