Country: Als, Jylland (Jutland), Denmark
Type: longways progressive set dance
Formation: any number of couples in two lines, M to the R and W to the L as seen from the music,
numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, etc from the top of the set.
Steps: balancé,
vals (waltz)
Sheet music: (1) Sørensen, Pia & Per Sørensen / VI: 27 gamle folkedanse fra Jylland.
1 opl. Kolding: 2000. p. 52.
(2) anglaise - postkortdansen
Recordings:
Osterholz, Renate mm Liflig sang cd 2 track 11 [Dancilla].
[Or other anglaise with appropriate structure (AABBCC,A=B=C=8) and tempo.]
| Bars | Part | Dance progression: |
| 1-8 | (a) | M1,W2 circle neighbour & turn: M1 dances in front of M2, CW around M2 and into the centre of the set between couples 1 and 2. Meanwhile, W2 dances in front of W1, CW around W1, and into the centre between couples 1 and 2. M1 and W2 take 2-hand hold, turn once round CW on the spot, and retire to their respective places. Total 8 waltz steps. |
| 1-8 | M2,W1 circle neighbour & turn: M2 dances in front of M1, CCW around M1 and into the centre of the set between couples 1 and 2. Meanwhile, W1 dances in front of W2, CCW around W2, and into the centre between couples 1 and 2. M2 and W1 take 2-hand hold, turn CW on the spot, and retire to their respective places. Total 8 waltz steps. | |
| 9-16 | (b) | C1 weaves down & turns: Couple 1 dances down between couple 2, outside couple 3 (cast down) with 4 waltz steps (9-12) and meet below couple 3, take 2-hand hold and turn CW on the spot with 4 waltz steps (13-16). |
| 9-16 | C1 dances up & casts down around C2: Couple 1, holding inside hands, dances up to the top of the set, (couple 2 step up) with 4 waltz steps (9-12). M1 and W1 drop hold, and individually cast around couple 2, ie M casting CCW around M2, and W1 casting CW around W2, to meet between couples 2 and 3, facing couple 3, 4 waltz steps (13-16). | |
| 17-24 | (c) | C1 & C3 balancé and star: Couples 1 and 3 dance 4 balancé steps on the spot (17-20), take R-hand star hold and dance once around with 4 waltz steps (21-24), couple 1 finishing in the centre of the set, facing couple 2. |
| 17-24 | C1 & C2 chain: Couples 1 and 2 dance R-hand chain, beginning with R-hand to partner, 8 waltz steps.
Couple 1 finishes in the centre of the set. |
|
| When the dance repeats (from (a)), couple 1 dances with couples 3 and 4, while couple 2 rests. In the third repeat, couple 1 dances with couples 5 and 6 and couple 2 dances with couples 3 and 4.
If done in sets of 3 couples, couple 1, at the end of part (c) dances outside couple 3, and stands at the bottom of the set. |
Provenance:
The dance was reconstructed in 1998 by Ole Skov and Per Sørensen in conjunction with a seminar on
historical dances of southern Jutland.
The source material for the dance is a book of diagrams of 'English' dances,
written by 18-year old Jørgen Jørgensen (1767-1820) in Guderup on Als in 1785. The book
contains 42 dances, of which this constitutes number 28. The book is privately owned by the
great-great-great-granddaughter of Jørgensen, Gertrud Petersen.
The music is from a musician's notebook of the same period, Hans Pedersen Møller of Stolbro, Als.
This tune is number 14C. The notebook is available in Dansk Folkemindesamling's archives, number 1906/036 A:003.
The dance quickly became known as the 'postcard' dance among folkdancers, because the diagram was published
as a postcard in 1998. No steps are specified in the original source; waltz steps are the suggestion by those
who reconstructed it.
Feüillet says unequivocally in his Recueil de contredances (1706) that figures that advance and retire (or retire and advance) are always danced with
pas de gavotte, figures that move side to side are always danced with
chassé de côté (side-steps or gallops), and round figures (figures that circle CW or CCW) may be danced with
demi-contretemps (step-hops) or
pas de bourée, but that demi-contretemps is more usual.
We have therefore elected to dance it with chassé steps, instead of waltz, to duple time music.
See videos from Dancilla1, Dancilla2, and YouTube Dancilla, Danish Folk Dancers of Toronto, 2019.
Source: Sørensen, Pia and Per Sørensen / VI: 27 gamle folkedanse fra Jylland Samlet og bearbejdet
af Pia & Per Sørensen. 1 opl. Kolding: 2000. p. 52. Available at:
[pdf].
See also:
-- Schluter, Wolfgang 'Anglaise, Als (Postkortdansen)'
in: Stockton Folk Dance Camp/
Syllabus of dance directions 2013.
Stockton, CA: Stockton Folk Dance Camp, 2013. p. 93.
Translation: Laine Ruus, Oakville, 2019-03-05, rev. 2022-11-30.
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