Le chant du coq

Country: Denmark
Type: progressive longways 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, etc from the top of the set.
Steps: balanceé, chassé (change step)
Sheet music: Composed by André Ernest Modeste Grétry. No. 68 in Laurent, Pierre Samling af de nyeste engelske danse med tourer: 1-3 hefte København: Gyldendal, 1780-1781 [page nr 101, pdf page 230]. Reproduced in: Sørensen, Per Sørensen "Hanegal" in Dansens og musikkens rødder nr 5, 1996.
Recordings: Rannok Gammelt, nyt, lånt og blåt track 12, or any anglaise or engelsk with appropriate structure (AABBCC) and tempo.

Bars Part Dance progression:
1-8 (a) Couple 1 casts off one couple, finishing between couples 2 and 3. 4 chassé steps (1-4).
Couple 1 casts up to original place, 4 chassé steps (5-8).
1-8   M1 and W1 cross to partner's place (1-4), 4 chassé steps, and cross back to original place (5-8), 4 chassé steps.
[Perhaps giving R-hand when crossing over, and L-hand when crossing back.]
9-16 (b) Couples 1 and 2 take R-hand star, and dance half-way round (9-12), 4 chassé steps.
Couples 1 and 2 take two-hand hold with partner and turn half-way round (13-16), 4 chassé steps.
[Couples have now progressed.]
9-16   Couples 1 and 3 form closed circle and dance once round, 8 chassé steps.
17-20 (c) Couple 1 takes 2-hand hold with partner, and dances 2 balancé steps, meanwhile, without dropping hold, raising [MR/WL] hands and lowering [ML/WR] hands (17-18). Repeat (19-20).
21-24   Couple 1 casts down around couple 3, 4 chassé steps.
17-20   Couple 1 repeats balancé steps, this time raising [ML/WR] hands and lowering [MR/WL] hands (17-18). Repeat (19-20).
21-24   Couple 1 casts up around couple 3, 4 chassé steps. [Couples finish in order 2-1-3.]
    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: Music explicitly attributed in the publication to Grétry (or Grétri). Dance choreographed by Pierre Laurent.
[Translator;s note: The above is my interpretation of the description, based on the original publication in Danish and French.]

Original printed source: Number LXVIII [nr. 68] in Laurent, Pierre Samling af de nyeste engelske danse med tourer: 1-3 hefte København: Gyldendal, 1780-1781 [description: pages 92-93, pdf pages 99-100; music: page nr 101, pdf page 230].
Reproduced in: Sørensen, Per "Hanegal del 2" in Dansens og musikkens rødder nr 5, May 1996. [in Danish]
Translation: Laine Ruus, Oakville, 2021-05-18, rev. 2021-09-07.


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