Figaro I & II

Country: all over Denmark
Type: set dance
Formation: longways progressive ('snowball') set, even number of couples in 2 rows facing towards/away from the music, ie couples 1 and 3 facing, likewise couples 2 and 4. Remaining couples face active couples (couples 1, 2, 3, and 4). Couples holding inside hands. 

              Music
          etc.       etc.
         W9-M9    W10-M10  facing ↓
         W5-M5     W6-M6   facing ↓
         W1-M1     W2-M2   facing ↓
         M3-W3     M4-W4   facing ↑
         M7-W7     M8-W8   facing ↑
        M11-W11   M12-W12  facing ↑
          etc.       etc.

Steps: balancé (pas de basque), sidegangtrin (sidesteps), vals (waltz)
Sheet music: Sørensen, Pia & Per Sørensen/ VII: 28 gamle folkedanse fra Sjælland, Lolland, Fyn og Øerne. 1 opl. Kolding: 2000. p. 56.
Recordings: Den Fynske Spillemandskvartet 'Fikrod' Den Fynske Spillemandskvartet (DFS 1) track A5; Rannok 'Figarod' Dejodejo track 03; Skov, Ole 'figaro' Baldanse 2 (CDOS2) track 18.

    Figaro I:
Bars Part Dance progression:
1-4 (a) Cross-over: Couples 1 and 2, likewise couples 3 and 4, change places, couple on the R passing in front (ie couples 1 and 4). 8 sidesteps, or 4 sidesteps followed by 4 balancé steps.
1-4   One-hand star: Couples 1 and 3, and likewise couples 2 and 4, form R-hand star, and turn CW on the spot, 8 waltz steps.
5-8 (b) Cross back: Couples 1 and 2, likewise couples 3 and 4, return to place, couple on the R passing in front (ie couples 2 and 3). 8 sidesteps, or 4 sidesteps followed by 4 balancé steps.
5-8   Circle: Couples 1 and 3, and likewise couples 2 and 4, form closed circle, and turn CW on the spot, 8 waltz steps.
|:9-16:| (c) Waltz & progress: Couples 1 and 3, and likewise couples 2 and 4, dance around each other, 16 turning waltz steps.
Finish in opposite place, facing a new couple. When the dance repeats, couples 1 and 7 dance together, likewise couples 3 and 5, 2 and 8, and 4 and 6.
    Repeat from (a) as desired. The dance generally finishes after all couples have danced simultaneously.

Provenance: The description of Figaro I is from Jørgen Gad Lund's Terpsichore, published in Mariboe in 1823, in the collection of the Royal Library in Copenhagen.
Printed source: Sørensen, Pia & Per/ VII: 28 gamle folkedanse fra Sjælland, Lolland, Fyn og Øerne. 1 opl. Kolding: 2000. p. 57.
See also:
-- Lund, Jørgen Gad/ Terpsichore, eller En Veiledning for mine Dandselærlinger. 1-ste udgave. Mariboe, 1823.

   
    Figaro II:
Bars Part Dance progression:
1-4 (a) Cross-over: Couples 1 and 2, likewise couples 3 and 4, change places, couple on the R passing in front (ie couples 1 and 4). 8 sidesteps, or 4 sidesteps followed by 4 balancé steps.
1-4   Cross back: Couples 1 and 2, likewise couples 3 and 4, return to place, couple on the R passing in front (ie couples 2 and 3). 8 sidesteps, or 4 sidesteps followed by 4 balancé steps.
5-8 (b) One-hand star: Couples 1 and 3, and likewise couples 2 and 4, form R-hand star, and turn CW on the spot, 8 waltz steps.
5-8   Couples 1 and 3, and likewise couples 2 and 4, form L-hand star, and turn CCW on the spot, 8 waltz steps.
|:9-16:| (c) Waltz & progress: Couples 1 and 3, and likewise couples 2 and 4, dance around each other, 16 turning waltz steps.
Finish in opposite place, facing a new couple.
    Repeat from (a) as desired. The dance generally finishes once all couples have returned to original place.

See video from KØST2017

Provenance: The description of Figaro II occurs in a number of sources, including a book of dance descriptions by Vilhelm Balling, Copenhagen, 1875, currently in the Sørensen's private collection.
Printed source: Sørensen, Pia & Per/ VII: 28 gamle folkedanse fra Sjælland, Lolland, Fyn og Øerne. 1 opl. Kolding: 2000. p. 58.
See also:
-- Balling, Vilhelm/ Anvisning til at danse "Menuet", "Les Lanciers", "Française", "Jule-Kvadrille", "Le Prince Impériale", "Eugenie-Kvadrille", "Sekstur", "Jernbane-Kvadrille", samt 50 forskellige Selskabsdanse tillige med 150 meget interessante og let udførlige Kotillons-Ture. 7 opl. reprint 2019. København : Herdahl, 1878 (1875?). p.58.

Provenance:
Figaro first appears in Denmark around 1820-1825, and may have been a Danish-Norwegian phenomenon, although it is part of the same family of dances as La Tempête, which occurs all over Europe, and Dobbelt kvadrille fra Sønderborg. Figaro was danced in Denmark from about 1820 to about 1880. In Norway it was very popular, and there are several variations of it. It has amongst other things, been used as a 'borddans', ie the first dance after the meal.
Sørensen comments: descriptions of the dance lack a specification of what steps to use. However, we have consulted the steps used in other dances in similar column-wise formations.
Note that the 'Figaro' tunes available on Internet Archive are in the main couple dances, eg foxtrot, rather than longways set dances in this tradition.
See videos of versions from Germany, Norway, and Finland.
See also:
-- Stahl, Wilhelm/ Niederdeutsche Volkstänze. Hamburg: Paul Hartung Verlag, 1921. Reprint. s.l.: Landesarbeitsgemeinschaft Tanz Schleswig-Holstein e.V., 1998. pp. 10-11.
-- Meyen, Henry/ The Ball-Room Guide, Being a Compendium of the Theory, Practice, and Etiquette of Dancing. New York: E. & J. Magnus, 1852. p.20.
Translation: Laine Ruus, Oakville, 2020-03-13, rev. 2022-09-09.

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