Country: Denmark
Type: couple dance
Formation: couples, open circle, holding inside hands, facing in LOD.
Steps:
chassé (change step),
Chassé-croisé (change step + pas de bas),
sidegangtrin (side step),
polka,
gangtrin (walk)
Sheet music: Kong Christian stod ved højen mast
(1) IMSLP,
(2) Wikisource.
Recordings:
Concerto Copenhagen [YouTube]
[Berthelsen notes the music should not be played too slowly.
See also numerous other recordings on YouTube]
| Bars | Part | Dance progression: |
| 1-4 | (a) | Promenade: Beginning with outside (ML/WR) foot, all dance forward in LOD, walking steps. [The last step should be a 'touch' rather than a step, in order to have the correct foot free to continue.] |
| 5-6 | Chassé-croisé: All drop handhold and dance 1 chassé-croisé, M moving to R behind partner, W moving to L in front of partner (5). Repeat to return to place, (ie M moving to L behind partner, W moving to R of partner (6). Resume holding inside hand with partner. | |
| 7-8 | Promenade: Beginning with inside (MR/WL) foot, all walk 4 walking steps forward (7), followed by a chassé plus 2 walking steps while turning to face partner (8). [Finish with M facing out of circle, W facing in.] | |
| 9-12 | Chassé-croisé: All drop handhold and dance 1 chassé-croisé to R, giving partner L hand (9).
Ditto to L, giving partner R hand (10). Finish with a side-step to R and a slow curtsey/bow (11-12).
[In order to dance this to the Concerto Copenhagen recording, we changed bars (7-8) to 2 walking steps forward and 3 small steps on the spot to turn to partner, followed by a deep curtsey/bow, and eliminated the 2 chassé-croisés in bars (9-10).] |
|
| 13-16 | (b) | Side steps & turn: All take 2-hand hold with partner and dance 2 side-steps in LOD. With 3 small steps, and dropping ML/WR hand, turn away from partner to finish back-to-back (13-14). Again, dance 2 side-steps in LOD, and turn back to face partner with 3 small steps (15-16). Finish in waltz hold. |
| 17-20 | Polka: All dance turning polka, turning CW and moving in LOD, soft polka/change-steps steps.
Repeat from (a) as desired. |
See video from Kvadrille-Klub.
Provenance: Composer disputed, commonly attributed to either Ditlev Ludvig Rogert (1742-1813) or Ernst Hartmann (1726-1793). Earliest currently known transcription of the sheet music is from the Brothers Bast Brødrene Basts Violinbog (ca 1770-1780) ms notebook [p. 159 of the pdf file]. Lyrics by Johannes Ewald, 1779. The tune was used in Ewald's operetta Fiskerne (The Fishermen), which premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in January 1780, as well as in the overture to Friedrich Kuhlau's comedy Elverhøj (Elves' Hill) from 1828. It was the success of the latter play that contributed to the song becoming one of two Danish royal and national anthems, usually played when the monarch is present. This dance was devised by the ballet master Georg Berthelsen (1867-1954) around 1900, in a wave of choreographies of new set and couple dances in reaction to the new dances then becoming increasingly popular in the country.
Source:
Sørensen, Pia & Per/ Kong Christian dansen. n.d.
See also:
-- Jensen, Niels Martin Et sanghistorisk problem : gammelt og nyt om Kong Christian stod ved højen mast
(Særtryk af Fund og forskning i Det kongelige Biblioteks samlinger, 12) Kbh. : Det Kongelige Bibliotek, 1965.
-- "Kong Christian stod ved højen mast" lyrics
-- "Kong Christian stod ved højen mast" Wikipedia
Translation: L. Ruus, Oakville, 2023-01-12, rev. 2023-02-08.
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