Country: Denmark
Type: set dance
Formation: longways progressive set, 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:
assemblé,
balancé,
chassé (change-step).
pas de gavotte.
Sheet music: V.D.W. Sønderbybogen ms. 1772/1776(?). p. 150 [of the pdf file]
Recordings: Lang Linken Liv track 12 (contra and trio). Or any engelsk or reel (2/4 time) in
moderate tempo with AABB or AABBCCDD structure.
| Bars | Part | Dance progression: |
| 1-8 | (a) | R-hand star, L-hand star: Couples 1 and 2 dance 2 balancé steps (1-2), take R hand star, and dance once round CW (3-8) with 6 chassé steps. |
| 1-8 | Couples 1 and 2 dance 2 balancé steps (1-2), take L hand star, and dance once round CCW (3-8) with 6 chassé steps. | |
| 9-16 | (b) | Weave down, return: Couple 1 advances with a figuré (1 pas de gavotte + assemblé; 9-10), then crosses, dances around couple 2 (W1 around M2, M1 around W2), cross again, and dance around couple 3 (W1 CW around W3, M1 CCW around M3). 6 chassé steps (11-16). Finish on own side, below couple 3. |
| 9-16 | Couple advance with a figuré (1 pas de gavotte + assemblé; 9-10), then, holding inside hands (MR/WL) dances up to the top of the set, and casts off around couple 2, finishing in 2nd place on own side. 6 chassé steps. Meanwhile, Couple 2 steps up, couple 1 having now progressed. | |
| 17-24 | (c) | Figure of eight: Couple 1 dances 2 balancé steps (17-18), and dances around dancer to the R on own side, ie M1 dancing CW around M3, and W1 dancing CW around W2, finishing in 2nd place (19-24). 6 chassé steps. |
| 17-24 | Couple 1 dances 2 balancé steps (17-18), and dances around dancer to the L on own side, ie M1 dancing CCW around M2, and W1 dancing CCW around W3, finishing in 2nd place (19-24). 6 chassé steps. | |
| 25-32 | (d) | R-hand chain: Couples 1 and 3 dance R-hand chain and finish in place (couples 2-1-3). 8 chassé steps. |
| 25-32 | La queue du chat: Couples 2 and 1 advance with a figuré (1 pas de gavotte + assemblé; 25-26), then dance 'la queue du chat' (holding inside hands (MR/WL) dance CCW around opposite couple) to again finish in 2-1-3 order (27-32). 6 chassé steps. | |
| Repeat from (a) as desired.
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 (d) can dance outside couple 3, and finish at the bottom of the set. If many couples are dancing, every 4th couple may start. |
Provenance:
From a musician's notebook found in Sønderby, Denmark. The book belonged to Søren Christian Rønning (possibly 1743-1809)
and can be dated to 1772, as one of the covers has this date imprinted.
It is not known how the book ended up in Sønderby. The book contains 79 'Contres dançes angloises', 29 'Contres dançes françoises',
and 6 cotillons,
with recorded choreography in the form of diagrams and/or descriptive text as well as sheet music.
[Translator's notes: (1) although no information about steps is given in the source, both contra and trio, are in 2/4-time, wherefore the translator suggests the dance be done with chassé steps.] `
Furthermore, I have interpreted (2) the single dots above a couple's number as a figuré, and (3) the enigmatic figure in the bottom right of the diagram as a 'queue du chat'. These interpretations are based on the French wikipédia article Contredanse, which in turn is based on Pierre Rameau's Le maître à danser 1725, 1748..
Source: V.D.W. Sønderbybogen ms. 1772/1776(?). p. 32 [of the pdf file]
Reconstruction: Laine Ruus, Oakville, 2020-02-13, rev. 2021-01-30.
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