The quadrille is a

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six '' contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of opera melodies. Performed by four couples in a rectangular formation, it is related to American square dancing.

The Lancers Les Lanciers or The Lancers is a square dance, a variant of the Quadrille, a set dance performed by four couples, particularly popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is a composite dance made up of five figures or ''tours'', each performed four ...

, a variant of the quadrille, became popular in the late 19th century and was still danced in the 20th century in folk-dance clubs. A derivative found in the Francophone

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

is known as ''

kwadril In French Caribbean culture, especially of the Lesser Antilles, the term ''kwadril'' is a Creole term referring to a folk dance derived from the ''quadrille''. Saint Lucia quadrille On the island of Saint Lucia, kwadrils are social occasions h ...

'', and the dance is also still found in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and is within old Caribbean culture.

History

The term ''quadrille'' originated in 17th-century military parades in which four mounted horsemen executed square formations. The word probably derived from the Italian ''quadriglia'' (diminutive of ''quadra'', hence a small square). The dance was introduced in France around 1760: originally it was a form of

cotillion The cotillion (also cotillon or French country dance) is a social dance, popular in 18th-century Europe and North America. Originally for four couples in square formation, it was a courtly version of an English country dance, the forerunner ...

in which only two couples were used, but two more couples were eventually added to form the sides of a square. The couples in each corner of the square took turns, in performing the dance, where one couple danced, and the other couples rested. The "quadrille des contredanses" was now a lively dance with four couples, arranged in the shape of a square, each couple facing the center. One pair was called the "head" couple, the adjacent pairs the "side" couples. A dance figure was often performed first by the head couple and then repeated by the side couples. Terms used in the dance are mostly the same as those in

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, such as '' jeté, chassé,

croisé Because ballet became formalized in France, a significant part of ballet terminology is in the French language. A À la seconde () (Literally "to second") If a step is done "à la seconde," it is done to the side. 'Second position'. It can als ...

plié Because ballet became formalized in France, a significant part of ballet terminology is in the French language. A À la seconde () (Literally "to second") If a step is done "à la seconde," it is done to the side. 'Second position'. It can also ...

'' and ''

arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

''. Reaching English high society in 1816 through Lady Jersey, the quadrille became a craze. As it became ever more popular in the 19th century it evolved into forms that used elements of the

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

, including The Caledonians and

. In Germany and Austria dance composers (

Josef Lanner Joseph Franz Karl Lanner (12 April 1801 – 14 April 1843) was an Austrian dance music composer and dance orchestra conductor. He is best remembered as one of the earliest Viennese composers to reform the waltz from a simple peasant dance to s ...

and the Strauss family) composed for the quadrille. Its popularity made it a metaphor, the "

stately quadrille {{Unreferenced, date=December 2018 The ''stately quadrille'' is the name given to set of constantly shifting alliances between the great powers of Europe during the 18th century. The ultimate objective was to maintain the balance of power in Euro ...

", of the constant formation of fresh political alliances with different partners in order to maintain the balance of power in Europe.

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

lampooned the dance in ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...

''s " The Lobster Quadrille" (1865). Though new music was composed, the names of the five parts (or ''figures'') remained the same, as did the steps and the figures themselves. The parts p. 97 were called: # ''Le Pantalon'' ("Trousers") # ''L’été'' ("Summer") # ''La Poule'' (The Hen") # ''La Pastourelle'' ("The Shepherd Girl") # ''Finale'' All the parts were popular dances and songs from that time (19th century): ''Le Pantalon'' was a popular song, the second and third part were popular dances, ''La Pastourelle'' was a well-known ballad by the cornet player Collinet. The finale was very lively. Sometimes ''La Pastourelle'' was replaced by another figure; ''La Trénis''. This was a figure made by the dance master Trenitz. In the Viennese version of the quadrille both figures were used: ''La Trénis'' became the fourth part, and La Pastourelle the fifth, making a total of six parts.Bob Skiba, "Here, Everybody Dances: Social Dancing in Early Minnesota", ''Minnesota History'', vol. 55, no. 5 (Spring, 1997), 220
available online
accessed May 3, 2011

The quadrille – musical analysis

Thus the quadrille was a very intricate dance. The ''standard'' form contained five different parts, and the Viennese lengthened it to six different parts. The following table shows what the different parts look like, musically speaking: * part 1: Pantalon (''written in ' or '') *: theme A – theme B – theme A – theme C – theme A * part 2: Été (''always written in '') *: theme A – theme B – theme B – theme A * part 3: Poule (''always written in '') *: theme A – theme B – theme A – theme C – theme A – theme B – theme A ** ''Part 3 always begins with a two-measure introduction'' * part 4: Trénis (''always written in '') *: theme A – theme B – theme B – theme A * part 5: Pastourelle (''always written in '') *: theme A – theme B – theme C – theme B – theme A * part 6: Finale (''always written in '') *: theme A – theme A – theme B – theme B – theme A – theme A ** ''Part 6 always begins with a two-measure introduction'' All the themes are 8 measures long.

History

The quadrille – musical analysis

References

See also