Meanings of words change. I would guess in a literal sense, even today's
MWSD is quadrille dancing, since it is four couples drilling dance moves.
"The word *quarantine* comes from a seventeenth-century Venetian
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venetian_language> variant of the Italian
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language> *quaranta giorni*, meaning
forty days, the period that all ships were required to be isolated before
passengers and crew could go ashore during the Black Death
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death> plague epidemic
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemic>." -Wikipedia. Today's meaning
is definitely related to the origin, but has changed significantly in time.
Rich
On Sun, Feb 23, 2020 at 6:48 PM jim saxe via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> John Sweeney raises an interesting point about the differences in styling
> between 19th century quadrilles (Tony Parkes's definition 1) and the
> phrased New England squares of today (Tony's definition 3), whether the
> latter have the word "Quadrille" in their titles or not.
>
> Where today's dancers would to courtesy turns, or replace them with twirls
> and other embellishments, 19th-century dance manuals prescribe a simple
> turn by the left hand. The word "swing" was used to describe a two-hand
> turn, or sometimes other figures such as a right-hand or left-hand turn or
> a circle, but certainly not something done in the closed ballroom-like
> position we generally use for swings today. Also, if I understand
> correctly, where we generally use a simple walking step for most square
> dance figures other than "balance" and "swing", dancers in the early 19th
> century were taught more elaborate footwork. (My impression is that later
> in 19th century, the fancy footwork became less common, though some dancing
> masters may have objected to that trend. However, I haven't looked
> carefully through available books of the period to check the trends in what
> people were writing, much less do I know how well what appeared in the
> books of any decade corresponded to what dancers were actually doing.)
>
> John lists a number of dances with "Quadrille" in their titles and writes
> of them:
>
> > But they are all just square dances. None of them bear any
> > resemblance to an actual Quadrille. A few like Western Quadrille are
> based
> > on one figure of an actual Quadrille, but with modern styling.
> >
> > It’s a nice word and sounds good in a dance title. :-)
>
> Those remarks apply at least as much to my own "Wardwell Quadrille" series
> as to any of the other dances on John's list. I used the word "Quadrille"
> in the titles simply because I thought it sounded good in combination with
> "Wardwell" ("Wardwell Hall" being the former name of the church social hall
> used by the BACDS San Francisco contra dance series). I didn't at all
> imagine the dances being done in an especially elegaaahnt style, and my
> preferred music would be old-time reels, not the 6/8 tunes of Tony's
> definition 4 of "quadrille" nor the sort of orchestral music used for those
> Viennese "quadrilles" that I referenced in an earlier message.
>
> --Jim
>
> On Feb 23, 2020, at 3:24 AM, John Sweeney via Contra Callers <
> contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> >
> > Calling something a Quadrille doesn't necessarily make it a Quadrille.
> >
> > To me the King's Quadrille is just a modern American square dance.
> >
> > It doesn't have the styling or the moves or the length/complexity of a
> > Quadrille (e.g. I don't believe that courtesy turns existed in the period
> > when Quadrilles were danced).
> >
> > The only commonality is that it is done by four couples in a Square.
> >
> > On checking, I find that I have the following in my deck:
> > Festival Quadrille
> > The Hawk Quadrille
> > Buffalo Quadrille
> > Camille's Quadrille
> > Queen's Quadrille (same as King's but the moves are straight across
> instead
> > of to the right) - also known as "The Quiet Square"
> > Easy Does it Quadrille
> > Knave's Quadrille
> > Karen's Quadrille
> > Western Quadrille
> > Wardwell Quadrille
> > Colonial's Quadrille
> > Farmer's Quadrille
> >
> > Hmm... I hadn't realised that there were so many!
> >
> > But they are all just square dances. None of them bear any
> > resemblance to an actual Quadrille. A few like Western Quadrille are
> based
> > on one figure of an actual Quadrille, but with modern styling.
> >
> > It’s a nice word and sounds good in a dance title. :-)
> >
> > Happy dancing,
> > John
> <snip>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
In addition to Jamaica, quadrilles (kwadril) (apparently derived from 18th or 19th century French quadrilles) are danced in Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, and Saint Lucia. One of their multi-part suites is even named “Lancers”. They are most often danced to live Antillean music, with a wonderful swaying step. A search on the term ‘quadrille’ and the name of any of the islands will quickly turn up numerous videos. There are probably the most from Guadeloupe….
The dances are performed at public events by clubs that practice the sequences. Occasionally they seem to have open dances in public settings, or in a party setting with food. In some of the videos, the moves from the quadrilles are danced with long lines of facing couples (in Beckett formation, as someone pointed out), without progression. These events bring together dancers from more than one club.
I should warn you that you may well be delighted by watching these videos, and find it hard to stop.
Richard
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Richard Hopkins
Middlebury, VT
850-544-7614
hopkinsrs(a)comcast.net <mailto:hopkinsrs@comcast.net>
>
John Sweeney raises an interesting point about the differences in styling between 19th century quadrilles (Tony Parkes's definition 1) and the phrased New England squares of today (Tony's definition 3), whether the latter have the word "Quadrille" in their titles or not.
Where today's dancers would to courtesy turns, or replace them with twirls and other embellishments, 19th-century dance manuals prescribe a simple turn by the left hand. The word "swing" was used to describe a two-hand turn, or sometimes other figures such as a right-hand or left-hand turn or a circle, but certainly not something done in the closed ballroom-like position we generally use for swings today. Also, if I understand correctly, where we generally use a simple walking step for most square dance figures other than "balance" and "swing", dancers in the early 19th century were taught more elaborate footwork. (My impression is that later in 19th century, the fancy footwork became less common, though some dancing masters may have objected to that trend. However, I haven't looked carefully through available books of the period to check the trends in what people were writing, much less do I know how well what appeared in the books of any decade corresponded to what dancers were actually doing.)
John lists a number of dances with "Quadrille" in their titles and writes of them:
> But they are all just square dances. None of them bear any
> resemblance to an actual Quadrille. A few like Western Quadrille are based
> on one figure of an actual Quadrille, but with modern styling.
>
> It’s a nice word and sounds good in a dance title. :-)
Those remarks apply at least as much to my own "Wardwell Quadrille" series as to any of the other dances on John's list. I used the word "Quadrille" in the titles simply because I thought it sounded good in combination with "Wardwell" ("Wardwell Hall" being the former name of the church social hall used by the BACDS San Francisco contra dance series). I didn't at all imagine the dances being done in an especially elegaaahnt style, and my preferred music would be old-time reels, not the 6/8 tunes of Tony's definition 4 of "quadrille" nor the sort of orchestral music used for those Viennese "quadrilles" that I referenced in an earlier message.
--Jim
On Feb 23, 2020, at 3:24 AM, John Sweeney via Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> Calling something a Quadrille doesn't necessarily make it a Quadrille.
>
> To me the King's Quadrille is just a modern American square dance.
>
> It doesn't have the styling or the moves or the length/complexity of a
> Quadrille (e.g. I don't believe that courtesy turns existed in the period
> when Quadrilles were danced).
>
> The only commonality is that it is done by four couples in a Square.
>
> On checking, I find that I have the following in my deck:
> Festival Quadrille
> The Hawk Quadrille
> Buffalo Quadrille
> Camille's Quadrille
> Queen's Quadrille (same as King's but the moves are straight across instead
> of to the right) - also known as "The Quiet Square"
> Easy Does it Quadrille
> Knave's Quadrille
> Karen's Quadrille
> Western Quadrille
> Wardwell Quadrille
> Colonial's Quadrille
> Farmer's Quadrille
>
> Hmm... I hadn't realised that there were so many!
>
> But they are all just square dances. None of them bear any
> resemblance to an actual Quadrille. A few like Western Quadrille are based
> on one figure of an actual Quadrille, but with modern styling.
>
> It’s a nice word and sounds good in a dance title. :-)
>
> Happy dancing,
> John
<snip>
On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 18:02:53 +0000, Jacob or Nancy Bloom via Contra Callers wrote:
> Although there are plenty of modern square dances with the word "quadrille" in the name, I don't think of them as
> quadrilles.
And yet there are several English Traditional dances which clearly are derived from the old quadrilles,
such as La Russe: https://colinhume.com/deconnect.htm#LaRusse
Colin Hume
As someone who leads a lot of historical dance, especially eighteenth
century, I think of "quadrille" as referring specifically to the dance
format in square formation that replaced eighteenth century cotillions.
There are distinct structural differences between cotillions, quadrilles,
and most modern square dances. I'll spare you the details, at least for
now. Although there are plenty of modern square dances with the word
"quadrille" in the name, I don't think of them as quadrilles.
Jacob Bloom
Arlington, Massachusetts
On Fri, Feb 21, 2020 at 12:55 PM Tony Parkes via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Here’s my take on it, from the glossary of my forthcoming book _*Square
> Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century*_:
>
>
>
> Quadrille (1) A formal square dance in five or six figures,
> introduced in the early 19th century; the original figures were selected
> from the cotillion (definition 1), although additional figures were written
> later. (2) In the Northeast, a term used until the mid-20th century for a
> set of (usually three) squares done with the same partner. (3) A term used
> by modern square dance callers for a square phrased and prompted in New
> England style. (4) In some areas, a fiddle tune in 6/8 meter.
>
>
>
> Tony Parkes
>
> Billerica, Massachusetts, USA
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Rich Sbardella via Contra Callers <
> contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> *Sent:* Friday, February 21, 2020 12:41 PM
> *To:* Amy Cann <acann(a)putneyschool.org>
> *Cc:* Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> *Subject:* [Callers] Re: Totally open question: what's a "quadrille" ?
>
>
>
> Amy,
>
>
>
> My interpretation is that a quadrille is a square prompted in the New
> England tradition.
>
>
>
> In the modern western tradition few callers use this method, but I was
> taught by New England caller Dick Leggier who composed many promoted
> 'quadrille" figures to use in the MWSD environment. This is still my
> method of calling squares in the club scene.
>
>
>
> I am not sure why I understand it that way. Word of mouth is a
> contributor, but also older publications like Sets in Order often referred
> to many of these simple 64 step dances as quadrilles.
>
>
>
> Here's one Jerry Helt called by from Tony.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9d46BSqRLI
>
>
>
> Rich
>
> Rich
>
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 21, 2020 at 12:26 PM Amy Cann via Contra Callers <
> contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> What do you think of as a quadrille, tune and/or dance?
>
> I'm very curious to hear as many different answers as there are
> ages/locations/opinions on here. :)
>
> (Tell you why *after* we have a nice long thread. :)
>
> Cheers,
> Amy
> _______________________________________________
> Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
> _______________________________________________
> Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
--
jandnbloom(a)gmail.com
http://jacobbloom.net/
Calling something a Quadrille doesn't necessarily make it a Quadrille.
To me the King's Quadrille is just a modern American square dance.
It doesn't have the styling or the moves or the length/complexity of a
Quadrille (e.g. I don't believe that courtesy turns existed in the period
when Quadrilles were danced).
The only commonality is that it is done by four couples in a Square.
On checking, I find that I have the following in my deck:
Festival Quadrille
The Hawk Quadrille
Buffalo Quadrille
Camille's Quadrille
Queen's Quadrille (same as King's but the moves are straight across instead
of to the right) - also known as "The Quiet Square"
Easy Does it Quadrille
Knave's Quadrille
Karen's Quadrille
Western Quadrille
Wardwell Quadrille
Colonial's Quadrille
Farmer's Quadrille
Hmm... I hadn't realised that there were so many!
But they are all just square dances. None of them bear any
resemblance to an actual Quadrille. A few like Western Quadrille are based
on one figure of an actual Quadrille, but with modern styling.
Its a nice word and sounds good in a dance title. :-)
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802
940 574
http://contrafusion.co.uk/KentCeilidhs.html for Live Music Ceilidhs
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive DVDs
Nice! I called King's Quadrille for a group of Modern Western Square
Dancers tonight (after explaining how the timing worked), and they loved it!
Thanks for sharing!
Jimmy Akin
San Diego
On Fri, Feb 21, 2020 at 9:41 AM Rich Sbardella via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Amy,
>
> My interpretation is that a quadrille is a square prompted in the New
> England tradition.
>
> In the modern western tradition few callers use this method, but I was
> taught by New England caller Dick Leggier who composed many promoted
> 'quadrille" figures to use in the MWSD environment. This is still my
> method of calling squares in the club scene.
>
> I am not sure why I understand it that way. Word of mouth is a
> contributor, but also older publications like Sets in Order often referred
> to many of these simple 64 step dances as quadrilles.
>
> Here's one Jerry Helt called by from Tony.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9d46BSqRLI
>
> Rich
> Rich
>
> On Fri, Feb 21, 2020 at 12:26 PM Amy Cann via Contra Callers <
> contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> What do you think of as a quadrille, tune and/or dance?
>>
>> I'm very curious to hear as many different answers as there are
>> ages/locations/opinions on here. :)
>>
>> (Tell you why *after* we have a nice long thread. :)
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Amy
>> _______________________________________________
>> Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>> To unsubscribe send an email to
>> contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>>
> _______________________________________________
> Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
In his book "Hoedowns, Reels and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern
Appalachian Dance" Phil Jamison discusses quadrilles on pp 33-35 and
elsewhere, especially Chapters 2 & 3. Thanks, George Mercer
On Fri, Feb 21, 2020 at 4:13 PM jim saxe via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> To me, the word "quadrille" would usually suggest either Tony's definition
> 1 or his definition 3.
>
> Reading Tony's definition 4 reminds me that I have occasionally noticed
> the word "quadrille" in titles of tunes in 6/8 meter. Looking in the book
> _Advanced Square Dance Figures of the West and Southwest_ by Lee Owens and
> Viola Ruth (1950), I notice that the tunes therein include "Blackberry
> Quadrille," "Blacksmith's Quadrille," "Bony Smith's Quadrille," and "Ruth's
> Quadrille," all in 6/8. Also included, however, is a tune titled "Canyon
> Quadrille," which is in 2/4 (but with a lot of dotted notes).
>
> I was unaware of the usage given in Tony's definition 2: "... a set of
> (usually three) squares done with the same partner." Having read it, I can
> see how the term formerly used for those 19th-century dances in five or six
> figures (with the same partner, but with pauses in the the music between
> figures) could have come to be used for sets of three squares with the same
> partner as done in some areas in the mid 20th century.
>
> While looking around on Youtube a few years ago, I came across some videos
> of "quadrille" dances in Vienna with couples arranged not in square sets
> but in what resemble Becket contra lines. Here's an example:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IQ1-nRxr64
>
> Note that there is no progression. Each couple dances pretty much
> exclusively with the couple across from them, the only interaction with
> dancers from an adjacent foursome being an occasional acknowledgment as
> couples dance forward and back on a diagonal. The figures are of the sort
> that might have been danced alternately by head and side couples in a
> 19th-century quadrille in square formation. I'd guess that the change to a
> Becket-like formation was intended to reduce the amount of inactivity, to
> make more efficient use of floor space, or both. It might also reduce the
> total duration of the figures. I have no idea whether the change in
> formation is a recent innovation or whether it goes back many decades,
> perhaps even into the 19th century.
>
> While looking for a video of a quadrille in Vienna to cite in this
> message, I also discovered some videos of "quadrilles" as danced in
> Jamaica, some in square formation and some not. I won't cite any video in
> particular; readers who care cane easily find examples for themselves. I
> don't think I can offer any better speculation than anyone else about how
> these dances might have evolved into what they are now from whatever sort
> of "quadrille" or other dance might have preceded them.
>
> Lest digressions obscure my main point, I'll repeat that the notions of
> "quadrille" most prominent in my mind are Tony's definitions 1 and 3.
>
> --Jim
>
> > On Feb 21, 2020, at 9:55 AM, Tony Parkes via Contra Callers <
> contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> >
> > Here’s my take on it, from the glossary of my forthcoming book _Square
> Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century_:
> >
> > Quadrille (1) A formal square dance in five or six figures,
> introduced in the early 19th century; the original figures were selected
> from the cotillion (definition 1), although additional figures were written
> later. (2) In the Northeast, a term used until the mid-20th century for a
> set of (usually three) squares done with the same partner. (3) A term used
> by modern square dance callers for a square phrased and prompted in New
> England style. (4) In some areas, a fiddle tune in 6/8 meter.
> <snip>
> _______________________________________________
> Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
Hey all,
I have also heard of the Irish Set Dances referred to
as quadrilles. And yes, they are generally not called or
cued, except perhaps in situations where people are just learning
a dance that is new to the group. And the Irish sets/quadrilles are
generally constructed of 5 or 6 figures w/ a chorus that is repeated
between figures.
This list rocks,
Paul
In “Balance & Swing” it is given as “Sheehan’s Reel” and attributed to Roger Whynot, named after the Irish tune the fiddler happened to being playing when Roger called it in Belmont in 1973.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574
http://contrafusion.co.uk/KentCeilidhs.html for Live Music Ceilidhs
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive DVDs
From: barrie bullimore via Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
Sent: 21 February 2020 16:06
To: Charles Abell <chuckabell(a)hotmail.com>
Cc: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Subject: [Callers] Re: square dances for teens
Shehan's Reel is a great dance for any age group. You need know nothing about heads and sides nor corners
A1 Women to centre (curtsey?) and back; men ditto (bow)
A2 Women star Right; women star Left
B1 Women pass current partner to, do si do and swing next man
B2 Promenade with this person and face in to start again
I usually put it with a break of " Circle eight left and right; All to the centre and back, do that again; dosido and swing current partner and promenade"
With the right group, the last 8 bars of the figure can be "promenade to another square!" and then start again with the break. It doesn''t matter if there's more or less couples in the new "Square"
It's a very forgiving dance!
Have fun
