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28-485: It was for some fifty years regarded as an ideal finale to a ball but was eclipsed in the early 19th century by the quadrille . It became so elaborate that it was sometimes presented as a concert dance performed by trained and rehearsed dancers. The later "German" cotillion included more couples as well as plays and games. The English word cotillion is a variation of the French cotillon (which does not have i in

56-558: A country house. In the United States , however, the opposite was true: quadrilles were termed cotillions until the 1840s, when it was realised that all the distinctive figures of the earlier dance had been taken up into the newer. The German cotillion was introduced to New York society at a costume ball with a Louis XV theme given by William Colford Schermerhorn in the early winter of 1854. Here, too, waltzes, mazurkas, fun, games and boisterous behaviour at private parties took on

84-533: A couples dance called Walzer . The Ländler , also known as the Schleifer , a country dance in 4 time, was popular in Bohemia , Austria , and Bavaria, and spread from the countryside to the suburbs of the city. While the eighteenth-century upper classes continued to dance the minuets (such as those by Mozart , Haydn and Handel ), bored noblemen slipped away to the balls of their servants. In

112-495: A large number of references stressing its universal popularity in the best and highest circles of society, and many teaching manuals were published to help recall the vast number of changes that were invented. There is a reference in Robert Burns 's 1790 poem Tam o' Shanter to the "cotillion brent-new frae France" (brand new from France). Dancing masters differed as to the exact way of doing these dances: some, recognising

140-428: A main "figure" that varied from dance to dance and was interspersed with "changes" – a number of different figures that broke out of the square formation, often decided spontaneously by the leading couple or by a caller or "conductor". Each of these was designed to fit a tune of eight or occasionally sixteen measures of 2/4 time. Participants exchanged partners within the formation network of the dance. "Changes" included

168-486: A more important role, and only some figures of the earlier dances survived. Finally the term cotillion was used to refer to the ball itself and the cotillion and quadrille became the square dance . Concert dance Concert dance (also known as performance dance or theatre dance in the United Kingdom ) is dance performed for an audience . It is frequently performed in a theatre setting, though this

196-816: A separate branch dedicated to theatre dance, with codified syllabi in each technique. Many dance teachers and schools worldwide, prepare their pupils for dance examinations and qualifications with a UK-based organisation, with notable examples including the Royal Academy of Dance , the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing and the International Dance Teachers Association . All UK theatre dance organisations are consistent in offering classical ballet , tap and modern or jazz as their core theatre branch subjects . Many also offer 'theatre craft' or 'stage dance', which

224-541: A waltz is called for, declaring "No, no, I don't allow that! Come, it's time to be going home." The waltz, especially its closed position, became the example for the creation of many other ballroom dances. Subsequently, new types of waltz have developed, including many folk and several ballroom dances. In the 19th and early 20th century, numerous different waltz forms existed, including versions performed in 4 , 8 or 8 (sauteuse), and 4 time ( 4 waltz, half and half). In

252-675: Is a waltz in the second act finale of the 1786 opera Una Cosa Rara by Martin y Soler . Soler's waltz was marked andante con moto , or "at a walking pace with motion", but the flow of the dance was sped-up in Vienna leading to the Geschwindwalzer , and the Galloppwalzer . In the 19th century, the word primarily indicated that the dance was a turning one; one would "waltz" in the polka to indicate rotating rather than going straight forward without turning. Shocking many when it

280-430: Is devised to reflect the choreography seen in musical theatre . Waltz The waltz (from German Walzer [ˈvalt͡sɐ̯] ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance , in triple ( 4 time ), performed primarily in closed position . Along with the ländler and allemande , the waltz was sometimes referred to by the generic term German Dance in publications during

308-538: Is mostly progressive, moving counter clock wise around the dance floor. Both the posture and frame are relaxed, with posture bordering on a slouch. The exaggerated hand and arm gestures of some ballroom styles are not part of this style. Couples may frequently dance in the promenade position , depending on local preferences. Within Country Western waltz, there is the Spanish Waltz and the more modern (for

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336-424: Is not a requirement, and it is usually choreographed and performed to set music. By contrast, social dance and participation dance may be performed without an audience and, typically, these dance forms are neither choreographed nor danced to set music, though there are exceptions. For example, some ceremonial dances and baroque dances blend concert dance with participation dance by having participants assume

364-410: The cotillon dance was also known as contredanse française , meaning "French country dance" or "French contradance ". The name cotillion appears to have been in use as a dance-name at the beginning of the 18th century but, though it was only ever identified as a sort of country dance , it is impossible to say of what it consisted at that early date. As we first encounter it, it consists of

392-666: The Regency period , having been made respectable by the endorsement of Dorothea Lieven , wife of the Russian ambassador. Diarist Thomas Raikes later recounted that "No event ever produced so great a sensation in English society as the introduction of the waltz in 1813." In the same year, a sardonic tribute to the dance by Lord Byron was anonymously published (written the previous autumn). Influential dance master and author of instruction manuals, Thomas Wilson published A Description of

420-523: The "Great Ring", a simple circle dance with which the dance often began, as well as smaller Ladies' and Gentlemen's rings, top and bottom and sides rings, and chains. Other changes included the allemande , promenade and moulinet . A complete dance composed of a prescribed order of these was called a "set". The cotillion was introduced into England by 1766 and to the United States in about 1772. In England from that time onwards there are

448-790: The 1771 German novel Geschichte des Fräuleins von Sternheim by Sophie von La Roche , a high-minded character complains about the newly introduced waltz among aristocrats thus: "But when he put his arm around her, pressed her to his breast, cavorted with her in the shameless, indecent whirling-dance of the Germans and engaged in a familiarity that broke all the bounds of good breeding—then my silent misery turned into burning rage." Describing life in Vienna (dated at either 1776 or 1786 ), Don Curzio wrote, "The people were dancing mad ... The ladies of Vienna are particularly celebrated for their grace and movements of waltzing of which they never tire." There

476-628: The 1910s, a form called the Hesitation Waltz was introduced by Vernon and Irene Castle . It incorporated "hesitations" and was danced to fast music. A hesitation is basically a halt on the standing foot during the full waltz bar, with the moving foot suspended in the air or slowly dragged. Similar figures ( Hesitation Change , Drag Hesitation , and Cross Hesitation ) are incorporated in the International Standard Waltz Syllabus. The Country Western Waltz

504-608: The Correct Method of Waltzing in 1816. Almack's , the most exclusive club in London, permitted the waltz, though the entry in the Oxford English Dictionary shows that it was considered "riotous and indecent" as late as 1825. In The Tenant of Wildfell Hall , by Anne Brontë , in a scene set in 1827, the local vicar Reverend Milward tolerates quadrilles and country dances but intervenes decisively when

532-453: The affair as an English country dance, taught that the steps and jumps of these were appropriate, while others insisted upon French elegance, recommending the basic step of the gavotte or the minuet . In reality many participants simply walked through the figure and changes, seeing these as the dance and the exact steps as dispensable. On the other hand, some figures required high skill at social dancing and many performances took place at which

560-475: The cotillion kept all the dancers in almost perpetual motion, the quadrille often allowed rest to half of the participants while the other half danced. In the 1790s, the cotillion was falling from favour, but it re-emerged in a new style in the early years of the next century, with fewer and fewer changes, making it barely distinguishable from the newly-emerging quadrille , which was introduced into English high society by Lady Jersey in 1816 and by 1820 had eclipsed

588-406: The cotillion, though it was recognisably a very similar dance, particularly as it also began to be danced by four couples. References to the English cotillion dances persist here and there until the 1840s, but these were more games than fashionable dances, and were often danced to the waltz or the mazurka . L. P. Hartley 's 1931 ghost story The Cotillon is centred around a masked cotillion at

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616-440: The last syllable). In English, it is pronounced / k ə ˈ t ɪ l j ə n / or / k oʊ ˈ t ɪ l j ə n / ; but in French, it is [kɔtijɔ̃] . The French word originally meant " petticoat (underskirt)" and is derived from Old French cote (‘ cotte ’) and the diminutive suffix -illon . There are two etymological theories as to how "underskirt" became a dance's name: In 18th-century French,

644-506: The late 18th and early 19th centuries. There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance, including volte , that would evolve into the waltz that date from 16th-century Europe, including the representations of the printmaker Hans Sebald Beham . The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne wrote of a dance he saw in 1580 in Augsburg , where the dancers held each other so closely that their faces touched. Kunz Haas (of approximately

672-454: The late 1930s- early 1950s) Pursuit Waltz. At one time it was considered ill treatment for a man to make the woman walk backwards in some locations. In California, the waltz was banned by Mission priests until 1834 because of the "closed" dance position. Thereafter a Spanish Waltz was danced. This Spanish Waltz was a combination of dancing around the room in closed position, and a "formation" dance of two couples facing each other and performing

700-479: The majority preferred to watch rather than dance. The quadrille gained fame a few years later as a variety of cotillion that could be danced by only two couples. In London in 1786 Longman & Broderip's 6th book of Twenty Four New Cotillions brings together for the first time the most characteristic dance-figures of the quadrille: Les Pantalons (‘trousers’), L'Été (‘summer’), La Belle Poule (‘the beautiful hen’) and La Pastorale . However, while

728-470: The role of performer or audience at different moments. Many dance styles are principally performed in a concert dance context, including these: In the United Kingdom, theatre dance is a common term used to indicate a range of performance dance disciplines, and widely used in reference to the teaching of dance. The UK has a number of dance training and examination boards, with the majority having

756-404: The same period) wrote, "Now they are dancing the godless Weller or Spinner ." "The vigorous peasant dancer, following an instinctive knowledge of the weight of fall, uses his surplus energy to press all his strength into the proper beat of the bar, thus intensifying his personal enjoyment in dancing." Around 1750, the lower classes in the regions of Bavaria , Tyrol , and Styria began dancing

784-573: Was first introduced, the waltz became fashionable in Vienna around the 1780s, spreading to many other countries in the years to follow. According to contemporary singer Michael Kelly, it reached England in 1791. During the Napoleonic Wars , infantry soldiers of the King's German Legion introduced the dance to the people of Bexhill, Sussex, from 1804. It became fashionable in Britain during

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