the.com/quadrille
A square dance so formal it required four couples and zero spontaneity.
means A square dance for four couples performing a set sequence of figures, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, or the lively music written for it.
from From French quadrille, borrowed from Spanish cuadrilla, 'a small troop or band of four,' which traces back to Latin quadra, 'a square' (the same root behind quad and quadrant). The word first described squads of mounted riders in formation displays, then slid over to the dancers who arranged themselves just as squarely on the floor.
- napoleonic craze
- Spread across Europe after Napoleon's armies popularized it
- five figures
- Danced in five distinct sections with set patterns
- card game too
- Also a four-player trick game predating whist
- square formation
- Four couples faced inward forming a perfect square
versailles court dances 1660s — louis xiv's courtiers performed quadrilles at the palace of versailles during the reign of the sun king
scottish country dancing — quadrille remains a standard formation in modern scottish country dancing with four couples in a square
caribbean creole quadrille — dominica, st. lucia, and other caribbean islands preserved quadrille as a traditional folk dance form