Quadrille
A French dance in five parts.
What it means
The quadrille is a French social dance in which four couples dance facing each other in a square. The name refers to this square formation. It developed from the contredanse and became very popular in the early nineteenth century.
Characteristic is its construction from several parts, usually five, each with its own dance figures and musically shaped differently. The parts often carry traditional names that refer to the figures. The last part is often a fast conclusion, occasionally a galop.
Musically the quadrille usually stands in duple metre, in two-four or six-eight time, with clearly organized sections whose length corresponds to the figures.
In the notation
A quadrille consists of several individually designated numbers, usually five. Each is organized into eight-bar sections that are repeated. The melodies are catchy and often assembled from well-known melodies of the time, for instance from operas.
Musical use
The quadrille was one of the most important social dances of the nineteenth century. Dance composers wrote numerous quadrilles, often on themes from popular operas, so that the dance also contributed to spreading these melodies. The music was played by dance orchestras and published in piano versions.
In France it arose around 1760 as a form of the cotillion, at first with only two couples; in England, Lady Jersey introduced it to the upper classes in 1816. The five figures carry traditional French names: Le Pantalon, L'Été, La Poule, La Pastourelle or La Trénis, and Finale; La Poule is in six-eight time, Le Pantalon in two-four or six-eight, the others in two-four. The Viennese quadrille has six parts, and the Strauss family wrote numerous quadrilles. The quadrille influenced square dancing in North America and dance traditions of the Caribbean that remain alive to this day.
Performance practice
Keep the tempo reliable, for the dancers must be able to follow their figures. Shape the parts differently according to their character. Show the phrase organization distinctly. And shape the final part as a climax — it ends the sequence and may be more lively.