Quadrille and Cotillion - history

Part of a history of English country dancing in America, this segment looks at the quadrille and the cotillion.

Caution: The author is mistaken when he asserts, "The French had imported the English country dance about the end of the 17th century and apparently took a special liking to the square formation which occurred in some dances." While it is true that Hunsdon House and its grand square figure appears in early Playford, the dances that went from England to France were longways dances.

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""Current American square dancing has two predominant styles—western and Traditional (or Eastern).The former has many more figures and some are rather complicated. Also, in the former all eight dancers are usually active, whereas in the latter only one or two couples are usually active. It appears that the more complicated western dances grew out of the traditional dances.

"The traditional dances were developed from the 19th century square dances called quadrilles. The quadrilles originated in France and were popular throughout the century. They were first introduced in England at Almacks in London in 1814. They probably came to America within a year. The first quadrille had five parts or figures, each being 24 or 32 bars long, and the five figures differed from each other. Subsequent quadrilles followed the same pattern. The popularity of quadrilles lasted into the 20th century."