Kitty Keller - Social Dance History
This is a series of six edited videos, selections from a 90-minute interview with social dance historian Kate Van Winkle Keller. She is a specialist in dances of the 18th century, and here she trace the development of social dance from English country dance in the 17th century through the cotillion of the 18th century. A summary of the six chapters:
1. Dance is a Creature of the People Who Dance It: She notes that dance can only be understood by looking at the society in which it exists.
2. André Lorin & English Dance in 17th c. France: André Lorin was sent by Louis XIV in 1680 to study English dance. The English longways dances were introduced into the French court but they didn't last: “Louis XIV would not have been a second couple.”
3. Feuillet and the Creation of the Cotillon: In this segment, she ooks at the arrival of the cotillon, a chorus / figure dance, originally for two couples. These dances were described by Raoul Feuillet and others in the early 1700s, with detailed descriptions of each figure and how they were to be repeated, creating about 300 fully choreographed dances.
4. De La Cuisse and the Contredanse Française (1762): Keller discusses the 1762 publication by de la Cuisse, which describes hundreds of dances; these included opening figures (honor your partner, honor your corner) that did not exist in English country dances and which we later find in square dances.
5. The Cotillion Travels to England and America: She notes that the new French dances make their way to England by 1770 and the name changes to the cotillion. Soon after, these dances come to America, especially to Charleston, South Carolina: “Charleston people were closer to the court of England than anything. They had plenty of money and plenty of time to learn how to dance.”
6. Cotillon, Cotillion, Quadrille, Square: Keller looks at the people coming from Europe in the late 1780s and 1790s, bringing with them the latest dances, which were French.
The full 90 minute interview can be found at https://youtu.be/QT7Owqhc_YI
Subjects: Cotillon / cotillion, Contredanse française, Quadrille
Tags: contredanse française, cotillion, cotillon, Kate Van Winkle Keller, Kitty Keller, quadrille
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1. Dance is a Creature of the People Who Dance It: She notes that dance can only be understood by looking at the society in which it exists.
2. André Lorin & English Dance in 17th c. France: André Lorin was sent by Louis XIV in 1680 to study English dance. The English longways dances were introduced into the French court but they didn't last: “Louis XIV would not have been a second couple.”
3. Feuillet and the Creation of the Cotillon: In this segment, she ooks at the arrival of the cotillon, a chorus / figure dance, originally for two couples. These dances were described by Raoul Feuillet and others in the early 1700s, with detailed descriptions of each figure and how they were to be repeated, creating about 300 fully choreographed dances.
4. De La Cuisse and the Contredanse Française (1762): Keller discusses the 1762 publication by de la Cuisse, which describes hundreds of dances; these included opening figures (honor your partner, honor your corner) that did not exist in English country dances and which we later find in square dances.
5. The Cotillion Travels to England and America: She notes that the new French dances make their way to England by 1770 and the name changes to the cotillion. Soon after, these dances come to America, especially to Charleston, South Carolina: “Charleston people were closer to the court of England than anything. They had plenty of money and plenty of time to learn how to dance.”
6. Cotillon, Cotillion, Quadrille, Square: Keller looks at the people coming from Europe in the late 1780s and 1790s, bringing with them the latest dances, which were French.
The full 90 minute interview can be found at https://youtu.be/QT7Owqhc_YI