Quadrille - From Paired Horses To Paired Dancers

From Paired Horses To Paired Dancers

This performance became very popular, which led people to perform a quadrille without horses. In the 14th Century (estimated around 1342) the quadrille evolved more and more in an intricate dance, with its foundation in dances like cotillions. It was introduced in France around 1760, and later in England around 1808 by a woman known as Miss Berry. It was introduced to the Duke of Devonshire and made fashionable by 1813. In the following years it was taught to the upper classes, and around 1816 many people could dance a quadrille.

The quadrille (in French quadrille de contredanses) was now a lively dance with four couples, arranged in the shape of a square, with each couple facing the center of that square. One pair of couples was called the head couples, the other pair the side couples. A dance figure was often performed first by the head couples, and then repeated by the side couples. In the original French version only two couples were used, but two more couples were eventually added to form the sides of a square. The couples in each corner of the square took turns, in performing the dance, where one couple danced, and the other couples rested.

Terms used in the quadrille are mostly the same as those in ballet. Dance figures have names such as jeté, chassé, croisé, plié, arabesque, and so on.