Basse Danse - Dance Elements

Dance Elements

Due to a treatise in the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels, information about the elements of a basse danse (along with choreography of specific examples) remains today.

Basse danses are developed around four types of steps: the pas simple, pas double, démarche (also known as the reprise), and the branle. There also exists the révérence, a bow typically executed before or after the basse danse.

• In a pair of pas simples, dancers take two steps (typically first left and then right) in the span of one measure, in the feel of 6/4.
• In pas double, dancers take instead three steps, in the feel of 3/2. These steps take advantage of the hemiola feel of the basse danse.
• In the démarche, dancers take a step backwards and shift their weight forward and then back in three motions in the feel of 3/2.
• In the branle, dancers step to the left, shifting their weight left, and then close again, in two motions in the feel of 6/4.
• The révérence, occurring typically before or after the choreography, takes place over the course of one measure.