„La Bergere“ and „La Darmstadt“

Early Parisian ballroom dances for two couples (around 1720)

In the early eighteenth century new dances for two couples in a square suddenly emerged. Co- tillons, Contredanses à 4 and Minuets for 4 took Parisian ballrooms by storm. While there were numerous Cotillons, the fully choreographed Contredanses à quatre were less frequent. They had a somewhat higher technical and artistic claim and sometimes even borrow steps and se- quences from La Belle Danse. These treasures among the contredance culture of the time have been handed down only rarely, and all the more welcome are four recently found dances of this genre.

The class will focus on the ‘Danses à 4’ La Bergere, La Darmstadt, La Cocagne and La Brillante, which are contained in a Parisian col- lection of contredanses originally from Paris but found in a German library (ms. Durlach). The source represents the fashionable social dances of the Regency period (1715–1723).

The programme will be enriched by some Cotil- lons taken from the same source, such as Le Jeu d'amour, etc., which constitute the missing link from the early Cotillon of 1706 to the estab- lished dance form of the second half of the century. The dances are of intermediate level and require a basic knowledge of baroque dance steps. 

  The class will start on Thursday 3rd October at 2.00 p.m. (public holiday) and ends on Sunday 6th 0ctober at 1.00 p.m. (excursion to neighbouring town Bad Wimpfen on Satudary afternoon)    FEE: Euro 90,– 

Bad Rappenau is located in the Neckar region and is home to a salt water spa. It is situated about 15 km northwest of Heilbronn. Eberhard von Gemmingen built a moated castle in 1601 that today serves as a cultural center. It is situ- ated in the centre of the small town, only several minutes walking distance from the railway sta- tion, for description see:

http://www.1001-stadtplan.de/stadtplan/bad- rappenau/kartenstartpunkt/stadtplan-bad- rappenau.map

For travel possibilities use the timetable at the bottom of this webpage:
http://www.badrappenau.de/330003.php?
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ACCOMODATION (not included in fee):

guest houses, private chambers, apartments http://www.badrappenau.de/330004.php?
seitenid=654&first=j
email: gaesteinfo@badrappenau.de, phone nr.
+49-7264-922-391