Dances ¦ Dances of central france
3-time bourrée
This livelier version of the bourrée is descended from traditional dances in several areas of central France.
The version described below is the more common Bourbonnais style, and see the
comments in the 2-time bourrée section for more on regional variations.
Worth a particular mention is the marvellous Bourrée tournante des Grandes
Potteries from the Berry region (also known as the turning bourrée or the 'ice
cream bourrée'). There are also many dances in other formations: lines of
3 or 4 dancers, circle dances, sets of 6 and many more. See below for
comments on the Giatte.Form of the Dance
The 3-time bourrée can be danced in lines but is often danced in small sets of 2 couples in a square. There are many different variations, and more are being written all the time. As with the 2-time bourrée, the dance comes in two parts: in this version, in the A-section, everyone moves into the centre and then back to place 4 times. In the B-section, everyone goes round the circle, crossing with their partner and contra-partner.
Steps
The same as the 2-time bourrée but with slightly less time to do the steps!
A - Section
L - Fairly long step with the left foot
Rlr - Medium length step with the right foot and a small 'push' with the left foot before dropping back onto the right foot.
| Beat (Bar) |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
| Beat |
L forwards |
Rlr |
L Back |
Rlr |
Repeat 4 times in total.
The style is quite brisk and snappier than the 2 time bourrée.
B-Section
The step is the same but the movement is different:
Beats 1+2 - Turn to face your partner. Move forwards towards your partner as above, turning slightly left to face them.
Beats 3+4 - continue forwards to your partner's place, turning right to face your contra-partner (quarter turn for women, three-quarter turn for men)
Repeat steps 1 and 2 with your contra-partner. You should end up on the opposite side of the set.
Then repeat again with partner and then contra-partner to get back where you started.
Music
Written in 3/8 time, the music feels quicker and snappier than that of the 2 time bourrée. The emphasis is again on the main beats (1, 2, 3, 4 above) which is the first beat of each bar.
Variations and Improvisation
Again there are a huge number of different traditional dances and potential variations. Another popular form of 3/8 bourrée involves: A-part: Men go into the middle on 1 and 2, and then women go in on 3 &4 as the men go back. B-Part: Men cross through the centre on 1 and 2, women cross on 3 & 4.
Description from Laurel de Vietri.
The dance called Giatte is done to music which is trés coupée, sacadée (cut
and crisp). It is from a specific region (in, I think, Les
Combrailles in the Auvergne). In contrast to 3 time bourrées from the Auvergne,
giattes can be full of frappées (stamps and 'punctuations') which
reflect the crisp style of music. The usual 3-time bourrée has an emphasis in
its grace and its gliding step and uses the frappées only to embellish or
to add interest from time to time. Normally you don't do a giatte to any
piece of 3-time bourrée music. The giatte step is circular (rather like a
sautiere), the circle being completed in 4 bars. This is done usually by two
people or in fours. Apart from the giatte step , there is normally another part
to the dance which is either a circling around each other or a simple
bourrée type step (side to side in an ellipse). The giatte can done
around a bottle by 2 or 4 people.
Copyright
Text and images copyright (2004) Graham Knapp/Les Panards Dansants. Please contact graham@frenchdanceleeds.co.uk to arrange permission for copying and reproduction. Many thanks.
