Repeated Step-sequences in Early Eighteenth Century Choreographies

INTRODUCTION Many of the extant notated dances from the early 18th century are throughcomposed. That is, their component step sequences are not repeated in relation to repeats in the music. Especially for more complicated theatre dances, repetition seems not to be the norm in baroque dance. Paradoxically, it appears that the more complicated a section of dance is, the less it bears repeating. Yet it isn’t all that uncommon to find a notated dance in which a repeated stepsequence does correspond to a musical repeat. This afternoon I would like to discuss some of the ways in which such repetition can function as a choreographic device in baroque dance. Repetition can be extraordinarily satisfying if it’s used well. Let’s look at an example of repetition in 20th century choreography. In this example, the choreographer repeats individual steps, sequences of steps, and entire sections of the dance corresponding to repeated sections of music. In the first section, the repeat is danced by different dancers; in the second section, the dancers are the same for the repeat. [VIDEO CLIP: “Symphony in C”, opening of 3rd movement]. That was the opening of the third movement of George Balanchine’s “Symphony in C”, to music by Georges Bizet, choreographed in 1947 for the Paris Opera Ballet. In this video, it was performed by members of the Royal Ballet.1 Would this sort of repetition be “allowed” in baroque choreography? Let us consider some of the possibilities found among the extant notated dances. (And here let me note that I have not made a comprehensive study of all the extant choreographies. I have focused on French sources, and I have selected certain dances that seem best to exemplify different types of repetition.) In baroque dance music, there are three general types of repeat scheme: binary form (AABB), rondeau form (such as ABACA or AABACAA), and sequential forms like the chaconne or the forlane, which typically consist of a series of repeated twoor four-bar phrases. It is not uncommon for music of any of these types to be played through more than once for a given dance. Nor is it uncommon for a given strain to consist of two almost identical, or parallel, halves. So there are possibilities for repeats at several levels: within a phrase or strain; at the repeat of a strain; or at a repeat of the entire piece.