Jablonka, Guillaume. "Setting up the allemande within the Space of a Ballroom: Hypothesis based on Brives' Nouvelle Méthode from 1779."

Jablonka, Guillaume. "Setting up the allemande within the Space of a Ballroom: Hypothesis based on Brives' Nouvelle Méthode from 1779." In Der Ball: Geselligkeit - Macht - Politik 1600-1900. 5. Symposion für Historischen Tanz, Burg Rothenfels am Main, 15.-19. Juni 2022. Tagungsband, edited by Uwe Schlottermüller, Howard Weiner and Maria Richter, 235-244. Freiburg: "fa-gisis" Musik- und Tanzedition, 2022.


Abstract:
Reconstructing the "Allemande" of the late 18th century is nowadays mainly based on the positions detailed by Mr. Guillaume in 1769 and the principles taught by Mr Dubois around the same period. Both treatises show engravings of the attitudes typical of this dance and explain how to manage the changes of handholds between these attitudes. But neither explains clearly how this happens in the ballroom or how the different figures are organized in the general flow of the dance. Thanks to Brives and Jean Robert it is now possible to know how to dance the allemande as a whole : the different "passes" or figures are danced in the center of the dancing space and each of them is followed by a certain portion of promenade or "course" around this space.
The explanations given by Brives and Jean Robert relate with coherence to French country dancing of the late 18th century including some "passes d’Allemande". Called German or not, country dances may contain Allemande handholds that are performed on spot and then a "tour de course" follows in the attitude in which the dancers finished. This has nothing to do with the "tour d'allemande" that is one of the different couplets of French country dancing.
While dancing the "Allemande", a common rule is needed so that all the couples can dance together in the same room. Brives makes a difference between the "Valx" and the "Allemande", the occupation of space is one of its aspects.