The New International Encyclopædia/Quadrille (dance)

QUADRILLE, kwȧ-drĭl' (Fr., square). A dance of French origin, consisting of consecutive dance movements, generally five in number, danced by couples, or sets of couples. opposite to and at right angles to one another. The name is derived from the fact that the dancers are arranged into squares consisting each of four couples. The dance originated in the French ballets of the eighteenth century and was almost immediately adopted by society. Its modern form dates from the beginning of the nineteenth century. The names of the figures are: Le pantalon, l'eté, la poule, la pastourelle, or la trenise, and la finale. The music accompanying these figures alternates between triple and duple time, 3-8, or 6-8, and 2-4. Musard was the most distinguished composer of quadrille music, and under his treatment it became for a time one of the art forms. In the American quadrille there are five figures: (1) La promenade, (2) les moulinets, (3) les chevaux de bois, (4) la passe, and (5) la corbeille; but these all vary greatly at different times or places.