MODULE 23: Gallopede (England)

I.                    Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:

a.       discuss briefly the history of Gallopede;

b.      execute the basic steps in Gallopede; and

c.       appreciate the importance of the dance.

II.                  Overview:

Gallopede was a popular dance which originated in Hungary. This module will tackle about the history of the English dance, Gallopede- its meaning and derivation. Later on, ways on how to dance it will be discussed.

III.                Learning Content:

In dance, the gallop, named after the fastest gait of a horse, a shortened version of the original term gallopede is a lively dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and very popular in Vienna, Berlin, and London. In the same close position familiar in the waltz, the step combined a glissade with a chasse step on alternate feet, ordinarily in a fast 2/4 time. The gallop was a forerunner of the polka, which was introduced in Prague ballrooms in the 1830s and made fashionable in Paris when Raab, a dancing teacher of Prague, danced the polka at the Odean Theater, 1840. In Australian bush dance, the dance is often called gallopede. The gallop was particularly popular as the evening.

The word GALLOP has the usual significance in the most rapid pace of a horse and the word Gallopede or Gallopade referring to a similar movement in dancing; Gallopede is really the correct term. The term Gallop came from the Waltz-like turning of the dance, which also has a version called a “Gallop-waltz” (3/4).

The origin of the Gallop is Hungary (some say Germany). It was often danced after the volte the country dances as a variant to the slow and solemn dances such as the Mazurka. Around 1815, the Gallop began to be recognized socially. The basic gallop leads moving forward and the follow backward, no turning in counter-clockwise fashion around the floor. It has been said that there was no more dance exciting, or easy to learn, it required only a good ear to mark the time of the music. The gallop was often used in classical ballet. The gallop is actually the forerunner of the Polka with the Minuet usually followed a Gallop and then a volte in dance order. The Berlin dance was a combination of the Polka and Gallop dances.