Also called the Burgundian Bransle (pronounced ‘brawl’). This simple dance makes a great addition to the SCA repertoire. It’s perfect for demos where you can get mundanes up and dancing an authentic 16th century French dance with no prior instruction. There’s no need to worry about partners, and it’s easy to get several lines going , weaving around the area, creating a magically festive atmosphere. There’s no good video of this dance on it’s own, but the dance up to this first break in this video is a proper Burgundian Bransle
Source: Orchesographie, written by Thoinot Arbeau and published in 1588-1589.
Step Review:
Double Left: Step L, bring feet together, repeat.
Double Right: Step R, bring feet together, repeat.
Foot in the Air, Left: Instead of placing the foot on the ground to finish the step, raise the L foot in the air, not above knee height.
Foot in the Air, Right: Instead of placing the foot on the ground to finish the step, raise the R foot in the air, not above knee height.
#DANCELIFEHACKS
Steps:
- Double L, finishing with your R foot in the air. 4 counts.
- Double R, finishing with your L foot in the air. 4 counts.
- (Repeat.)
Practice Playlist:
Resources:
- The Renaissance Dance Database entry includes links to dance steps around the web, sheet music and mp3s.
- SCA Dance Cheat Sheets has a listing of steps to Double and Single Branles, and a basic description of Gay and Burgundy.
- Del’s Dance Page also has cheat sheets for the Burgundian Bransle.