# Favourite dance forms?



## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Which dances do you like best - minuet, chaconne, waltz, gavotte, mazurka et al - and why? Is it just because your favourite composed a lot for that dance form, or is there something in the musical structure or rhythm that appeals to you? Or do you hate such compositions - too short, neat, trite or whatever?
I like the sprightly minuet.


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

I like the Gavotte, especially those written by Bach and Rameau.

The rhythmic structure of that dance is very compelling, especially when employed by such capable composers.

The gigue is my second favorite, and the courante is my third favorite. Minuets can be very good indeed, but preferably those written in the baroque era--I find the vast majority of Mozart's and Haydn's minuets uninteresting. Likewise with most of Beethoven's.


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

Lap.
.....

edit: subsequent posts have made it clear that I whiffed on this attempt at a lame joke. However, it provides evidence for what I claimed in this thread: http://www.talkclassical.com/24096-were-you-classical-music.html


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

Dirty dancing.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

I'm a Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo kind of guy my- oh, dance *forms*... Well, I'm struggling to think of one I've heard that I didn't like, but I think the waltz and related forms tend to get me the most.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

The polonaise. In Chopin's hands it's transformed from a rustic jig into a patriotic statement oozing with drive and passion - I especially like the op. 44.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

I much prefer Latin American stuff with some heat like Rumba, salsa and Tango! :tiphat:

/ptr


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Yes, I should also have included the tango - when used in classical it can lead to some very bleak work, and as a visual spectacle it's sexual dynamite.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

And what about pole dancing ?


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

moody said:


> And what about pole dancing ?


What clubs do you recommend, Moody? :lol:


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## KRoad (Jun 1, 2012)

moody said:


> And what about pole dancing ?


I thought that was Chopin's thang!

Otherwise the minuet esp. as it features in Baroque pieces.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Guys, guys ... cold shower recommended.

I love the mazurka in Delibes' 'Coppelia'; such spirit.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Almost any of the baroque dance forms - Loure, Gigue, Gavotte.

I'm gradually working my way through Bach's French and English suites with some great dance tunes.

Some of the earlier dance forms can be very uplifting e.g. La Volta.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

elgars ghost said:


> What clubs do you recommend, Moody? :lol:


The state I'm in now who cares as long as there's a pole and a girl.

But seriously it all depends on how the composer uses them.
But in the case of local music Latin American is so moody and so is Greek.


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## DrKilroy (Sep 29, 2012)

Renaissance dances like Galliard or Saltarello are great.

Best regards, Dr


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Yes - I love William Byrd's 'Coranto'.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

addendum; I also don't mind a fastisch Mazurka the Polish way (like those by Karol Szymanowski)!

/ptr


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

A flamenco Bulerias ("El Chino & Remedios Amaya"): 




Another ("Paco di Lucia"):


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## DrKilroy (Sep 29, 2012)

You can have a listen to Four Polish Dances by Szymanowski here. Krakowiak is my favourite!

Best regards, Dr


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

_Argentinian Dances_ by Ginastera :


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I can easily tell you my least favorite. That is the waltz. Makes me dizzy. Minuets are great, but the schmaltzy waltz is seldom in my queue.

I too like the dances that became the staple of baroque suites, though they are scarcely danceable in those settings. My favorites include:

The Passapeid - such a quirky and catchy rhythm

The Sarabande - almost always beautiful

The Allemande - works great as a lively prelude type of movement

The Gigue - send 'em home happy!

And of course, the absolute best is the Native American chicken dance from _Les Indes galantes_!


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## worov (Oct 12, 2012)

The Gigue for me :


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

The Gigue for me:





I enjoy Mahler's adaptation of the Landler:


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

"Fandango" is as much fun to say as it is to listen to.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Dougie.............


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## MaestroViolinist (May 22, 2012)

Well Wieniawski did the best Polonaises and Mazurkas ever, so those it is.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Saltarello


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)




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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

It's not as well known as other dances, but the Lezghinka , a traditional dance of the Caucasus, is just about the coolest dance form I know of. It's named after one of the indiginous peoples of the Caucasus, the Lezghins, who are related to the Chechens . It's a wild, whirling,leaping dance with pounding drums . There's one in Khatchaturian's ballet Gayaneh .
The Lezghinka is danced by many peoples of the Caucasus, the Georgians, Circassians, Chechens, and Azeri Turks etc.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Sounds amazing!


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

You can see plenty examples of Lezghinkas on youtube . The folk dances of the Caucasus are really amazing .
And the traditional costumes are the coolest . Sometimes the men even dance with daggers in their mouths !
These people are not Slavic, and totally unrelated to the Slavic peoples . They are actually middle eastern peoples with a very ancient history . Linguists have found their languages to be be of ancient middle eastern origin . The Georgians are descened freom the ancient Colchians lof the Black Sea region , who traded with the ancient Greeks, and the legend of Jason and Medea is of Colcian origin. Medea was an ancient Ciolchian princess of legend .
The ancestors of the Chechens in the Caucasus mountains,, who live to the east of the Black Sea, are believed to have come from ancient Mesopotamia about 10,000 years ago .


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Not to mention Katchaturian who wrote a version for a ballet here it is with some slightly wilder dancers:


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## DrKilroy (Sep 29, 2012)

Really nice costumes. 

Best regards, Dr


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

I am not a dancer at all, but I do like the waltz. Especially Ravel's La Valse and Valses Nobles et Sentimentales.


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## Rhythm (Nov 2, 2013)

Imagine the music, if you wish.


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

Bruckner's scherzos are always nice.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

The Russian dance trepak as in Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

superhorn said:


> You can see plenty examples of Lezghinkas on youtube . The folk dances of the Caucasus are really amazing .
> And the traditional costumes are the coolest . Sometimes the men even dance with daggers in their mouths !
> These people are not Slavic, and totally unrelated to the Slavic peoples . They are actually middle eastern peoples with a very ancient history . Linguists have found their languages to be be of ancient middle eastern origin . The Georgians are descened freom the ancient Colchians lof the Black Sea region , who traded with the ancient Greeks, and the legend of Jason and Medea is of Colcian origin. Medea was an ancient Ciolchian princess of legend .
> The ancestors of the Chechens in the Caucasus mountains,, who live to the east of the Black Sea, are believed to have come from ancient Mesopotamia about 10,000 years ago .


So Stalin was middle eastern?


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

Lope de Aguirre said:


> So Stalin was middle eastern?


I don't know if the "middle eastern" is the right term, but ethnically speaking Stalin was a Georgian. And yes, DNA-wise, the Russians and the Georgians are unrelated.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Serge said:


> I don't know if the "middle eastern" is the right term, but ethnically speaking Stalin was a Georgian. And yes, DNA-wise, the Russians and the Georgians are unrelated.


Bit of a stretch there. Would you claim that, say, Andean Indians and the French are unrelated DNA-wise?


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

KenOC said:


> Bit of a stretch there. Would you claim that, say, Andean Indians and the French are unrelated DNA-wise?


Well, are we splitting hairs here? If so, then yes.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

I like twerking!


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

bigshot said:


> I like twerking!


:lol: You would!!!
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