Pleasures of the Town is a dance that we have been enjoying for a few years. Reconstructing it raised some interesting issues about the different ways the term “allemande” was used, and about how to interpret manuscript versions of dances.

The tune The Swiss Allemande was published in London by Mr. Werner in Humbly Dedicated to the Gentlemen & Gentry Subscribers in 1780, and by Charles and Samuel Thompson in 24 Country Dances of 1782, published in 1781, as well as in Thompson’s compleat collection of 200 favourite country dances: etc. (Volume 5) published in 1788. It crossed the Atlantic rapidly and Continue reading →

The tune Allemande Swiss, and the dances written to go to it, were extremely popular in late eighteenth century America.  (It is not to be confused with the tune “Swiss Allemand”, and the dances which were written to go to it.)   Approximately 20 dance manuals and hand-written manuscripts from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century include both country dances and a cotillion with the name Allemand Swiss.  As spelling was not standardized in the 18th century, we find many varied spellings of the title, like Continue reading →

We found “None so Pretty” in a collection of country dances from Walpole, New Hampshire  entitled A Collection of Contra Dances of Late, Approved, and Fashionable Figures, Walpole: Museum Press, 1799.   Continue reading →