Courante

The courante, corrente, coranto and corant are just some of the names given to a family of triple metre dances from the late Renaissance and the Baroque era. Modern usage will sometimes use the different spellings to distinguish types of courante (Italian spelling for the Italian dance etc.), but in the original sources spellings were inconsistent.

In the later Renaissance the dance was done with fast running and jumping steps, as described by Thoinot Arbeau. These steps are sometimes thought to be broken up by hops between the steps, but this is not supported by Arbeau's instructions, which describe each "saut" as resulting in the completion of a new foot placement.

During its most common usage, in the Baroque period, the courante came in two varieties: French and Italian. The French type had many cross-accents and was a slow dance. The Italian courante was faster, more free-flowing and running, however, it is not clear whether this is significantly different from the French Renaissance courante described by Arbeau. In a Baroque dance suite, an Italian or French courante typically comes between the allemande and the sarabande, making it the second or third movement.

ADDITIONAL ARTICLE:

(taken from Encyclopedia of the ARTS—1946 Philosophical Library)

Courante. As background for its existence at 16th and 17th century European court festivities, the courante had an ancient life among the people in both Italy and France. Both nations claim the dance, but apparently the similar forms had parallel origins—not an unusual or unnatural occurrence for a dance based on so fundamental an activity as running. In both the Italian corrente and the French courante, or branle of poitou, as it was originally called, the dancers used a springing run characterized by a bouncing action of the knees. The figures made short advances and retreats with sudden changes of direction. The fast ¾ beat was subdivided into eighths in an accompaniment that followed the running movement. The branle of poitou, slower then the corrente, was the form adopted by the French court and traditionally incorporated a flirtation pantomime. The second movement of German musical suites took its name and form from this dance, with the result that the courante is classified as a pre-classic dance.

Written by Jennie Grainger, University of Wisconsin

See also