Dance des Bouffons
(Literally, Dance of the Clowns)
Tune: Buffons
All moves have a left foot start.
The stepping is as follows:
Kick the left foot forward, keeping the toe pointing down if possible, and bring it back (2 beats)
Lift the right foot in the air a little, (balancing on the left foot) (1 beat)
Lift the left foot in the air a little, (balancing on the left foot) (1 beat)
Repeat, starting with the right foot.
If you have the energy, the move should really be: kick with left foot, little kick right foot, little kick left foot, kick right foot, etc.
Sword strikes are always on the 1st and 3rd beat of the bar.
This dance was written for four dancers arranged in a square (but it is possible to perform it in a large circle as long as you have an even number of dancers).
Whenever the word ‘partner’ is used, this means the dancer currently on the other side of the set to you, regardless of where your original partner now is.
Whenever the word ‘corner’ is used, this means the dancer currently on the same side of the set as yourself.
Arbeau wrote each figure in 16 counts with 4 repeats – ie. AABB or ABAB on the music. (and a walk around the room chorus which is sometimes omitted, but can be useful for a break).
Entrance (feel free to omit or adapt to circumstances)
Number 1 comes on, brandishing his sword to the music while circling the hall, then returns to the entrance and places the point of his sword on the ground, as if he desired to challenge his companions to combat. Number 2 follows him round the hall and summons his own companion when they return to the entrance. Likewise 3 and 4. After these four rounds, they all go the other way round the hall and end in formation to start the dance.
Chorus (to go between each figure)
Circle left, then circle right. Some people do this with swords held vertically in front of them, others point their swords down in a similar way to a low basket. Arbeau doesn’t say, so take your pick. (He actually says ‘circle the hall’, but this would probably make the dance too long for modern performers, unless they find a way to interact with the audience as they go)
First Passage (The really complicated one) (ABAB)
Face across the set
1,2 All sticks raised vertically in the air, with a thrusting action as the dancer leaps upon both feet.
3,4 High forehand strike with partner, follow through. (This move is a right foot start, to allow for the initial jump replacing the normal left foot move.)
5 High backhand strike with partner.
6 Bounce off the backhand strike and turn left (some dancers will do a quarter turn left and some dancers will do a three quarter turn left) to face your corner.
7 Low forehand strike your corner.
8 Bounce off the forehand strike and turn right 360° to face your corner again.
9 Low backhand strike with your corner.
10 Follow through in a semi-circular move.
11 High forehand strike with your corner.
12 Bounce off the forehand strike and turn right until you’re facing your partner (some dancers will do quarter turn right on some of up to ¾ turn right).
13 Low backhand strike with your partner.
14 Follow through in a semi-circular move.
15-16 High forehand strike with your partner while passing right shoulders in order to change places. Turn in the shortest direction, to face the dancer coming towards you.
Repeat 1 to 16, but now treat the dancer you’re currently facing as your partner, and the person you just changed places with as your corner.
Repeat 1 to 32, in order to end up in your original position, before doing the chorus.It may help to have a short sequence of instructions that you can say in your head at dance speed until you have the whole Passage in muscle memory.
Here’s the best way I can describe the moves in real time:
1. Sword up (and jump)
Sword down
3. High Forehand (with partner)
PassUp (ie. Follow through, but ‘pass’ is easier to say in your head in time with the music)
5. High Backhand (with partner)
Bounce Down (ie. your sword bounces back from the other sword and you turn in the direction it is bouncing until you are facing your corner – anti-clockwise in this case)
7. Low Forehand with corner.
Bounce Down (turn clockwise 360)
9. Low backhand with corner
PassUp (ie. Follow through after the sword strike, but in this case, raise the sword as you do)
11. High Backhand with corner
BounceDown (clockwise turn until you are facing your partner again)
13. Low backhand (with partner)
Pass Up (follow through on the stroke while raising your sword in a nice circular motion)
15. High Forehand (with partner)
Pass Up Move on, passing partner by right shoulder and turning in the face the next person in the set.
Note that there are things that help this sequence to be a little easier to learn. All ‘pass’ moves are followed by a ‘high’ move. All ‘bounce’ moves are followed by a ‘low’ move. Which is why I’ve written them as ‘pass up’ (even if your sword is already up) and ‘bounce down’ (even if your sword is already down).
The Three Cuts Passage (second passage) (ABAB)
1 High forehand strike with partner.
2 Low backhand strike with partner.
3-4 High forehand strike with partner while changing places. Turn in the shortest direction, to face the dancer coming towards you.
5-8 Repeat 1 to 4 with the dancer now facing you.
9-12 Repeat 1 to 4 facing across the set.
13-16 Repeat 1 to 4 on the side of the set, ending up in your original position.
Repeat 1-16 four times, followed by the chorus.
The Fifteen Cuts Passage (third passage) (ABAB)
Dancers 1 and the dancer diagonally opposite him face into the centre of the set.
The other two dancers have their backs to the centre of the set.
1 High forehand partner
2 Low backhand corner
3 High forehand partner
4 Low backhand corner.
Everyone turn left 180 degrees (left, as there’s a forehand strike coming up), so 1 + 4 are now facing out and 2 + 3 are facing the centre.
5 High forehand corner
6 Low backhand partner
7 High forehand corner
8 Low backhand partner.
9-15 Everyone turn left 180 degrees and repeat 1-7
16 Change places with corner, passing right shoulder, and turn in/out to face new partner. If you were facing out, your now facing in, and vice versa.
Repeat 1-16 four times.
The Thrust Passage (Fourth Passage) (A, B)
1 High forehand strike with partner.
3 High backhand strike with partner.
5 Low forehand partner. Pull back elbow and hold sword horizontally.
7 Thrust sword at buckler in partner’s left hand.
9-16 Repeat 1-8, but pass right shoulder with partner and change places.
Repeat 1-16 three more times, engaging new paertners, to end back in your original position.
The Bastion Passage (Fifth Passage) (ABAB)
Number 1 and the dancer diagonally opposite him stay in their own positions, facing the centre of the set.
The other two dancers stand back to back in the middle of the set, facing out to their original positions. (the four dancers should make a shape like a thin diamond)
1 High forehand dancer to your left
2 Low backhand dancer to your right
3,4 High forehand dancer to your left and pass left shoulder to change places. If you were facing into the set, you now face out. If you were facing out before, you now face in. (turn the shortest way)
5 High forehand dancer to your right.
6 Low backhand dancer to your left
7,8 High forehand dancer to your right and change places, passing left shoulder. . If you were facing into the set, you now face out. If you were facing out before, you now face in. (turn the shortest way, which should be clockwise)
9-16 Repeat 1-8
This should take you back to your original position.
Repeat 1-16 four times.
The Hay Passage (Sixth Passage) (ABAB)
1,2 High forehand strike with partner, change places passing right shoulders.
3,4 Low backhand on the side of the set, change places passing left shoulders.
5-8 Repeat 1-4 to return to place
9-16 Repeat 1-8
Repeat 1-16. reversing the direction of the hay.
Repeat twice more, reversing the direction of the hay each time.
Dancers withdraw.