The Farandole Dance (traveling musicians or dancers being connected with others) is considered a French dance of Provence (S/E France) and of Languedoc (S. France) and said to be in the early middle ages; However, the Farandole was no other than the ancient Grecian Crane or Geranos dance of the 'windings of the labyrinth', which we owe to Theseus (Greek Mythology) which Homer wrote, and which the Phoenicians (9th century) who had imported it to Marseilles (S/E France).
The dancers formed a linked chain by joining hands or by means of red handkerchiefs. The music, which was originally in 6/8, gave the signal; the chain gave way, running, skipping or just walk through the streets or roads, increasing with all the people whom it meets, and it
goes on thus in a very quick and very rhythmical movement. At certain moments, the chain joins its two ends and forms a frolicsome circle or carole, or it unstrings, and the dancers skip under the arch formed by two dancers who have separated from it. They can move to any music with a regular pulse in duple or triple time, simple or compound. The Rounds were quite pretty and easy to dance with the importance of the dancing of the figures, such as the: 'Arches, The Hay or Grand Chain, L'Escargot (the snail) and Threading the needle' with the 'Arched figures' being the most charateristic. They are danced to the popular airs composed for this purpose. The music was very up and lively. The dance was one of celebration (weddings, births, anniverseries etc.). Originally one person sings the stanza, then everybody joins the refrain in chorus, holding hands and skipping very vigorously in a circle as one sees children do: Avait une rose, Sur mon sein l'a mis. Les gens qui sont jeunes, Le marieront-ils? All the dancers would answer in singing, "Oui, Oui!" and they jump as high as they can. When going thru the arch the dancers would yell out the name 'Thesus'. The dance seems to have been popular in the 1890s. The Bulgarian Chorovod and the Servian Kolo are gigantic Farandoles, in which all the female population of a city or village would take part. On the occasion of certain feasts the young girls would assemble in a garden outside of the city and lead an immense brawl (Branle/ball), conducted by one of them, who sings verses. Half of the dancers would support the voice, the others repeated after each verse and always thus, even to the end of the song. The chorovodka (leader of the chorus) yields her place to her neighbor and went to the end of the procession. Each dancer must have her turn, unless all prefer to leave the charge to the one who has the prettiest voice and the best memory. These songs were always legends put into verse and music; ballads gathered from generation to generation.
~ See: Full Farandole Music List
1944 - Farandole
1939 - L'Etrange Farandole
1964 - La Ronde
festival of Apollo at Delos by theori
$ 1995 - Bizet's Dream
Homer - 18th song of Iliade
Ballet
Cornish Snail Dance
Danse of Gruë
Kolo
Le Labyrinthe
Brawl / Branle
Crane / Geranos
Fedor Lensky
L' Escargot
Spanish farandula
Chorovod
Dance of Casos
Grecian Dance
La Chaine Anglaise
Circle Dance
Greek Dance
Les Chaines Continuess
Alicia Markova
Leonid Massine
Henri IV
Frederic Franklin
Nathalie Krassovska
Napolean
Igor Youskevitch
Thesus
Essai sur la danse antique et moderne
Élise Voiart
1823
Audot
Lettres et entretiens sur la danse ancienne, moderne, religieuse, civile et théâtrale
Baron, Auguste
1824
Dondey-Dupré père et fils
Histoire anecdotique et pittoresque de la danse chez les peuples anciens et modernes
Fertiault, François
1854
A. Aubry
Quelques mots sur les danses modernes
Brieux Saint-Laurent
1863
C. Douniol
Traité de la danse
Giraudet, Eugéne
187?
Imprimerie A. Veutin
La danse, la tenue, le maintien, l'hygiène & l'éducation
1885
n/a
Cotillon, manuel de la danse
Clément, Eugéne
1890's
Ouachée
La danse
Raoul, Charbonnel
1899
Garnier frères
The Dance, Ancient and Modern
Moore, Arabella Elizabeth
1900
A. Moore
Dancing
Frazer, Mrs. Lilly Grove
1907
Longmans, Green. and co
Practical and theoretical treaty of the dance
Edmond, (par Bourgeois)
1909
Guide du bon danseur
Bottallo, G.
1912
Jouve & cie
Bizet, Georges (1838-1875)
Last Judgement' by Fra.
Chostakovitch, Dimitri
La Vita in citta by Lorenzetti
Gauthier, Claude (1961)
Flemish Fair by Peter Breughel
Dominique, Danielle (1964)
Les Expedients de Farandole by P. Perrault1895
Edmunds, Dave
carole
Minotaur
Labyrinth of Créte
Farandole Provencal (translated lyrics)
When in the azure the clear sun goes up, All is merry under the sky of Provence, When in the azure assembles the clear sun, Of cheerfulness, it is the making alarm clock, In the orchards of the insane rounds the birds sing their refrains, And to guide lives it farandole, Vibrent of agreement fifres and tambourines Of the cicada, the note equalizes, Rythme merrily the dance of Provence Of the cicada, the sourness, Mets song gold noises in the gold of the harvest.
Ballrooms