The Basses dances were grave and solemn with small gliding steps, bows (reverence), and danced up on the toes, very slowly, and executed to that of many a Psalm tunes which were the opposite of the livelier Balli court dances. The basse danse was usually danced with one couple standing behind another, partners holding inside hands with the dance being very gentle, not rough like the Volta. Original Basse dances were a regal processional dance consisting of "large" (start), that required a bow and a "small" (end), that required no bow.
Basse Dances consisted of three parts and only five steps: (A) the Danse basse proper, (B) the Retour, (C) the Tourdion, ... Altogether eighty bars, thirty-two for the beginning, sixteen for the return, and thirty-two for the conclusion usually in 3/4 time.
Of the five steps, the simplest components were single steps and double steps, these were walking steps that progressed forward or backward. 1) The single step (pas simple) consisted of a step and weight change; 2) the double (pas double) was composed of three steps. Each step was punctuated by a slight rising and lowering of the body. 3) The branle (bransle) was a sideways step performed with a slight swaying motion. 4) The reprise (or démarche), was a backward step; Shift weight to and fro. 5) and révérence (Congé) was the formal bow or curtsy. ... The Basse dances were followed up with a Branle (finne par branle) or a Saltarello. By the middle of the 16th century the basse dances lost its appeal to the more livelier dances of the time, such as the Hautes dances. The Hautes dances were much livelier and spirited than the Basse dances and had numerous figures in which to dance. One Hautes dance called the "Gaillarde" was a lively skipping dance. Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603) liked to Gaillarde. As time went on the Basse Dance and the Galliarde mixed so that today they are almost one in the same. These Basse dances or Court dances were the start of the "Society Dances" over time to the present. The Minuet is said to be a descendent of the Basse dance. By 1650 the Basse dance had practically died out in Italy and France. When the Basse dances started to fade (17th Century) they were replaced by the Pavane.
