Elegance and Simplicity

Elegance and Simplicity ~ Morrison Elegance and Simplicity

Elegance and Simplicity is an American Country Dance. It was devised by Ladies and Gentlemen's Companion in 1803. It was interpreted by Smukler & Millstone in about 2008. Found in Cracking Chestnuts. It is a proper Triple Minor dance. The minor set lasts 32 bars.

The first use of this name has a different figure:

Saltator writes:

First couple down the out side, back, swing round, down the middle, up, brisse, right and left atop.

The Ladies and Gentlemen's Companion writes:

First couple mullinett half round with the second couple; then half round with the third, half right hand and left with the third; then half right hand and left with the second, and that will bring you back to your places; first couple chasse in the middle, rigadoon, back and cast off one couple, right hand and left at top.

"mullinett" is a corruption of the French "moulinette" (little windmill) which is the french term for star or hands across.

The right and left throughs are unexpexted. In the first one you courtesy turn someone of the same sex, and in the second you are on the wrong side.

In an improper triple minor people at the ends should switch sides when there is only one couple out (not when there are two at that end).

The animation plays at 120 counts per minute normally, but the first time through the set the dance will often be slowed down so people can learn the moves more readily. Men are drawn as rectangles, women as ellipses. Each couple is drawn in its own color, however the border of each dancer indicates what role they currently play so the border color may change each time through the minor set.

The dance contains the following figures: hand turn (allemande), turn single, cast, hands across, rights and lefts, ladies chain (courtesy turn), right and left through (and probably others).

If you find what you believe to be a mistake in this animation, please leave a comment on youtube explaining what you believe to be wrong. If I agree with you I shall do my best to fix it.

If you wish to link to this animation please see my comments on the perils of youtube. You may freely link to this page, of course, and that should have no problems, but use one of my redirects when linking to the youtube video itself:
https://www.upadouble.info/redirect.php?id=EleganceAndSimplicity

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The dance itself is out of copyright, and is in the public domain. The interpretation is copyright © ~2008 by Smukler & Millstone. My visualization of this dance is copyright © 2021 by George W. Williams V and is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This website is copyright © 2021,2022,2023,2024 by George W. Williams V
Creative Commons License My work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Most of the dances have more restrictive licensing, see my notes on copyright, the individual dance pages should mention when some rights are waived.