dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, the galop, named after the fastest running gait of a horse (see

Gallop The canter and gallop are variations on the fastest gait that can be performed by a horse or other equine. The canter is a controlled three-beat gait, while the gallop is a faster, four-beat variation of the same gait. It is a natural gait po ...

), a shortened version of the original term galoppade, is a lively country dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and popular in Vienna, Berlin and London. In the same closed position familiar in the

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

, the step combined a glissade with a

chassé The ''chassé'' (, French language, French for 'chased'; sometimes anglicized to chasse ) is a dance step used in many dances in many variations. All variations are triple-step patterns of gliding character in a "step-together-step" pattern. The ...

on alternate feet, ordinarily in a fast time. The galop was a forerunner of the

polka Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...

, which was introduced in Prague ballrooms in the 1830s and made fashionable in Paris when Raab, a dancing teacher of Prague, danced the polka at the Odéon Theatre in 1840. In Australian

bush dance Bush dance is a style of dance from Australia, particularly where the music is provided by a bush band. The dances are mainly based on the traditional folk dances of the UK, Ireland and central Europe.__TOC__ Eras of bush dance in Australia *Ea ...

, the dance is often called galopede. An even livelier, faster version of the galop called the

can-can The can-can (also spelled cancan as in the original French /kɑ̃kɑ̃/) is a high-energy, physically demanding dance that became a popular music-hall dance in the 1840s, continuing in popularity in French cabaret to this day. Originally dance ...

developed in Paris around 1830. The galop was particularly popular as the final dance of the evening. The " Post Horn Galop", written by the

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

virtuoso Herman Koenig, was first performed in London in 1844; it remains a signal that the dancing at a hunt ball or wedding reception is ending.

Examples

* Numerous galops were written by

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

. *

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

employed a "posthorn galop" as the second Allegro

scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often r ...

of his '' Eighth Symphony'' in 1943, and another galop in Act 1, scene 3 of ''Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.'' *

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

composed the "Grazer Galopp". He also composed the fourth movement of his '' Symphony No. 2'' as a galop. * The "

Devil's Galop "Devil's Galop" is a piece of light music composed by Charles Williams. It became famous as the theme tune to the radio serial ''Dick Barton – Special Agent''. The word "galop" in the title refers to the galop dance (which, in turn, refers to a ...

" by Charles Williams * The "Infernal Galop" from ''

Orpheus in the Underworld ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector-Jonathan Crémieux, Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act "op ...

'' by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

* The "Comedians' Galop" from '' The Comedians'' by

Dmitry Kabalevsky Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky ( ; – 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures during ...

* The "Prestissimo Galop" by

Émile Waldteufel Charles Émile Waldteufel (; ; ; 9 December 1837 – 12 February 1915) was a French composer, pianist, and conductor known for his numerous popular salon pieces. Among his best known works is " Les Patineurs" (1882), known as "The Skater's W ...

. * The "Malapou Galop" by

Joseph Lanner Joseph Lanner (12 April 1801 – 14 April 1843) was an Austrian dance music composer and dance orchestra conductor. He is best remembered as one of the earliest Viennese composers to reform the waltz from a simple peasant dance to something th ...

. * Danish composer

Hans Christian Lumbye Hans Christian Lumbye (; 2 May 1810 – 20 March 1874) was a Danish composer of waltzes, polkas, mazurkas and galops, among other things. Beginnings As a child, he studied music in Randers and Odense, and by age 14 he was playing the trumpet ...

(1810–1874) wrote several galops, including the "

Telegraph Galop The ''Telegraph Galop'' ( Danish_ Telegrafgalopen) is a musical composition by the Danish composer Hans Christian Lumbye (1810–1874) . It is one of Hans Christian Lumbye's best known and popular works, and together with Lumbye's ''Copenhagen ...

" (1844), the "

Champagne Galop The ''Champagne Galop'' () is a piece of orchestral music by the Danish composer Hans Christian Lumbye (1810–1874) which was written to celebrate the second anniversary of Copenhagen's Tivoli in 1845. Together with Lumbye's ''Telegraph Galop' ...

" (1845) and the "

Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop The ''Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop'' (), often just called the ''Railway Galop'' (), is a musical composition by the Danish composer Hans Christian Lumbye (1810–1874) which was written to celebrate the opening of the Copenhagen–Roskilde r ...

" (1847). *

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

composed the galop " French Ballet Class" for two pianos in his score for the film ''

Shall We Dance Shall We Dance may refer to: Films * ''Shall We Dance'' (1937 film), a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical * ''Shall We Dance?'' (1996 film), a Japanese film about ballroom dancing * ''Shall We Dance?'' (2004 film), an American remake of the ...

''. * Galops were also written by

Nino Rota Giovanni "Nino" Rota Rinaldi (; ; 3 December 1911 – 10 April 1979) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti. He also composed ...

. *

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

wrote some galops for piano, notably the " Grand Galop Chromatique" (1838) and the "Galop in A minor" (1846). *

Csikós Post Csikós Post () is a galop in the Key (music), key of E minor by the German composer Hermann Necke (1850–1912). Csikós is a Hungarian mounted horse-herdsman; ''Hungarian Post'' is an acrobatic riding performance where the rider stands on the ba ...

Hermann Necke Hermann Necke (8 November 1850 – 15 February 1912) was a German composer, conductor, music director, pianist, and violinist of the Romantic period. He is best known for the galop Csikós Post, first published in 1895 as part of ''Klänge aus Ung ...

. *

Isaak Dunayevsky Isaak Osipovich Dunayevsky ( ; also transliterated as Dunaevski or Dunaevskiy; 25 July 1955) was a Soviet film composer and conductor of the 1930s and 1940s, who composed music for operetta and film comedies, frequently working with the film dire ...

wrote some galops, including one for the film "The Son of the Clown" (1950).

Sources

External links

Streetswing's Dance History:
"Galop"

Herman Koenig Dance forms in classical music European dances {{Europe-dance-stub