This article started out as a discussion on the formation used in branle des chevaux, or Horses. However it grew to include various tabulations of the dance and some ideas on the steps themselves.
Horses is one of the Mixed Branles described in the Lochac Dance manual. (They are called Mimed Branles in Arbeau's Orchesography) I have split the description of how to dance it into three parts formation, the tabulations, and variations on the stepping.
The music can be found on the "Lochac Dance Tape", the CDs "Orchesographie" by the New York Renaissance Band, Sally Logan as director, Arabesque Recordings Z6514 and "Dances Populaires francais & Anglaises du XVIc Siecle" by The Broadside band, Jeremy Barlow as director, harmonia mundi france HMC 901152.
The formation of a dance is the placement of the dancers on the floor at the begin the dance. In Lochac the four (or five) mimed branles are done in a circle as a set.
In "Orchesography" Arbeau describes the dance starting with an explanation of how the dancers stand. He states "... the young man held the damsel by both hands.", and then gives the tabulation for the dance. From this description we can infer that Horses may not be a ring dance. Unfortunately Arbeau gives no more clues to how the dancers should form up for the dance.
Reading this reminded me of an article by Leah di Estera in "The Letter of Dance", issue 10, which had arrived a few days before. The article was on a 14th - 15th century poem, which has in its 26th sonnet,
This suggests that the Horses Branle is done in separate couples, perhaps as a processional.
Maybe there are several ways to dance Horses. Some are described below.
Here are some tabulations from various sources and some discussion on them..
A common variation to this dance in the SCA is for each dancer to do a double moving one place to the right around your partner instead of the kicks.
This pattern fits the tape which can be bought with the book. The book also contains the printed music.
This dance is a progressive dance with the men moving anti-clockwise around the circle and the women moving clockwise.
One point I have noticed at SCA events, there is almost no miming done while doing the Mimed Branles. This seems strange since the idea appears to have been to have fun and cause amusement for the other dancers. Perhaps these dances were the equivalent of our Challenge Branles with the idea being to get the others to miss step through mirth?
There are many ways of miming, other than the usual horsy noises as you change places or kick.
One is in the way the step is done. Rather than doing flat doubles you can make them more horse like. At Saint Aldhelm's they prance the doubles as if they were those Spanish dancing horses. Helga Hill suggests that the doubles might be done as "stamp, step, step, hop" or what we call an almane double starting with a stamp on the first step. You may think of other steps or ways of amusing your fellow dancers.
The whole idea of these Mimed Branles is to enjoy yourself and perhaps cause your fellow dancers to miss their step due to your appropriate antics.