Description
A dance originating in England, it retains the characteristic movements of the folk jigs still danced today in the British Isles. The fastest of all Baroque dances, lively, extremely agile, it is also danced by women. Giga is a theatrical dance and in the ballet performances it creates characters full of expression and expression.
As a court dance, the giga appeared as early as the 16th century in intermedia and comedies of the Elizabethan court. It came to the French court in the middle of the 17th century. At first it enjoyed great success as a theater dance, only to disappear in the second half of the 18th century. Danced in England as a comic burlesque dance, sometimes even acrobatic, in French ballet compositions it was an example of the highest level of technique and dancing virtuosity. Her routines do not lack difficult jumps, pirouettes and cabrioles. The most famous gig choreographies preserved and recorded by Feuillet’s system come from Roland Lully’s ballets and Campra’s Tancrède and Fêtes Venitiennes. Gig forms in 6/4 or 6/8 meter retain a fast tempo, jumping, frenetic character.
Gigue steps are based on jumps and endless turns. These are primarily pas de gigue, pas de passacaille, sissonne, jetté and fast chassé.
Bibliography
- Agnel Romana. Podstawowe formy tańca dworskiego w okresie Baroku [w:] W kręgu tańca barokowego, red. P. Grajter, Łódź, 2007.
- Conté Pierre, Danses anciennes de cour et de théâtre en France, Paris, 1974.
- Drabecka Maria, Choreografia baletów warszawskich za Sasów, Kraków, 1988.
- Larousse-Bordas, Dictionnaire de la danse, Paris, 1999.