Did you ever dance la volta?

Question

It was a Renaissance dance, said to have been a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, and more than a little risqué.

The man "helped" the woman jump from time to time by placing one hand on her back, the other fairly low on her abdomen, and a bent knee under her backside.

And here is a somewhat more modest version:

Answer 1

Lol - no, "la volte" or "la voulte" was a dance from the Provence, and the clergy and aristocracy of the Provence even prohibited it in 1542.

But François d'Agoult introduced this revolutionary dance in 1556 at the court of King Henry II (of France).

On my side, I had once the occasion to participate as a beginner in a "bourrée" - less daring, reminding of some amusing anecdotes about Queen Margot (Marguerite de Navarre) and her corset, who introduced this popular rustic dance from the Auvergne to the court, where the steps were adapted to a more academic style.

Comments

@ Marianne:

Lol, I assume etymologically, this dance did not originate in La Voulte-sur-Rhône?  I thought the dance's name was cognate with English to "vault," in the sense of jumping, as in... umm... a pole vault.

Oh, yes, a bourrée is much more modest and stately than a voulte. 

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@T(h)ink

Lol - no, I don't think so, the name is based on "la volte" (FR) and "la volta" (IT) [both stand for turn, turning, also in domains like hippism and fencing, for instance - from popular Latin "volvitare"].

The name "La Voulte-sur-Rhône" (Occitan La Vòuta) has the same origin, but could also refer to "bow", "arch" (= la voûte - architecture) or to "tower" (= tour - architecture - in the Quercy region).

And the volte (dance) seems to have been derived from the "gaillarde".

Maybe that the bourrée was a rather modest dance, but the "pas de bourrée" is a sequence of ballet steps, i.e. beating steps.

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Lol, well, maybe it's cognate with the English 'revolve,' but still it's not the turning that... um.... uniquely characterizes this dance. 

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@T(h)ink

Lol - I know !

Didn't I mention its banning?

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Yes you did mention its banning, but you also mentioned that the ban didn't last long. 

The lady in the first clip I posted above looked like she enjoyed the dance altogether too much, and the man gestured a "thumbs up" at the end. 

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Yes, I mentioned the ban but did not give details.

And yes, of course - lol. I am sure that the dancers enjoy(ed) to show their skills. Among the many folk and other dance groups, or choirs, etc., there are various amateur groups.

Answer 2

Never heard of it till just now! Looks interesting! 

Comments

@ Rooster:

Yeah, looks kinda like fun. 

Answer 3

No. 

Answer 4

No, but I would. I think its sexy as hell!