Allemande - Popular Dance of the Baroque Genre

An allemande dance is generally offered as a standard portion in a musical suite as it is one of the most popular dances of the Baroque genre for a long period of time. This dance has been danced throughout time, and has a long history. The origins of this dance can actually be traced down to the Renaissance period in the 16^th century when allemande was actually the French word for German. The allemande is actually a combination of popular German dance moves, and is a very lively dance which can quickly catch the attention of the audience.

While no one really knows who created this dance, the exact location and place where the dance originated from, nor who was the first to dance this dance, there are still documentations regarding the proper dance moves and technique for the dance in the Renaissance era; however, the true dance is actually lost as there are some moves which are not recorded. These dance manuals can still be found printed in French.

It was during the 17^th century that many different changes with the allemande dance. The basic structure of the dance was slightly altered like the tempo. The biggest change is perhaps the overall tempo of the dance has been increased. Slight smaller changes have also been made to accompany the increase in tempo. Even to now, the allemande dance is danced to an increased tempo, and not like the tempo music in the Renaissance era.

English composers went from there, and experimented with the dance even further. They experimented with different meters for the music to see how the dance would turn out at the end. Germany composers generally made changes to the dance using the keyboard as the basis instrument. French and English composers, on the other hand, took another route, and used string instruments instead.

The music of the allemande dance is made to be very exciting which many other repetitive instrumental dances may lack. The music relies on a series of tonal contrast to lighten up the whole room, and make a impression of light, lively, and dramatic music.