Bourrée

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This article is about various types of dance called "bourrée"s, and related music. For the card game see Bourré, for the French town see Bourré, Loir-et-Cher.

The bourrée is a dance of French origin common in Auvergne and Biscay in Spain in the 17th century. It is danced in quick double time, somewhat resembling the gavotte. The musical form was also used by some composers, often as a dance-movement in a suite, but also for independent pieces. The dance survives to this day in the Auvergne and has been successfully "exported" to the UK and other countries.

The bourree is a lively dance in duple time which makes use of simple rhythms.

Frédéric Chopin composed two bourrées for the piano. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a number of bourrées in his orchestral and keyboard suites, as well as two short bourrées in his Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach and his contemporary George Frideric Handel wrote several in his solo chamber sonatas. The Victorian English composer, Sir Hubert Parry included a bourée in his Lady Radnor Suite (1894).

Progressive rock band Jethro Tull included an instrumental track inspired by Bach's Bourrée in E minor on their 1969 album Stand Up.[1]

Rock band Tenacious D plays a short rendition of a Bach's Bourrée in E minor in the track "Rock Your Socks" on their eponymous album and on the track Classico on their second album.

The bourrée is also a dance step used in ballet consisting of a rapid movement of the feet while on pointe or demi-pointe. A pas-de-bourrée consists of bending both legs, extending one, then stepping up, up, down, finishing with bent knees. More commonly known as the 'behind side front'. A pas-de-bourrée-piqué picks up the feet in between steps.