Rigaudon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The rigaudon (also rigadoon) is a French baroque dance with a lively duple metre. The music is similar to that of a bourrée, but the Rigaudon is rhythmically simpler with regular phrases (eight measure phrases are most common). Also spelled Rigadoon, sprightly 17th-century French folk dance for couples. Its hopping steps were adopted by the skillful dancers of the French and English courts, where it remained fashionable through the 18th century. Conjecture assigns its origins to Provençal sailors and its name to a Marseille dance master, Rigaud, who reputedly introduced the dance to Parisian society in 1630.