Branle Cassandre

(Cassandre, Cassandre Branle,
Branle Cassandra, Cassandra Branle)

(16th century)

Introduction

The Branle Cassandre is an easy circle dance described in Arbeau's Orchésographie (1589).

The Formation

An open or closed circle of dancers (Arbeau mentions both) with hands joined.

Everyone dances the same steps together.

The Dance

This dance is a combination of doubles (side, close trailing foot toward leading foot with weight, side, close trailing foot to leading foot without weight), and singles (side, close without weight).

It has two parts, each repeated once:

Part A
Double left
Double right

Part B
Double left
Double right
Single left
Double right

So the whole dance written out (with A and B each repeated, AABB) is:

Double left
Double right
Double left
Double right

Double left
Double right
Single left
Double right
Double left
Double right
Single left
Double right

It makes more sense when you dance it with the music, which is composed to perfectly match the steps.

The Music

Here is a nice tune for dancing the Branle Cassandre:

Sources

• Thoinot Arbeau. (1589). Orchésographie. Lengres.

© 2020 Nick Enge

For more dance descriptions, see our three books on dancing:
The Book of Mixers: 100 Easy-Teach Dances for Getting Acquainted (2022) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge,
Cross-Step Waltz: A Dancer's Guide (2019) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge, and
Waltzing: A Manual for Dancing and Living (2013) by Richard Powers and Nick Enge.

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