Pousettes

Pousettes appear as a common element of contra dances beginning in the 18th century, and fade out by the middle of the 19th century. Like many historical dance elements, there are many definitions of a pousette throughout their decades of popularity, shifting to align with the popular traveling steps and set arrangements of the day.

The pousettes we are teaching in Footwork and Frolick class are technically "non-progressive" pousettes, meaning that you end the figure back where you started. In the 1830s, the period we're focusing on this winter, dances include a mix of non-progressive and progressive pousettes (where the couples end up exchanging places by circling once and a half, thereby moving the active couple down one place). This requires careful thinking when reconstructing a dance, because you need to use context clues from the other figures to determine if the pousette should progress or not!

(Thanks to Lauren Stern for the above information!)