BOURRE

French folk dance with many varieties, characteristically danced with quick, skipping steps. The dancers occasionally wear wooden clogs to emphasize the sounds made by their feet. Notably associated with Auvergne, bourres are also danced elsewhere in France and in Vizcaya, Spain. Michael Praetorius mentions the bourre in his musical compendium Syntagma musicum in 1615. Stylized bourres in 2/4 or 4/4 time (folk bourres also occur in 3/8 time) have been composed as abstract musical pieces since the mid-16th century. In such 18th-century suites as those of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, the bourre often appears as one of the galanteries, or optional movements. The bourre was among the dances from which ballet derived its early steps. The pas de bourre (bourre step) has been variously elaborated; it is usually a small, quick step executed in preparation for a larger step. Pas de bourre couru (running bourre) is a smooth run on the toes, with the feet close together (first or fifth positions).