Historical SourcePublic Domain
La Polka de Société — Taught by M. D'Albert, late of Her Majesty's Theatre (Chappell, London, May 1844; 17-figure pedagogical suite)
Publisher: Charles D'Albert (Maître de Danse, pianist to His Grace the Duke of Devonshire; late of Her Majesty's Theatre, London) / Chappell, 50 New Bond Street, London. Dated May 1844. Source: Richard Powers collection (POWERS/ABBYY TXT/May_1844_Polkas.txt — ~90 lines OCR; title-page heavily degraded but 17 Figure descriptions preserved at reading quality). Original-year Polka-Mania London publication: D'Albert's Chappell-imprint pamphlet circulated contemporaneously with Coulon's 1844 Ball-Room Polka (POWERS-1844-COULON-POLKA) and Laborde's 1844 Album à la Mode Mazourka (POWERS-1844-LABORDE-MAZURKA). D'Albert credits the Polka to Bohemia ("original peasant dance" with "Cosaque"/"Danse Russe" characteristics, executed in metal-heeled boots); the French and Germans divested these features when adopting the Polka as a "Danse de Société" at Almack's and the Nobilities' Balls. Polka step theory: 3 beats counted 1-2-3 rest in 2/4 measure — (1) hop R + slide L forward, (2) draw R to L, (3) light step L forward with R behind (German execution; French bring R to rest against L). Step may be forward/backward/sideways/turning. Explicit concluding note: "In crowded assemblies the Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 are those mostly adopted" — pedagogical ranking of crowd-friendly vs room-intensive figures. Has_Step_Detail=Partial (explicit bar-count + step-direction + figure-sequence; no CBM/sway/rise-and-fall — pre-Silvester nomenclature).Year: 1844Family: dalbert-polkaCatalog: local
Dance manual/reference by Charles D'Albert (Maître de Danse, pianist to His Grace the Duke of Devonshire; late of Her Majesty's Theatre, London) / Chappell, 50 New Bond Street, London. Dated May 1844. Source: Richard Powers collection (POWERS/ABBYY TXT/May_1844_Polkas.txt — ~90 lines OCR; title-page heavily degraded but 17 Figure descriptions preserved at reading quality). Original-year Polka-Mania London publication: D'Albert's Chappell-imprint pamphlet circulated contemporaneously with Coulon's 1844 Ball-Room Polka (POWERS-1844-COULON-POLKA) and Laborde's 1844 Album à la Mode Mazourka (POWERS-1844-LABORDE-MAZURKA). D'Albert credits the Polka to Bohemia ("original peasant dance" with "Cosaque"/"Danse Russe" characteristics, executed in metal-heeled boots); the French and Germans divested these features when adopting the Polka as a "Danse de Société" at Almack's and the Nobilities' Balls. Polka step theory: 3 beats counted 1-2-3 rest in 2/4 measure — (1) hop R + slide L forward, (2) draw R to L, (3) light step L forward with R behind (German execution; French bring R to rest against L). Step may be forward/backward/sideways/turning. Explicit concluding note: "In crowded assemblies the Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 are those mostly adopted" — pedagogical ranking of crowd-friendly vs room-intensive figures. Has_Step_Detail=Partial (explicit bar-count + step-direction + figure-sequence; no CBM/sway/rise-and-fall — pre-Silvester nomenclature). (1844). Imported from local collection.