A Bouree or Fleuret Step in the 1720s

English dancing master and choreographer Kellom Tomlinson (born c.1690, died after 1753) was the author of The art of dancing explained by reading and figures. Although completed in 1724, the cost of printing the thirty-five full-page plates precluded publication until 1735.

Of the BOUREE-STEP or FLEURET.

The Bouree is composed of three plain straight Steps or Walks, except the first, which begins in a Movement, and is to be performed in the same Method, as the Half Coupee, or Coupee with two Movements, that is to fay, must always fink, at the Beginning of the Step or Walk, and rife at, or gradually before the End of it; which is the Manner in which the first Step is usually taken, in the Performance of all Steps, except Springs, Bounds, Hops, or Chaffees, &c. wherefore, for the Future, I need not say any more of the Method of beginning these Sorts of Steps, in Dancing, otherwise than to make a Movement, without mentioning how the Sink and Rife are to be made, since they have been already explained.

A Bouree or Fleuret, as I have observed, consists only of three plain straight Steps; but a Movement is added to the first of them, the Rife of which Movement, as has been said, always strikes the Cadence or Time; and, if this Step is done to a Tune of three Notes in a Measure, the first Step answers to the first Note, the second Step to the fame Note, and the third Step to the last Note of the Measure, concluding together.

You are also to note, that tho' in the Bouree there are three distinct Walks or Steps, yet nevertheless, these three Steps are to be esteem'd but as one Step, in Regard of its being a composed Step; as will appear by the Half Coupee, which, tho' no more than a single Step, is, however, a Step, because it generally takes up a Measure, but more especially in Tunes of triple Time; and it is made by a smooth and easy Bending of the Knees, rising in a flow and gentle Motion from thence; which Rising, as I have said, is upon the first Note of the Measure, the Weight of the Body being supported by the Foot that made the Step, during the Counting of the second and third Notes of the Bar.

The graceful Posture of the Dancer's Standing adds not a little to the Beauty of this Step, who, 'till the Time be expired, is to wait or rest; by which it is evident, that the Half Coupee, tho' a single Step, is equal, in Value, to any compound Step whatsoever, whether of two, three, four, or more Steps in a Measure.

But to return, the Bouree-Step may be perform'd various Ways, as forwards, backwards, sideways, crossing before, the fame behind, before and behind, behind and before, &c (e), the Explanation of which, I think, may not be improper, in this Place; and therefore I shall proceed to shew the Method of their Performance, one after the other, in the Order above set down, except the Fleurets forwards and backwards; which being so intelligible of themselves, and having Occasion hereafter to speak of this Step, by way of Grace to the Minuet, instead of saying any thing farther of them here, I shall begin with the Bouree-Step crossing before, sideways; which is to be perform'd, as follows, either with the right or left Foot: For Instance, provided you begin with the Latter, the Weight must be on the right (f); and the left Foot, which is at Liberty, commences by making a Movement and Step, to the right Side of the Room, crossing before the Foot on which the Body rests†, the Face being to the Upper Part of the Room, and it receives the Weight. The second is the right Foot, which steps the fame Way; and the third and last, which is with the left, crosses before, as at first, only without a Movement∥. The Bouree crossing behind, sideways, differs from the Former in this, that whereas that was before, this is behind; that is to fay, the Weight being, as aforesaid, the left Foot, instead of making the Movement and first Step crossing before the right, it now is made crossing behind it; and the next Step, which is with the right Foot, moves the same Way, after which the third and last Step with the left Foot is drawn behind the right, and concludes. The Bouree before and behind is, when the first Movement and Step are made crossing before the Foot on which the Weight is, whether right or left, the second Step moving sideways, the fame Way, and the third drawn behind it, facing upwards, as before. The Bouree behind and before is done in the like Manner, only the first Step is not cross'd before but behind, the second stepping sideways, and the third drawn crossing before. The Bouree, which I call twice behind, is made as follows: Suppose, for Example, you make a Movement, stepping backwards with the right Foot, into the third Position inclos'd behind the left on which the Weight is, and releasing it; upon which it makes the second Step of the Bouree, in a plain Step backwards, receiving the Weight inclos'd in the third Position behind the right, which then performs the third Step of the Bouree, in a plain Step forwards.

There are many other Ways of performing this Step, which would be too tedious to be mention'd here; and, as they are not to my present Purpose, omitting them, I shall only observe, that this Step, continued several Measures, changes the Foot, every Step, as has been taken Notice of in the Half Coupee; but with this Difference, that whereas the Half Coupee changes the Weight, every single Step, as in Walking, the Bouree or Fleuret only changes it, at the End of every third Step.

Bath Theatre Rivalries

In "The New Bath Guide, or Useful Pocket Companion; Necessary For all Persons residing at, or resorting to, this ancient and opulent City." published in 1762, we learn that:

"There are likewise two Theatres here; one situated on Orchard Street, which was built by subscription in the year 1750, by twelve of the inhabitants; the other was built by the late Mr Simpson, under his long-room; the lower part of the latter is exactly the model of Drury-Lane Theatre, and the stage is much wider than that at Orchard Street, At present this house is shut up in consideration of a yearly sum paid to Mr Simpson by Mr Palmer, who is now the chief proprietor of the Theatre in Orchard Street; where they perform (during the season) four times each week viz. Mondays, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday."

Simpson had created the Theatre in the basement of his Assembly Rooms to exploit the opportunity created by the demolition of Bath's first theatre built in 1705 by George Trim, after whom Trim Street is named, which stood at the corner of what is now Parsonage Lane. This was demolished in 1738 to make way for the Mineral Water Hospital.

In 1747, John Hippisley, a successful actor on the London stage but born in Somerset, suggested that Bath players and playgoers needed and deserved better facilities than those provided by Simpson and his rivals in Kingsmead Street.

His proposal for a "regular, commodious theatre" was well received by everyone except the proprietors of the theatre at Simpson's Rooms. The site for the new theatre in Orchard-street was chosen by John Wood,

Hippisley's sudden death created a crisis that was overcome only by the intervention of John Palmer, a wealthy brewer and chandler. He was the father of John Palmer, who became famous for his invention of the Mail Coach system.

The new theatre opened on 27th October 1750.

The Interior of the Orchard Street Theatre

There followed a period of intense commercial rivalry. A play performed at one theatre on one night would be put on at the rival establishment the following evening or even the same night. The manager of Simpson's, Henry Brown, complained that his carpenter and machinist had been got dead drunk and abducted to Orchard Street. Brown himself was lured to work at Orchard Street 2 years after making this complaint.

Nearly six years on, neither the new theatre nor the theatre at Simpson's was doing much more than covering its costs, and John Palmer offered Simpson £600 a year to stop hosting performances. The last performance as the Rooms took place in 1756, with a performance of Henry VIII in a programme that included a farce called Harlequin's Vagaries.

Mlle Roland Bath Teacher of Dance - the Italian Connection

Nicholas Roland was the leading dancer at the Court of the Duke of Mantua. His eldest daughter, Catherine, seems to have been born in Venice about 1714 or 15. The Duchy of Mantua had been annexed by Austria in 1708.

The Duke of Mantua,
attributed to Jacob Denys (1706)

His next and youngest daughter, Ann (some early sources give he name as Ame), may have been born in 1725. There also seems to have been a brother, Francis, about whom little is known.

Catherine and her father seem to have first danced together in Lyon in 1729 or 1730, and Catherine made her solo debut at the Theatre Italien in Paris in 1732.

She left Paris in 1734 to dance with her father in London. By October of that year, she was dancing with the French dancer and choreographer Michael Poitier, among others. Sometime around this time, Catherine and Poiter seem to have become lovers.

Poitier and Catherine had gained such a loyal following that their failure to appear as advertised caused significant disturbances in theatres.

On the 18th of November, 1735, Catherine was joined on stage at Drury Lane by her sister Ann, who had just arrived from Paris.

In 1736, the Grub Street Journal provided the following description of Mlle Roland's, probably Catherine's, style of dance.

"at the end of each dance, she is lifted by Poitier, that she may cut the higher and represent to the whole house as immodest a sight as the most abandoned women in Drury Lane can shew. Her whole behavior is of a stamp with this; during the whole dance, her only endeavour is to shew above her knees as often as she can."

From 1736 to 1739, Catherine seems to have performed at Drury Lane while Ann was attached to the company at Lincoln's Inn Fields. Both sisters appeared to have joined the company at Covent Garden and partnered with Poitier. Catherine seems to have left the company for the 1740 - 1741 season.

Catherine renewed her Drury Lane performance for the 1741 - 42 season before she and Poitier left England. Ann continued to perform as a singer and dancer in London throughout this time and may have performed in Ireland in 1743.  An advert in the Bath Journal of 1744 announces her arrival in Bath and her intention to offer classes in spoken French and Dancing to young ladies either at their own homes or at her lodgings in Jame's Street.

Sometime around 1746, Ann married the violinist Francis Fleming, who was earning his living playing for the company in the main public rooms. In his semi-autobiographical novel, Francis suggests he married Ann to improve his business under the mistaken impression he was marrying her more famous sister!

Together, the couple initiated annual benefit concerts and balls at the assembly rooms, including display pieces; for instance, in 1747, Mrs Fleming is reported to have performed a French peasant dance. After a dozen or so active years as the principal dancing teacher in the city, Fleming's wife died from a lingering illness at the Hotwells in 1759.

She left three children, two of them 13-year-old Anna Teresa and the 10-year-old Kitty, who would go on to feature prominently in the expanding dance teaching industry in Bath.

Waltzing in 1816

An illustration of the attitudes and movements in German and French waltzing taken from "A Description Of The Correct Method Of Waltzing, The Truly Fashionable Species Of Dancing, That, from the graceful and pleasing Beauty of its Movements, has obtained on ascendancy over every other Department of that Polite Branch of Education." By the dancing master, Thomas Wilson published in 1816.

Notice illustration number 7 with the lady's arms crossed behind her waist and the gentlemen's hands placed on the lady's waist on each side.

The Waltz had been recently introduced to respectable society in England by Dorothea Lieven the wife of the Russian Ambassador a leader of society, invitations to her house were the most sought after in London, and she was the first foreigner to be elected a patroness of Almack's, London's most exclusive social club.

Dorothea Lieven

Wood's Hornpipe

From A Companion to the Ball Room by Wilson, Thomas Published in 1816

From Wilson Companion to Ballroom 1816

Mrs Elliston a Bath Teacher of Dance and much more

On the 20th of February 1807, Jane Austen wrote to her sister Cassandra.

 “Elliston, she [her aunt] tells us has just succeeded to a considerable fortune on the death of an Uncle. I would not have it enough to take him from the Stage; she should quit her business, & live with him in London”

Elliston was Robert William Elliston a leading actor and a great favourite of Austen’s; “she” was Elizabeth Elliston his wife.

The cause of Austen’s censure was the fact that despite Robert’s success on the London stage and their eleven years of marriage Elizabeth continued to work as a dance teacher and dance academy proprietor in Bath.

Robert Elliston met Elizabeth Rundall in Bath where he had come to work at the Theatre Royal and she was working as an assistant to the sisters Anne and Kitty the then proprietors of the famous Fleming family dance academy which had been a prominent Bath institution since the 1740s. Anne, despite being middle-aged, had hopes that Elliston would marry her but he only had eyes for her beautiful and talented young assistant.

Robert and Elizabeth married on the 1st June 1796 in the parish of Peter and Paul and Elizabeth set up her own dance academy in Chapel Row in a partnership with Kitty the younger of the Fleming sisters, though there is evidence that this did not create a permanent breach in the friendship between Elizabeth and Anne. This partnership was secured by a £500 bond.

In 1797 Elizabeth and Kitty expanded their business by opening an academy at 5 Great Pulteney Street for private pupils while retaining the public academy at Chapel Row. In addition, to dance training they also offered Robert’s services to teach the “art of reading and speaking with propriety”.

By 1800, Kitty and Elizabeth Elliston had moved their school to 2 Trim Street and in this year Elizabeth gave birth to her second and most famous child Henry Twiselton Elliston who became a composer, inventor and musician often performing with his brother William. Over the course of their 25-year marriage, she and Robert had ten children. At least two of Elizabeth's daughters seem to have earned a living as dance teachers.

By August 1801 Elizabeth had moved her academy to 39 Milsom Street and from this time started to organise balls at the Lower Rooms to display the accomplishments of her pupils and by 1803 she was putting on balls at the Upper Rooms at least one of which attracted no less a person than Her Grace Georgiana the Duchess of Devonshire. Her spring ball in 1804 attracted more than 800 visitors.

Bath Chronicle 1803

In 1802 The Morning Post reported a that the King and Queen and their daughters accompanied by the six year old Princess Charlotte of Wales had attended a performance by Robert at the Theatre in Weymouth at which "his daughter Miss Elliston" who cannot have been older than 5 "whose juvenile efforts were crowned with general approbation on his benefit, appeared in a fancy dance, assisted by the exertions of Mrs Elliston and her sister, Miss Rundall."

In 1803 Elliston gave a benefit performance at Bristol of Much Ado About Nothing at the end of the second act Elizabeth and her daughter appeared with Elizabeth's sister Miss Rundell in the ballet Varietes Amusantes.

In 1804, Richard Sheridan asked Robert to appear at his Drury Lane theatre. Initially, Elliston refused a permanent position in Sheridan’s company but gradually the lure of the London theatre and the riches it could command sucked him in.  On 20 September 1804 Elliston made his first appearance as leading actor at Drury Lane. During this year, Elizabeth’s partnership with Kitty Fleming was dissolved and Elizabeth did not maintain an academy at Bath although she did do some teaching at her sister’s school.

Elizabeth’s sister Mary Ann was at this time the principal of a school for young girls in Bath. She later became obsessed by the ideas of the German scholar Gregor von Feinagle concerning memory. After he visited England in 1811 she published a book entitled "Symbolic Illustrations of the History of England". This book aimed to encapsulate the facts of history into just 39 pages, but the book received a withering review in The Quarterly Review who called it a "most absurd book". They noted that 700 pages of text were required to interpret the 39 pages of symbols!

In 1805, Elizabeth announced that she was giving up all her “country businesses” with the exception of classes at her sister’s school and was relaunching her academy at 39 Milsom Street.

When Drury Lane was destroyed by fire in on the 24th February 1809, Elliston used his fame and his uncle’s money to move into theatre management becoming known as ‘the Great Lessee’ and ‘the Napoleon of the Theatre’ for his energy in acquiring new properties.

By 1809, Elizabeth was living in London at a house in Stratford Place a reasonably high-status address just off Oxford Street. It appears that at least in part Elizabeth was in London to work on choreographing the dances in Elliston’s productions. At this time she was employing at least one assittant a Miss Perry who a year later set up as a dancing teacher in Cheltenham and using her work at Stratford Place as a reference.

In this same year, Elizabeth published “Les Varieties a third set of Dances and Cotillions Reels &c Composed and Arranged for the Piano Forte by Mrs Elliston dedicated to Miss D E Rundall, Milsom Street Bath.”

We know very little about Elizabeth’s sister Miss D E Rundall except that she may also have trained with the Flemings, and that Elizabeth trusted her to run her dance school in Milsom Street while she was in London.

In her book, Elizabeth’s tells us a little about her approach to composition where her aim was to create “melodies graceful to the ear & to give them that accent which is the soul of dancing”.  We also learn that her previous two books were called “Trafalgar” & “The Graces” and that they were published in London.

The 1809 trade directory list Mrs Elliston as the proprietor of the Dance Academy at 21 Milsom Street.

In 1810 in the first season of Elliston's management of the Surrey one of Elliston's earliest biographers tells us "Some delightful melodies were furnished by Mrs. Elliston" for the theatre's production of the Beau Strategem adapted to be a burletta.

By 1812, Elizabeth had moved her school to 21 Milsom Street. In the same year, the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane re-opened on 10 October with a production of Hamlet featuring Robert Elliston in the title role.

From this time on Elizabeth seems to have remained in London and left her Bath interests entirely in the hands of her sister and latterly her daughters. 

Elizabeth died at the age of 46 in 1821,  five years before Roberts bankruptcy and ten years before his death in both of which his chronic alcoholism undoubtedly played a part. In the year of her death, her husband leased the theatre at Coventry and staged a magnificent coronation spectacle at Drury Lane. Elizabeth's death was reported around the nation in the most affectionate terms. A typical example of which is taken from Bell's Weekly Messenger is as follows:

"Testimony to private worth - The late Mrs Elliston - The Bath Herald, copying from the London Papers the account of the death of this much esteemed Lady, adds the following interesting particulars. The above account was received in this city, by the numerous friends of Mrs Elliston, with the deepest sorrow; for it was in Bath that the then lovely Miss Rundall, under the kind care of Miss Fleming. acquired those accomplishments, which have since adorned the most respectable circles in the metropolis; and most poignantly do we condole with that highly respected character on the sudden and untimely loss of one, whose merits she had the best opportunity of appreciating, as the attentive pupil, the valuable assistant, and sincere friend - characteristics which have since naturally expanded into the endearing domestic virtues of the best of wives and most affectionate of mothers - This day (Friday) [6th April] being appointed for the funeral, and Mrs Elliston's brother and sister being present in Bath, a knell in the memory of the deceased was tolled at the Abbey from twelve to one o'clock."

Far from deserving Austen’s censure, Elizabeth Elliston emerges as a truly remarkable woman.

A mother, composer, teacher, dancer and choreographer who managed to keep a successful business running in Bath to provide a secure income for herself and her family while at the same time supporting her mercurial, risk-taking, unfaithful, gambling-addicted drunk of a husband in his many theatrical enterprises.

After her death the school she had founded was continued by her daughters supported by the retire stage dancer Miss Carr who had been a protege of Mrs Elliston.

Mr Webster Dancing Master

Webster came from Sheffield and was at one time a musical ‘composer’ and a pantomimist; he married Elizabeth Moon of Leeds, joined the army, served in the West Indies, was engaged in Bath in organising volunteer forces, and settled there as a dancing and fencing master. A brother, Frederick (d. 1878), became the stage manager of the Haymarket Theatre.

His son was Benjamin Nottingham Webster (3 September 1797 - 3 July 1882), a famous English actor-manager and dramatist.

Webster was based in Walcot House near St Michael's church from about 1801

His school was still active eight years later but had moved to 1 Orange Grove.