Contrapasso

There is a family of dances called Contrapasso, described in several sources, in versions for one couple and for several couples.

They're characterised by several figures:

• a passage where couples take hands (left then right) to change places, then arms, then both hands at once
• the "turn of the contrapasso", as it's called in other dances: a figure 8, where each dancer turns in place to the left, then the right
• a flanking passage, of four seguiti, two backwards and two forwards

Extant choreographies:

• Contra passo (Chigi MS, mid 16th century) - simple description of a dance for two
• Contrapasso (Caroso, Il Ballarino, 1581) - detailed description of a dance for two, described as "anonymous" (d'incerto)
• Contrapasso Nuovo (Caroso, Il Ballarino, 1581) - variation of the dance above for three couples in a circle
• Contrapasso da farsi in Ruota (Caroso, Nobilta di Dame, 1600) - variation of his earlier Contrapasso for two, this time for an indefinite number of couples in a circle
• Contrapasso Nuovo da farsi in sesto (Caroso, Nobilta di Dame, 1600) - variation of his earlier Contrapasso Nuovo, again for three couples in a circle\\\
• Contrapasso in Sesto (Santucci, Maestro da Ballo, 1614) - attributed to Compasso; similar to the Contrapasso da farsi in Ruota by Caroso