canary

(Fr. canarie)

A dance from the Canary Islands, popular in Europe during the Baroque period. Normally in 6/8 time, it resembled a fast gigue.

A jaunty toe-tapping dance in 3/4 or 6/8 time. It is similar to the jig and the gigue. It probably originated in the Canary Islands; hence its name. Its first recorded appearance in European dance history was in Fabritio Caroso's dance manual II ballarino (1581). The first musical examples of canaries are found in the harpsichord suites of Couperin and de Chambonnières. The dance is mentioned in Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well: ‘Make you dance Canary with sprightly fire and motion.’