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Chotis


The schottische is a partnered country dance, that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina ("" and "chamamé"), Finland ("jenkka"), France, Italy, Norway ("reinlender ()"), Portugal and Brazil (xote, Chotiça ()), Spain (chotis), Sweden, Denmark ("schottis"), Mexico (Norteño (music)) and the United States, among other nations. The schottische is considered by The Oxford Companion to Music to be a kind of slower polka, with continental-European origin.

The schottische basic step is made up of two sidesteps to the left and right, followed by a turn in four steps. In some countries, the sidesteps and turn are replaced by Strathspey hopping steps.

Schottisches danced in Europe (in the context of a bal folk), where they originated, are different from how they are danced in the United States. The European (or Continental) version (often called "skoteesh"), is typically danced to faster music and is quite restrained in its movements. The American version is often large and open, with the first part expressed equally as promenades, individual or led twirls or similar moves, and the second part most often expressed as a close pivot. It seems to be mostly referred to as a "shodish".

In Argentina, the schottische was introduced by Volga German immigrants (now usually called "chotis") and also evolved and mixed into Chamamé, an Argentine folk music genre.

In Bohemia, the dance was also known as "Šotyš".

In Brazil, the xote has largely developed in the north-eastern area, specially the Sertão, where it has created variations such as baião and arrasta-pé, which are usually grouped in the forró denomination. All of these rhythms are typically danced in pairs, being xote the slower and simpler style of dancing, in which the couple alternate left-left-hop-right-right-hop steps.


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