ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that reconstructed steps for the measures. The almain was often referred to in a way which implies military style and a marching tempo. It is worth noting that George Chapman, an Englishman writing in the 1630s, was perfectly well aware of the old German way of performing this dance, 'upspring' and all. This surely suggests that the English were fully conscious of their Almain's ancestry and style. The best evidence suggests that the basic steps in the English measures were done with the flat of the foot. The Slip is described in contemporary English choreographies, but is assumed to be synonymous with the equally elusive 'French slides' of the late Sources F and G. According to Randle Holme, to 'Cast off' meant that couples should either 'loose hands, and stand off one another, each facing his partner', or 'cast off from the leading, to the lower part or last'.
