I first heard Put Your Little Foot back when I was about 13 at the Colorado State Fiddle Contest. This was back in the day when Tom Isenberger was the president of COTFA, and the state contest was held in Loveland, CO. An older gentleman in his 80′s played it and I remember him calling it Var-suvi-ann. I had no idea how to spell it, and I wondered if that name meant “Put Your Little Foot” in some foreign language. As it turns out, the story is a bit more complicated than that…
Put Your Little Foot according to the Fiddler’s Companion
VARSOVIENNE [4]. AKA and see “Put Your Little Foot (Right Out/There).” American, Dance Tune (3/4 time). USA, Arizona. G Major (‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ ‘D’, ‘E’, ‘F’, ‘G’ I’, ‘J’ parts) & D Major (‘H’ part) {Kennedy}:D Major (‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘D’ parts) & G Major (‘C’ parts) {Ford} . Standard tuning. AB (Ruth): AABBCCDD (Ford): AABBCCDDEE’FFGGHHII’JJ (Kennedy). A multi-part dance piece, once extremely popular. It is common to hear parts of “Varsoviana” ensconced in various fiddling traditions in Britain, Ireland and North America (see Kennedy’s version for the full piece). Arizona fiddler Kenner C. Kartchner said it was popular at dances for seventy‑five years. See also “The Varsoviana Waltz” for one variation on this tune, and the Native American “Varsovienne [6]” for another. Lloyd Shaw, who wrote Cowboy Dances, taught the Varsouvianna to Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones for the movie “Duel in the Sun.” Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 151 (appears as “Varsovienne No. 2). Kennedy (Fiddler’s Tune-Book: Slip Jigs and Waltzes), 1999; No. 187, pg. 50. Ruth (Pioneer Western Folk Tunes), 1948; No. 34, pg. 13. Folkways FW8827, Arbuckle, Mikkelson & Clifton – “Old Time Couple Dances” (1961).
Varsovienne According to Wikipedia
The varsovienne, also known as the varsouvienne or varsoviana, is a slow, graceful dance in ¾ time with an accented downbeat in alternate measures. It combines elements of the waltz, mazurka, and polka. The dance originated around 1850 in Warsaw, Poland. The words varsovienne and varsoviana are French and Spanish feminine adjectives, respectively, meaning ‘from Warsaw’. The dance was popular in 19th-century America, where it was danced to the tune Put Your Little Foot. It quickly became a favorite folk dance in the Scandinavian countries as well. The unique armhold by the same name – also known as the promenade hold – is used in other dance styles such as the American square dance, contra dance, and some ballroom dances.
More About Varsovienne from Answers.com
Yes, the song/melody “Put Your Little Foot” is the tune traditionally used for the dance with many spellings! Varsouvienne, Varsovienne, Varsoviana, and so on. They all come from ‘Warsaw’, the Polish city, which is Warszawa (var-sha-va) in Polish. So Varshava became Varshovian, Varsouvienne, and so on, depending on whether you are French, or Italian, Spanish, British, etc.
The word varsouvienne actually refers to the hand-hold. Both partners facing forward, the woman stands in front of the man and slightly to the right. The woman hold both her hands up at shoulder height. The man reaches behind the woman with his right arm and holds her right hand in his, and reaches across his chest with his left arm and holds her left hand in his.
The music is in 3/4, and the dance uses a modified mazurka step (more Polish influence), often combined with a waltz sequence.
