abstract:The basse danse, or "low dance", was the most popular court dance in the 15th and early 16th centuries, especially at the Burgundian court, often in a combination of 6/4 and 3/2 time allowing for use of hemiola. The word basse describes the nature of the dance, in which partners move quietly and gracefully in a slow gliding or walking motion without leaving the floor,Baker's Student Encyclopedia of Music, Gale Group, 1999 ISBN 978-0-02-865315-0 and contrasts with livelier dances in which both feet left the floor in jumps or leaps.