Introduction
You can look at dancing in general, and folk dancing in particular, from two extreme perspectives. One extreme is that you listen to the music and then move your body the way you feel it to be appropriate. The other extreme is to follow precisely (as a robot ?) the rules with respect to steps and figures that tend to be associated with a particular dance. These extremes are not a matter of being right or wrong, but rather a matter of personal preferences. So as long as you are having fun in doing it either way, nobody should make you feel ashamed about your choice. What does matter however, is that you are conscious about what you are doing, and that you don't misinform others about what you are doing (unless you want to pull somebody a leg what can be fun too).
The bourrée has become a very popular dance in a Boombal and the way it is danced currently, is the result of blending different styles, leaving out more complex features, and adding some accents. There is nothing wrong with that: it is normal evolution. When the two extremes in dance perspective are put along a scale ranging from totally free to strictly regulated, I would place the Boombal (or bal folk in general) type of bourrée dancing more towards the free style. On this page, we rather concentrate on a number of principles that are typical for the bourrée as danced in Berry. If you are allergic to principles, then don't read any further. I don't want to ruin your fun in dancing the bourrée ! But if you want to add more variation in your dancing, then you'll find useful tips.

Basic step

• To learn the basic step, you best start thinking about it from the most basic walking step. You start with lifting the left foot, placing it before the right one, transfer your weight to it, then lift the right foot to place it before the left one, and so forth. This simple walking step is already different from the bal folk bourrée in that people tend to do a chassé step rather than a walking step, i.e. instead of putting the right foot before the left one, they put it just behind it. This does not come as a surprise, given the rather high speed of a bourrée ! The chassé step is easier to do ! In this non standard bourrée (wmv; 1Mb), to say the least, the dancer uses both a chassé and a walking step, but you'll agree with me that he has other things on his head than worrying about his steps !
• The bourrée, as a dance, has a three-beat pattern. When it is danced on a tune with four beats, the fourth beat is unmarked. So you count 1-2-3 or 1-2-3-and.
• Next thing to remember (specifically in order to keep track of the beat) is to put down the entire foot on beats 1 and 3, and only the ball of the foot on the second beat. Since you normally start a bourrée with the left foot, you get for a dance in 3/4: // L-flat / R-ball / L-flat // R-flat / L-ball / R-flat // L-flat ...
• The first step is always the largest of the three. The second and the third can become so small, that they are done nearly on the spot, but, remember, never a chassé.
• Keep feet together on beats 2-3.
• Instead of moving forwards, one can also do a basic step backwards, also starting with the left foot.

Figures

• Avant-deux simple. Gents and ladies are facing each other, at 2 arm distance (position droite). They move straight forward toward each other in 2 bars, and then back for 2 bars, with a basic step. This is the same pattern as an advance-retire in Irish ceili- or set dances.
• Avant-deux épaulé. Gents and ladies are at 2 arm distance, with left shoulder pointing towards each other while keeping eye contact (position épaulée). On the first beat of the first bourrée step, they approach each other while turning 180 degrees. Then on the spot, complete beat 2-3, and do the second bar. Then go back to starting position, again taking care to complete the 180 degrees turning on beat 1.
• Croisé tourné.
  • Starting from a position droite, gent and lady advance taking a big step and turn 180 degrees where they meet in the middle, still during that first step. Then they complete the 2nd and 3th step of the first bar, as well as the next bar on the spot. Then they retire as in the 2nd part of the avant deux simple.
  • Starting from a position épaulée, gent and lady advance as in a avant-deux épaulé but taking a bigger first step such that they cross each other already after that step. Complete 2-3 on the spot. Then continue to move forwards with a big step, preparing to turn 270 degrees around the right shoulder on the 2-3. Then 2 1-2-3 on the spot.

Step variations

• Le tombé. Stress taking weight on your right foot on the first step of the second and fourth bar by bending the right knee a little bit more. There is no need to lift your foot and to bang it on the floor.
• Le zin-zin. This is the most important stylistic feature of the bourrée, and it is typically applied on the 2nd and 3rd beat of the second and fourth bar during an avant-deux. Instead of doing the second bar of the forward movement in an avant-deux on the spot, you place the left foot already backwards during the 2nd beat, and bring on the 3rd beat the right foot also backward, placing the heel more or less next to the left midfoot. Similarly, after having moved backward during the third bar of the avant-deux, and having placed the right foot (with a tombé down on the spot during the first beat of the 4th bar, you start already moving forward a little bit with the left foot on the 2nd beat, placing then the tip of the right foot close to the left midfoot. The exact positions may of course change when you apply the zin-zin in other figures.
• Le frappé. This consists of tapping the ground with the feet. There are no specific rules for it and the main purpose is just to add some rhythmic accents and make dancing more fun. It all depends on how well you control your foot movements. Some frappés are part of a choreography such as in the Bourrée tournante des Grandes Poteries.

Choreographies

• Bourrée des Dindes (midi and sheet music from the diatonic accordeon pages of Bernard Loffet)
• Bourrée mussée. This bourrée is traditionally danced to a specific tune.
• Bourrée droite
• Bourrée épaulée
  
  
• Bourrée tournante des Grandes Poteries
  This is considered to be one of the more complex bourrée choreographies. With lots of turns in various directions, it is indeed quite impressive if you see it for the first time, but after all not that hard to do when properly explained.
  
  It goes like this:
  • Couples start in one line, shoulder by shoulder, gents facing north having their lady on their right side facing south. All figures are the same for gents and ladies, but in opposite direction. We'll describe here only the figures for the gents. I borrowed Annick Bideault's drawings in order to make the explanation more easy to understand.
  • There are two parts of 16 bars each;
  • bars 1-2: dance backward south east with a regular bourrée step, facing north all the time;
  • bars 3-4: dance forward north east with a regular bourrée step, facing north all the time;
  • bars 5-6: dance backward south west turning around anti-clock-wise for 360°. To accomplish this in due time, do a zin-zin at the end of the previous bar by placing the left foot already in the direction of the turn;
  • bars 7-8: dance forward north west with a regular bourrée step, end facing north;
  • bars 9-16: repeat the previous sequence (1-8) but finishing off with a frappé
  • bars 17-20: similar to 1-4 but keep more close to each other;
  • bars 21-24: return to home going north, dancing a bourrée valsée clock-wise; and end off facing the lady eastward;
  • bars 25-26: dance north east while turning anti-clockwise, end facing south;
  • bars 27-28: dance south east while turning anti-clockwise, end facing west;
  • bars 29-30: dance south west while turning anti-clockwise, end facing north;
  • bars 31-32: same as bars 15-16. You should be back in the starting position.
  
  Here is a short sample (wma) of this bourrée played by musiciens of Lou Pelaya. Thanks to a workshop with Bernard Coclet, we've got it also on video, danced with 2 persons (wmv; 2,5 Mb), and danced with 4 (wmv; 2,7 Mb). Be aware, that Bernard (white shirt on the video) does not dance the Berry style, but uses much more the heels. You can see some nice step variations as well.
  
  
• Bourrée Valsée d'Issoudin (midi and sheet music from the diatonic accordeon pages of Bernard Loffet)