The gavotte, rigadoun and bouree are Baroque dances written in duple, or two-beat, meter. The gavotte is a French folk dance of moderate tempo; its phrases usually begin in the middle of the bar. The rigadoun (or rigadoon) is another lively two-beat dance from France, usually danced by couples. It is similar to the bouree, which is also danced in double time and always starts on the last beat of a bar.
The fastest of the triple-meter dances is the courante, which literally means "running." The minuet, in 3/4 time, is a social dance for two people. Sarabandes are slower triple-meter dances from Spain. The chaconne is a slow triple-meter dance, identifiable by its constant descending bass line. The loure is a slow, majestic French version of the gigue (listed below), which is usually in 6/4 meter with strong accents.
Dances in four-beat, or quadruple, meter have a "one-two-three-four" rhythm which is usually easy to follow. The gavotte, while often written in two-beat meter, is sometimes danced in a four-beat meter. Another popular four-beat dance was the allemande, a moderate-tempo dance from Germany that always begins with an upbeat. As the Baroque period progressed, it became the form of independent instrumental piece.
Some Baroque dances are written in compound rhythm, which means each beat can be divided into three, instead of two, sub-beats. The gigue is the most well-known compound meter dance; it is derived from the British jig and is usually very quick and lively. A gigue can be written in 6/8, 9/8 or 12/8 meter.