An allemande (also spelled allemanda, almain, or alman) (from French "German") is one of the most popular instrumental dance forms in Baroque music, and a standard element of a suite, generally the first or second movement.

It originated in the 16th century as a duple metre dance of moderate tempo, derived from dances supposed to be favored in Germany at the time. French composers of the 17th century experimented with the allemande, shifting to quadruple meter and ranging more widely in tempo. The form of the allemande was for the tombeau. Other identifying features are its absence of syncopation, its combination of short motivic scraps into larger units, and its tonal and motivic constrasts. German composers like Froberger and Bach followed suit in their allemandes for keyboard instruments, although ensemble allemandes tended to stay in a more traditional form.

Italian and English composers were more free with the allemande, writing in counterpoint and using a variety of tempos (Corelli wrote allemandes ranging from largo to presto). The English alman is known as a dance from manuscripts that give about ten choreographies, a few of which are variants of each other.

Late in the 18th century, "allemande" came to be used for a new type of dance in triple meter; Weber's Douze allemande op. 4 of 1801 anticipates the waltz.

Also used in Contra Dance terminology

Allemande: Two dancers join either right or left hands in a thumbs-up grip and walk around each other.

Historical dance | European dances

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