1. A lively Renaissance dance in triple meter, popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, typically performed with energetic leaps and kicks.
Usage: historical; music and dance
2. The music composed for this dance, usually in 3/4 time.
Usage: historical; music

Examples

• The court musicians played a spirited galliard while the nobles danced.
• In Renaissance Europe, the galliard was a favorite entertainment at royal celebrations.
• The galliard required considerable skill and athleticism from its dancers.
• Composers of the 16th century often wrote galliards to follow slower pavanes.
• The energetic galliard contrasted sharply with the stately movements of other period dances.