Pasodoble

Pasodoble (Spanish: double step) is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This often was accompanied by a marching band, and as a result of that, the military march gave rise to a modern Spanish musical genre and partner dance form. Both voice and instruments, as well as the dance then began to develop and be practiced independently of marches, and also gained association with bullfighting due to the genre being popular as an instrumental music performed during bullfights. Both the dance and the non-martial compositions are also called pasodoble. Pasodoble is generally associated with the tonadilla escénica, a theatrical musical form that was used in Spain as an ending to entremeses and staged dances in the first half of the 19th century, and later as a musical interlude between acts of comedies.