Baroque period

Baroque period

Dance history, Education, For dancers, For musicians
Following the foundation of the Académie royale de danse in 1661, Louis XIV ordered academicians to invent a notational system to record dances.  In response, at least four systems were in progress in the 1680s, one of which came to disseminate dances of French style across Europe by means of printing/publishing businesses. This prevalent system is called Beauchamp-Feuillet notation today after the names of the inventor/academician, Pierre Beauchamp, and the business man/dancing-master, Raoul-Auger Feuillet.  Over 350 dances are extant in this notation system in print and/or manuscript spanning the late 17th to mid-18th centuries, a period roughly matching the baroque era classified in other disciplines (those in the late 18th-century sources are re-notations of earlier publications, except Auguste F. J. Ferrère’s manuscript of theatre production from 1782).  Whereas the baroque style in other art…
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Live music for early dance

Education, For musicians
The question has occasionally been voiced: “Why are historical dancers so reluctant to use live music?” So often they seem to prefer the recorded sound that emanates at the touch of a button, or click of a mouse, from their digital sound system. For musicians, who spend so much of their time, money and energy on practising their obscure but ‘authentic’ instruments, this rejection is both puzzling and hurtful. Why don’t they like us? What do we have to do to make them like us, at least to the extent that they are willing to let us join in their jolly dancing games? This note is a partial attempt at trying to understand the conundrum. Firstly, is the complaint true? To some extent, yes. At the most recent EDC festival…
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Tips to encourage the use of live music for historic dance

Education, For dancers, For musicians
Many historical performances of dance impress greatly with the meticulous research, careful practice, attention to style, and accurate costumes only to disappoint when a member of the group (or if lucky, a clued in helper) rushes over to press the button for music. Sometimes there ensues a ghastly pause, or even the strains of the wrong music; if correct, at a volume too loud or soft, or distortion from a less than perfect sound system for the performance space. Music is integral to dance, and for historic dance, that meant live musicians, so to present a performance with canned music is clearly an anachronism. The following tips are intended to try to address some of the issues that lead to this being such common situation – the perceived lack of…
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What is historical dance?

Dance history, Education
Historical Dance, or Early Dance, embraces social dancing of the courts and ballrooms of Europe, and choreographies from theatre and court entertainments. The periods covered range from the fifteenth century to the twentieth. Within this span, periods are often identified by slightly arbitrary titles, such as: Renaissance dance (in England, Elizabethan dance and Tudor dance) Baroque dance Regency dance and Victorian dance Some typical dance forms, in approximate chronological order, are: Basse danse, Bassa danza, Ballo Tourdion, Pavan, Almain, Galliard, Canario, Passomezzo (or Passo e mezo) Country dance, Gigue, Sarabande, Rigaudon, Minuet (or Menuet) Cotillion, Quadrille, Mazurka, Waltz Early Dance is based on careful research into original dance sources.  Dances are taught at many practical courses. Occasions such as revels, balls and assemblies provide opportunities for social dancing. Find out…
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