![]() Only a pair of essays (not counting the deceptively erudite and versatile 'Introduction and Overview' by Nevile herself) really fit the themes of bodies, politics, and spectacle announced by the title. McGowan's essay on court dancing in 16th and 17th-century France. Two essays review material the authors have already addressed, but nevertheless do so here in a compellingly compact way Ken Pierce's offering on the choreographic structure of Barouque dance and Margaret M. Jennifer Thorp's piece on 'Dance in the London Theatres c.1700-1750' makes me look forward to her important new work. Some interpret well-known material in new and promising ways. Wilson's review of the basse danse are good examples). Powell's piece on Beauchamps and public theaters in 17th-century France and David R. Some essays provide tantalizing new details (John S. Each essay offers information situated in its own time frame, and each presents a secure control of primary and secondary sources and includes a very useful list of recommended reading at its conclusion. The book features a nice selection of generally excellent essays by some leading authorities in historical dance. Although I was not disappointed, I discovered something quite different. With excited anticipation I dove in, expecting to find something along these lines. Or maybe there would be a sociological/anthropological approach to the embodiment of status relationships (politics) through dance that would render chronology secondary to social configurations. Given the book's vast chronological sweep-rather more than the 500 years suggested in the title, since the very useful essay on 'Plato's Philosophy of Dance' by Graham Pont increases the range substantially-it was my guess, when I embarked on my journey through its pages, that I would find some themes on spectacle or the carnivalesque that would override chronology. She manages to weave an introduction into the book, and each of its six subsections make the promise of its lofty title (and the ideas it appears to embrace) within her grasp. ChoiceĪ big bite of dance history scholarship is undertaken in this study, and it does not seem to be too big for Jennifer Nevile, the editor of the volume, to chew. An excellent glossary and bibliography and a "list of dance treatises, manuscripts, modern editions, and translations" complete the book. She arranges the 14 essays in five main sections: "Dance at Court and in the City," "Dance and the Public Theater," "Choreographic Structure and Music," "Dance and the State," and "Dance, Society, and the Cosmos." The contributors cover the material in detail, explaining how dance served to promote and advance those in the higher echelons of the social order, primarily in Italy, France, England, and (to a lesser extent) Germany-i.e., in countries in which court life defined the "body politick." One misses attention to dance at other levels of the social order and to the fashions and manners that accompanied the fetes and spectacles, but even without these this is a fine resource for those who research this specialized period of dance history. of New South Wales, Australia) has assembled an intriguing book that in many ways serves as an encyclopedia of early dance-a feat not easily accomplished in one volume. List of Dance Treatises, Manuscripts, Modern Editions, and Translations Order, Proportion, and Geometric Forms: The Cosmic Structure of Dance, Grand Gardens, and Architecture during the Renaissance Isaac's The Pastorall and Issues of "Party"ġ5. The Politics of Ballet at the Court of Louis XIVġ2. Your Most Humble Subject, Cesare Negri Milaneseġ1. Choreographic Structure in Baroque Danceġ0. The Relationship between Dance and Music in Fifteenth-Century Italian Dance Practiceĩ. Pierre Beauchamps and the Public TheaterĦ. Dance in Sixteenth- and Early Seventeenth-Century Franceĥ. Dance and Society in Quattrocento ItalyĤ. ![]()
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