FIRST PART A SHORT HISTORY OF DANCE FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE BEGINNING OF THE 19TH CENTURY CHAPTER 3 THE NOBLE DANCE OF THE FOURTH CENTURY 3.1 Humanism and the rules of courtesy In the 14th century, society freed itself from the influence, especially cultural, of the Church and the feudal system, and dance was welcomed in the courts, among the nobility, but also among the nascent mercantile and urban bourgeoisie. The rediscovery of the classics in the civilization of humanism had ended up reintroducing a pagan and Epicurean spirit into the entire society. In this sense there were also notable improvements in the quality of life; palaces and homes built with notable refinement arose in the cities, considerable impetus was given to the construction of streets, squares, gardens and museums. In the environments of the refined stately palaces, the arts, music, dance, poetry and theater found widespread diffusion. In this era, the lifestyle and behavior of the upper classes throughout Europe was inspired by the same ideal, that of "courtesy" which dictated precise rules of behavior. The dance thus became one of the few moments in which the man was allowed to be freely close to the woman. Starting from the second twenty years of the 15th century, however, dances such as the carol and other collective and sung dances appear less and less frequently in literary descriptions of the social context, especially of the aristocratic classes. The appearance of new musical instruments had imposed the need to organize movements with well-defined steps. For some time, to the rhythms of the various dance songs, the people had been performing a series of steps and gestures, singing the words of the refrain. The nobility began to adopt some of them, adapting them to noble taste, and trying to achieve the concordance between a step and the rhythm, to establish the alternation between slow and fast steps and to delimit the space in which the dancers had to move. The geometric choreographies, the mathematical correspondence of music and steps, of divisions of the ground and of the movements of the 15th century dances express an already Renaissance aesthetic. The awareness of the individual in his relationship with the world, the triumph of the joy of living gave new impetus to the life of the nobility and the wealthy merchant bourgeoisie. Dance became the elegant entertainment of the nobles and the mirror of the refinement of the noble courts. The rhythms and steps were modified to adapt them to room receptions, to the sound of lutes, flutes and vielle. The events of the lord's life (births, marriages, victories, coronations) were celebrated with dance parties. But even in the public events organized to celebrate the anniversaries, the spectacular aspect acquired more and more importance. In Florence Lorenzo de' Medici invented new forms of musical performances to renew the traditional celebrations that took place on the occasion of the official welcome of an illustrious visitor, of the feasts of San Giovanni, of Calendimaggio and in particular the Carnival. The Magnificent organized traveling theatrical shows, the masquerades, in which the protagonists recited "carnival songs", such as the Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne written by Lorenzo himself, famous for the refrain: "How beautiful is youth, which one nevertheless flees! Whoever wants to be happy should be happy: there is no certainty about tomorrow." Lorenzo was also the author of some dance songs, and the choreography of a well-known bassa danza called Lauro is his. 3.2 Bassa danza and ballo The two main forms of the 15th century are bassa danza, extremely stylized, slow and full of decoration, and the ballo, dance for a couple or for a limited number of participants. The first, with a uniform rhythm and solemn character, and does not require large space for execution. Throughout the fifteenth century it was the noble dance par excellence, usually followed by a leap, a lively step that creates a contrasting effect. The ballo, however, is a composition of different rhythms, with a pantomime character, as the themes of courtship, the lady's reluctance or jealousy often recur. Unlike bassa danza, it requires large spaces and the presence of an audience. The melody is often divided into refrains commensurate with changes in tempo. Furthermore, while the bassa danza can be performed by one or two couples, the requires a greater number of dancers, each with a specific function within the choreography. ballo Quattrocento dance is an alternation of slow and solemn movements, in which contact with the floor is constant (bassa danza means low dance), with sequences of high dance, of more popular origin, lively and bouncy. The posture is erect, with an upward elevation ( ), indicating an aspiration for balance between heaven and earth. Skipped steps such as piva and salterello are performed with more measured movements than courtyard dances. The haughty posture of the dancers is underlined by the shading (with each step the left shoulder moves slightly forward at the same time as the right foot and the right shoulder in synchrony with the left foot). The advance of the dancers also follows the swaying, an upward movement of the body similar to that of a boat in the waves. aere 3.3 Popular dance and art dance The ancient Leys d'amours, the first Provençal treatise in which forms and styles used by troubadours and trouvères are codified, assign the term "ballo" to popular dance and the term "dance" to the dance practiced by nobles, almost to underline the the former belongs to customs and the latter to art. Artistic dance follows the patterns of the rules of harmony and rhythm, is by a single author and is almost always of certain date; any changes are not anonymous. Generally he does not know the rule of variants and when exceptionally some are present, the critical editions provide the best possible reconstruction of the original text. Popular dance and art dance differ in their "tone": simple and naive, clear in meaning, devoid of dark areas, the former modest in its execution, cerebral and intellectual, full of underlying meanings, refined in its expressions. art. The dance undergoes modifications that make it varied in its forms and does not require specific preparation as it is within the reach of all members of the community; on the contrary, dance requires considerable preparation of the technical component so the dancer is "built" according to that particular expressive module. Popular dance respects certain pre-established patterns; He has no certain paternity or date of birth. Elements introduced by others were superimposed on the design of the first author, who modified it, creating infinite variations. Popular dance is a phenomenon that belongs to the community. Artistic dance, on the other hand, is an individual creation, not directly linked to tradition. But in both there are certain characteristics, first of all the sacred, and certain forms, including the round dance. Perhaps in these simple dances, to which some of the most precious poems in verse in our literature are linked, the desire for escape, for total participation in life, for rebellion against unjustified constraints, which will fully explode in humanism, already timidly emerges. In the carols and affairs and dances of May there is a rapprochement with nature and a return to customs of the past. Common to noble and popular dances is the circle. Point of contact between heaven and earth, the circle is the sacred symbol of unity, of perfection, of contact with the creative force of life. The circle is the geometric figure that represents completeness, it has no beginning or end, it is made up of a single line whose ends rejoin to cancel each other out. The circle inspires a holistic vision of the world, the idea that all phenomena are included in a single sphere and that everything, from nature to human life, follows a cycle. The popular circle dances will move into palaces, they will still reflect a desire for carefree fun, but they will lose their spontaneity. 3.4 The brainless The branle (from the French bransle , "to swing") were popular dances widespread among all social classes. In Italy the branle was called brando, perhaps from the verb "brandire" which as well as "to hold" has the meaning of "to vibrate", "to oscillate". The primitive character of the branle from a choreutic point of view meant that the musical accompaniment was reduced to the roll of the tambourine, the sound of the flute or the singing of the dancers themselves. The branle was danced at popular festivals and in courtyards as well as in the court halls, where it was characterized by a large amount of reverence during the circular movement and a more marked ceremonial; it was often the final part of a bassa danza and was also called “conje” (farewell). In France the branle had a long life: it remained in use until the time of Louis XIV and was at the origin of many subsequent ballroom dances. In his book, entitled Orchésographie , Thoinot Arbeau analyzes around twenty numerous regional variations of branle, many of which are linked to a sort of pantomime tradition as can be seen from the titles: Branle de l'official, Branles de Bourgogne, Branle des chevaux, Branle de la torch . Claude Micard, in the preface to his collection Les plus belles et excellentes chansons en forme de voix de villes , from 1588, identifies three different types of branle: gay, simple, rondoyant. The choreography opens with the lady's reverence and the knight's greeting-bow, which take place in four movements, then the dancers stand side by side. The basic steps, which can be performed forwards, backwards and sideways, depending on the instructions given in the dance scheme, are the simple (a step that opens with the left foot and closes with the right or vice versa), the double (three consecutive steps and closing the fourth coin) and the vault (the turn), composed of four small steps around themselves to return to the starting position. Usually the simple branle alternates with the double branle and the branle with recovery. The branle was a rather monotonous dance, in which couples repeated the same lateral movements while holding hands. What gave it liveliness were the music and the cadences at the end of the musical phrases. In some branles, however, variations are encountered: for example in the Branle des Lavandiérs the man raises a finger in a threatening tone towards the lady who claps her hands as if she were washing clothes. In others there is a pantomime aspect, as in the Branle du Poitou, in which the first couple performs a courtship dance followed by all the others.