Chapter 6 - DANCE IN THE COURTS OF EUROPE

FIRST PART A SHORT HISTORY OF DANCE FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE BEGINNING OF THE 19TH CENTURY CHAPTER 6 DANCE IN THE COURTS OF EUROPE 6.1 The intermedia In the banquets of the Renaissance courts it was customary to intersperse the arrival of the numerous courses with short danced, sung or recited allegories, called entremés in Spain and entremets in France. In the most sumptuous receptions, each course was preceded by a stage action, almost always with a mythological theme, with allusion to the dishes that were about to be served. For example, the fish could be introduced by dancers representing Tritons. But often the guests were entertained by actual theatrical performances accompanied by songs and dances of a mythological and bucolic nature. According to some, pastoral drama was born from these representations: Poliziano's Orpheus , for example, was staged for the first time during the banquet offered in Mantua by Cardinal Gonzaga to his brothers on Shrove Tuesday in 1480. As well as in occasion of banquets, music and dances began to be staged between the acts of a comedy or tragedy, during the breaks of a tournament and during the triumphal entry of a sovereign into a city. These diversions were called intermedia or intromesse or intermezzi and consisted of the entrance of a group of dancers, singers or musicians, who presented themselves in the most disparate and spectacular ways to perform their number: they could present themselves with a simple entrance on foot or amaze with the entrance on a richly decorated allegorical float. 6.2 Music and dance at the Tudor court One of the European courts in which dance enjoyed great consideration was the English one during the Tudor era, in particular under the reign of Henry VIII and that of the great Elizabeth I, whose passion for music was known and dance. Regarding Queen Elizabeth, a French diplomat wrote in 1598 that "without a shadow of a doubt the queen masters this art, having learned the Italian way of dancing". In the Elizabethan period, music and dance were part of the daily life not only of nobles and courtiers, but also of farmers, artisans and common people who practiced them with enthusiasm, even without the necessary theoretical knowledge. Alongside court musicians and other official groups, there were also more modest performers who were called upon to entertain guests at weddings, or played instrumental music and sang ballads or catches in taverns. Dance had an important role at court, where it was elaborated and made more complex, until it triumphed in the symbolic pantomime of the masque. The variety of dances found in the Elizabethan period demonstrates the enormous popularity of an art appreciated and practiced by all classes. If the pavan was characterized by a solemn movement that announced the triumphal entry of gods and emperors into the masque, the rapid rhythm of the galliarda gave younger gentlemen the opportunity to exhibit agility and grace. 6.2.1 Dance in Shakespeare's works The Elizabethan age, known as "The Golden Age", is known for the importance given to music, so much so that to satisfy the public's requests, playwrights inserted ballads, jigs and choruses into their works, even inappropriately. A great playwright like Shakespeare transformed musical intervention into a powerful rhetorical and conditioning tool, which bent the will of the performers, imposing his own harmony: in Shakespearean works, music serves to characterize the characters; describes moments of revelry; it helps to create the particular melancholic atmosphere that distinguishes the different scenes, thus avoiding heavy verbal explanations; accompanies the entry or exit of the characters and highlights the essential aspects of the drama. In some cases the English playwright resorted to musical references so well known as to awaken a series of associations and among the spectators, which may instead escape the modern reader, while instead allusions and metaphors associated with instruments or even philosophical concepts related to music and dance were easily understandable in a period in which this art was practiced by exponents of all classes. Music in Shakespeare is never entertainment or diversion but an effect calculated for poetic and dramatic purposes. At least a hundred songs are indicated in the texts of his theatrical works. Shakespeare also has some characters talk about music. Lorenzo's line in The Merchant of Venice is famous: "The man who has no music inside him... was born for betrayal, for deception, for robberies". A verse revealing the opinion of the time on the relationship between musical sensitivity and moral conduct, Hamlet teaches Guilderstein to use the flute with a precise language and Hortensio gives Bianca, in The Taming of the Shrew, a real musicclass lesson, albeit a seductive purpose. The most obvious use of music in Shakespeare is that of "stage music": in banquets, in processions, in serenades, as a call in duels and battles, music had to invariably be present, as it happened in real life, but c It is also a use of music aimed at creating suggestions in particular moments of action such as falling in love. Finally, there is an "artistic" use of music, made to underline and amplify the psychological traits of the characters or the atmosphere of the scenes. Among the many examples, the songs that Desdemona and Ophelia sing in crucial moments of their respective dramas, in which music takes on a dramatic enhancement function. In The Winter's Tale the music that is prescribed during the return to life of Hermione's statue, and which also marks the reconciliation between the king and queen, creates an emotional atmosphere that words alone, for Shakespeare, were evidently not enough to express. Just as the actual masque of the fourth act of The Tempest is totally inherent to the drama. Shakespeare's "musical resources" were first of all the voices of the actors, some of whom sang; very important among these were the treble voices of the anonymous boys who played the female roles (Juliet, Cleopatra, Ophelia, Desdemona, Catherine the Shrew, Lady Macbeth). Then there was a small orchestra with trumpets, oboes, horns, bells, lutes and strings which intervened depending on the situation. In this case the instrumental group used had to be placed at a certain distance from the actors. In Much Ado About Nothing Beatrice, speaking to Ero about love, uses dancing as a metaphor: If no one woos you in the right time, it's the music's fault. And if the prince is too short on time, tell him that there is measure in everything, and you give him the answer by dancing. Because listen to me, Hero: making love, getting married and then regretting it happen as if dancing first a jig, then a pavane, then a trescone; the first movement is a lively and imaginative jig; the second, the wedding, a pavana, andante moderato, full of haughty compunction; then comes (third time) repentance, and then one throws oneself into hopping the big trescone with unsteady legs at a lively, devil-may-care pace, until one collapses into the grave. 6.2.2 The masques At the Tudor court, a form of representation characteristic of English theater developed: the masque, a combination of music, dance and poetry, which was essentially a dramatic setting for an evening of social dancing. This genre of entertainment, which had its roots in the medieval tradition of moral farces and masked balls, was enriched at the Tudor court with some elements coming from French court balls and historical re-enactments of Italian style, as well as with the aim of glorifying the monarchy. Staged by professional dancers and courtiers led by dance masters, the masque performances took place on public holidays (particularly on the night of the Epiphany). Henry VIII loved performing this type of entertainment, so much so that it was during a masque that he met Anne Boleyn for the first time, with whom he fell in love. In the theatrical performance, the future queen, making her debut at the English court, played Perseverance, dressed in white and gold satin, arousing admiration for her dancing ability. In masques, in fact, unlike other theatrical forms, the parts of the protagonists were played by aristocrats, including members of the royal family. Each masque lasted up to five hours and began with a sung or spoken prologue that introduced the main theme: usually a moral tale of a mythological or allegorical nature. This was followed by an anti-masque, a comic-grotesque performance in which professional actors performed an immoral scene in contrast with the main theme. At this point the scene was completely transformed and the court dancers appeared. After a series of dances, plays and musical interludes, often in the presence of the sovereigns, the grand finale began with the Dance of the Revels, in which the masked courtiers invited the public to dance. This was the final moment before the banquet in which everyone toasted together. Ben Jonson (1572–1637), a court poet considered with Shakespeare to be the greatest representative of Elizabethan theatre, was the author who gave the masque an artistic value and canonized its form. Jonson wrote over 25 plays, including which was performed at court on Epiphany Night 1605. The Masque of Blackness Thanks to the studies carried out in Italy on the mechanical staging of elaborate scenographic settings, Jonson was able to give his creations an extraordinary inventive originality. During the reign of Elizabeth and then of James I Stuart, masques also had the aim of arousing the wonder of foreign visitors at the richness and liveliness of the English court, and were staged with great pomp, with sumptuous costumes and spectacular scenic effects. 6.3 The court ballets The court ballets were shows that blended music, acting, singing, dance and pantomime and in which particular attention was paid to the scenographic aspect which often included fireworks, water games, parades of allegorical floats and battle simulations. The organization of such events required the contribution of a large number of people, including engineers capable of building sumptuous scenery, ephemeral apparatus and theatrical machines. Even in the organization of these sumptuous parties, the Italian courts were the model to imitate. Leonardo da Vinci, in the period in which he was active in Milan, at the court of Ludovico il Moro, took care of the scenography of the court ballets, starting from the Festa del Paradiso of 1490, on the occasion of the wedding between Gian Galeazzo Maria Sforza and Isabella of Aragon. To represent the celestial vault Leonardo designed a theatrical machine that simulated the rotation of the actor-planets around Jupiter. The portentous staging featured children disguised as angels and mythological planets, while the flame of numerous candles, representing the stars, was reflected by a golden surface creating a blinding glow. 6.3.1 Ballet Comique de la Reine The Italian fashion for dance parties did not take long to spread beyond the Alps: in 1499, Louis XII brought Guglielmo Ebreo's manual to France. In 1515, after a visit to Italy, Francis I became passionate about dance and invited Italian musicians and dance masters to his court. But it was her daughter-in-law, Catherine de' Medici, when she married the future King Henry II, who brought choreographers and dancers to France to create shows similar to those held at the courts of the peninsula. Among the Italians called to the court was Baldassarre Baltazarini da Belgioioso, musician and dance expert, author and choreographer of what dance historians consider the first true ballet, the Ballet Comique de la Reine . The sumptuous show, lasting over five hours, was performed for the first time on 15 October 1581 to celebrate the marriage of the Duke of Joyeuse with Margaret of Lorraine. The ballet, inspired by the myth of the sorceress Circe, included instrumental music, singing, reading of verses, dance and had the nobles of the court as performers. In fact, in that period, when they were organized inside stately palaces, the ballets were performed by amateurs and did not take place on a stage, but inside large halls. Since the performers, not being professionals, could not show off their technical ability, Baltazarini tried to obtain the spectacular effect with the magnificence of the costumes and sets and, to ensure that the public followed the story, he distributed copies of the verses used in ballet. The staging was a huge success, soon imitated in other European courts.