Dance History I Ch 5 Middle Ages Renaissance

Harlequin

"Arlecchino," a sly character that danced and mimed his role as he wore a mask and cape, most popular character of Commedia dell'arte,

Two part suite

2 dance set composed of the pavane and the galliard performed in succession without a pause

St. John's Day (Church Festival)

A dance of leaping over a large bonfire, sometimes with a burning broom.

Interlude

A secular comic play, was sometimes performed between the 3 parts of the masquerade (ballo) or banquet.

Renaissance

French term for "rebirth;" began in Italy and swept through Europe opening the door to modern times in Western Europe

3 Themes of 1st Ballets

Greek Mythology, wars, bible crusades

Feast of Fools on Feast of Circumcision Day (Church Festival)

Popular with lower clergy and congregations; dressed in masks, masked players shouted in the service and danced and leaped in the choir area.

Dance of Death

a book written by Hans Holbein that is illustrated with woodcuts that depict skeletons grabbing people and dragging them into the earth → dances created to ward off death while symbolizing oblivion and death

Basse dance

a ceremonial dance to display a noble's grace and etiquette,

Roundel

a circular dance accompanied by a song (roundelay) → a country dance that could be performed in a ring with participants holding hands

Haute Dances

a high dance that included quick movements and leaps

Basse

a slow, dignified, gliding dance where feet never sprang from the floor (low dance); gentlemen held ladies fingertips loosely or not at all

Ballo

a word for dance, dance as part of a social gathering, 3-4 parts: Entrance dance (often a saltarello) 2 basse dances in geometric figures Piva (dance accompanied by bagpipes)

Men Costumes

belted tunics, from above the knee to ankle length; stockings and short breeches under the tunic, Nobles: wore short velvet tunics with a cape and pointed shoes; often carried swords.

Court Dances (3)

broad term for dances performed in medieval dances in court, professional entry dance, basse and spectacle ball

pavane

ceremonial slow and dignified dance for nobility balls where nobles would show off their attire, "peacock"

Feast of Fools

church festival where lower clergy and choir danced, sang and shouted in the service, sometimes running naked through the church

Volta

controversial and popular dance in France and England among young dancers; a relative of galliard; couple dance performed in triple time but believed to be risqué

Dance Epidemics

dance as a response to war, plague, famine, religious persecution and fear that the world was going to end; began to dance hysterically and grotesquely and were unable to stop → led to exhaustion and death ex.The Childrens' Crusades and the Pied Pieper, St. Vitus' Dance,Tarantella

Domenico da Piacenza and his 6 prerequisites for dancers

dance master who divided dance into components that focus on movements of the body, steps and qualities, Keep time with the music (misuro), Remember the steps in sequence (memoria), Have a sense of space (partirer del terreno), Sway/ uplifting of the body (aiere), Demonstrate body coordination, direction and shading in movement (maniera), Move gracefully (movement corpereo)

Dance masters taught

dance, etiquette, and wrote music that they taught dance to

Mystery Plays

educated the masses about church teachings through plays about Old and New Testaments from Judeo-Christian scriptures; actors were sometimes the clergy

Troubadours

entertainers who performed dance songs, included verses that were sung or played, after they joined the audience

Spectacle

entertainment for the nobility

Commedia dell'arte

family troupes of players toured throughout Europe performing improvised plays, Improvised plays with stock characters, Spontaneous comic dialogue, Set, mimed sequences (lazzi), Movement of physical jokes

Galliard

following the pavane in a two-part suite (performed in succession without a pause); gay, vigorous dance in various triple time signatures, performed by couples holding hands; popular in the court in the late 16th - mid 17th century in Italy and France

Morality Plays

illustrated struggle between good and evil with a devil, the comic actor and common man, the hero; sometimes presented as an allegory

Chivalry

knightly decorum which included virtue, courtly love, honor and excellent manners

Mascarades

masked entertainments for nobility, performed in open spaces with lavish entertainment, processions, wagons and scenery, often between acts of plays or course at banquet

Branle

means "to sway," a choral couples dance derived from the carole performed in a circle with swaying movements

Entry dance

nobles entered the great hall in a procession by rank to acknowledge the king

Sword or Morris Dance

originally a dance with weapons and quick footwork to test skills and agility of men, later performed by boys and women

Carole

originally a hymn and processional dance performed on church holy days, leader carries a flower, branch or burning torch leading the dancers in a circle while singing

Middle Ages

period between ancient times and the modern period of Western European culture → then divided into early, high and late periods

Miracle Plays

plays about the lives of saints and martyrs performed outside churches on steps or on pageant wagons in town; actors work masks and elaborate costumes; martyrs were played by criminals and sometimes killed at the end; devil was a central character

Feudal system

political and economic system where powerful landowners built fortified castles with knights to fight their wars, and serfs to farm their land

3 Inventions that were made during this time

printing press, gun powder, compass

Gleemen and Gleemaidens

professional entertainers and singers in Saxon England; often accompanied by acrobats and jugglers

Guglielmo Ebreo

prominent dance master in the 15th century, wrote about clarity and difference b/w folk and court dance

Minstrels

singers, dancers and actors who wandered from town to town, bringing latest news, dances and music wherever they went

Knights

soldiers of the Feudal lords who defended the kingdom

Tarantella

the most famous dance associated with dance mania; original dance to dramatize the effects of being bitten by a poisonous tarantella

pageant wagon

traveling stage on wheels, where mystery,miracle and morality plays were performed out in the community

3 Occasions for court banquets and spectacles

weddings, tournaments, visiting royalty