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500
Dithyramb
A song and dance performance to flute music popular in Greece. Dithyrambs were used by Greek authorities to channel the dancers' energies of followers of Dionysus into performances at rituals and festivals. -
500
Pantomime
Pantomime was a program, in the Roman Empire, introduced by a plot summary and accompanied by singers and musicians, in which a solo performer portrayed all the characters in a story taken from mythology or history. -
500
Greek Dances
In addition to the Dithyramb, several other Greek dances are known to have existed during that time period:
Pyrrhic Dance - an ancient dance inspired by war with movements similar to actions of soldiers in battle
Gymnopaedia Dance - A dance similar to Pyrrhic though its movements were more similar to that of a wrestler instead of soldiers.
Hyporchema - One of the first dances where men and women danced together and sung choric poems
Kordax - A solo comic dance that was considered lewd & obscene -
Period: 501 to Dec 31, 1500
The Middle Ages
A time period in which dance was attributed to all, regardless of class and social status. -
Period: Jan 1, 600 to Oct 4, 1400
Medieval Dances
Throughout the Middle Ages, many medieval dances are known to have existed. The Ductia, a couples dance involving slow, delecate movements, The Stantipes, a favorite of the wealthy and complex, The Estampie, a stately dance for couples that eventually developed into the Basse Danse around 1400 which was a slow moving dance with low, elegant steps.
There was also the Round and the Carol, two group dances that featured circular patterns. -
Jan 1, 1100
Moresca
A form of dance that developed during Medeival times that flourished for centuries that featured bizarre movements and the participants wore masks or blackened their faces to seem more exotic.
There were many forms of this dance form including solo and group dances and some dances were conceived as mock battles. -
Period: Jan 1, 1301 to
Renaissance
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Jan 1, 1400
Los Seises
Los Seises was a Christian worship dance that was performed by choirboys who danced in the cathedral of Seville, Spain. -
Jun 1, 1400
First European Treatise on Dance Written
Around the 1400's, Domenica of Piacenza, one of the first dancing masters wrote the first surviving treatise on dancing. -
Jun 1, 1400
Origin of the word "Ballet"
Around the 1400s, the term "ballet" was introduced deriving from the Italian word ballare, meaning "to dance" -
Jan 1, 1570
Academie de Musique et de la Poesie
Academie de Musique et de la Poesie was an organization founded by poet Jean-Antoine de Baif and composer Thibault de Courville. They were important for envisioning theatre as a composite art form uniting the separate disciplines of poetry, music, dance, and stage design. -
Oct 15, 1581
Ballet Comique de la Reine
Ballet Comique de la Reine was one of the earliest attempts at a full choreograhical spectacle. It was an event for Catherine de Medici,, mother of King Henri III of France. It was nearly 6 hours long and consisted of song, dance, recitation of poetry, was presented in the Salle Bourbon in Paris, and was choreographed by Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx. -
Orchesographie
Orchesographie is a dance manual written by French priest Thoinot Arbeau that contained dialogues between Arbeau and his pupil Capriol. This manual was used to assimilate dance, behavior, and proper grooming. -
Ballet and the Proscenium
During the 17th century ballet moved out of ballrooms and halls and into the proscenium theater. This provided an ideal setting for dance presentations and hekped to separate doer and watcher. -
Period: to
Pierre Beauchamp
Pierre Beauchamp was one of the first dance masters of the Renaissance era and the dance teacher of Louis XIV. He is credited with stressing the fundamentals of dance including turn out and the five positions of the feet. -
Ballet de la Felicite
Ballet de la Felicite was an entertainment that celebrated the birthdate of Louis XIV. -
Period: to
Reign of Louis XIV
During the reign of Louis XIV ballet flourished in the French courts. Louis XIV was, himself, a ballet dancer and was known for being the embodiment of the "Sun King". His entire liffe was a theatrical spectacle where even waking up and going to bed were ceremonious occiasions. -
Sun King
In Ballet de la Nuit, Louis embodied the "Sun King" when he performed as the Rising Sun. The performance was embellished with gold curtains, costumes and make-up. -
Period: to
Jean Baptiste Lully
Jean Baptiste Lully was a dancer and composer for the French court under service of Louis XIV. His greatest accomplishments were the musical scores he composed for court ballets. Lully died in 1687 after stabbing his foot with a timekeeping staff and getting gangrene. -
Academie Royale de Musique
In 1670 Louis XIV retired from dance and afterwards he founded the Academie Royale de Musique, which exists today as the Paris Opera. The Paris Opera has the oldest known ballet company and was also credited for professionalizing the first ballet dancers. -
Pomone
Pomone was the first production performad in the Academie Royale de Musique also known as The Paris Opera -
Mademoiselle de La Fontaine
Mademoiselle de La Fontaine is known as dance history's first prima ballerina who danced at the Paris Opera. -
Minuet
The Minuet was one of the most popular dances of this time period that turned up in ballets and was intended to be watched and participated in. -
Rise of the Star Dancer
During the 18th century, the Rrse of te star dancer was seen and the opening of the Paris Opera Ballet School in 1713 ensured that well trained dancers would always be available. -
Opera-Ballet
The Opera-ballet was a theatrical form of dance that consisted of detachable scenes joined by a common theme and utilized singing, dancing and many stage effects. -
Ballet d'Action
During the !8th century, ballet d'action developed. This form of ballet aimed at dramatic coherence and concision emphasizing unity and drama insead of variety and display. -
Francoise Prevost
Francoise Prevost was one of the first successful female choreographers and dancers and her work Les Caracteres de la Danse, created in 1715, was her most famous. She was also known for teaching two famous female dancers Marie Carmago and Marie Salle who each developed a different aspects of Prevosts talents. -
Letters on Dancing and Ballets
Jean Georges Noverre was a leading advocate of ballet d'action who wrote a treatise on dance aesthtics called Letter on Dancing and Ballets, it remains as one of those most influential dance books ever published. He states that ballets should be unified works of art in which all aspects of the production contribute to the main theme.