Dance In The Renaissance Period

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Dance In The Renaissance Period
Dance today is completely different from what it was like during the Renaissance. Steps and movements were much more simple than what choreography is today. Performances were at courts, provinces, bourgeois houses and marketplaces (Mccowan 1) instead of on a stage or in auditoriums that were invented later by Italian set designers (Homans, 11). Dance studios, as the world knows them today, would not exist without the influence of the renaissance kings and queens.
When King Henry II married Florentine Catherine De Medici in 1533, the Italian and French became allies. This was important to the world of dance because it was the start of the what we now all know as ballet. Catherine de Medici loved the arts, especially …show more content…

At the beginning tutus, pointe shoes and tights were not familiar (Muller). They dressed in wigs and bloomers for men. Women dressed in long skirted gowns and hard shoes (Beales). Much different what what we wear today during performances. Costumes have evolved as the level of difficulty in dance has changed. Dance was taken very seriously in Renaissance Europe (Mcowan 1). Competitions were held, employing dance masters to create new choreographies (Mcowan 1). There are still dance competitions all around the world today, but obviously they were much different during the renaissance. Dance masters were considered the best dancers. They created choreographies and new steps for dances (Muller). There were many different types of dance during the renaissance time just as there still is today. Masquerades were one of the most popular types of dances. Performers normally dressed in gold and silver with masks over their faces (Homans 4). Masquerades were performed in large ball rooms or venues (Homans, 6). People or “players” performed for kings and patrons every sunday with occasions of court performances (Homans, 6). Other places that masquerades were performed at parks or palaces for kings and queens (Homans, Jennifer 10). This shows how kings and queens loved performances so they had them come to their palaces. Dance was not as popular during this time period so some people did not enjoy these masquerades …show more content…

She loved to dance. Dancing was not just entertainment to her. It showed power to visitors from courts in Europe (Hollihan, 66). Court dances are not a thing today anymore because they have disappeared over the years, but some steps from court dances still exist. (Hollihan, 66) And Elizabeth’s love for plays may have perhaps saved drama from being “snuffed out” (William, 63). She loved plays and this led to the flowering of English drama (William 63). She encouraged the cultivation of country dances among the aristocracy (Singman, 153). Queen Elizabeth also used to go onto the floor and dance to show she was still physically fit (Hollihan, 66). Even though she was a little older doesn't mean that you can't dance.
The development of dance took place over multiple years before evolving into what we call dance today. Because of Queen Elizabeth and her influence of dance, the first public theater was built in London (Singman, 150). This did cost money to do the construction but seemed to pull through and finish it. Seatings were arranged so that you looked down at the performers like we still do today in some theaters (Homans, 10). The idea of a stage came from pioneering Italian set designers. Wings, curtains, trapdoors, backdrops and machinery also came from these italian set

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