The Elizabethan Age Dance
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Transcript The Elizabethan Age Dance
The Elizabethan Age
Dance
General Facts
Dancing was an extremely popular past time during this time and was
considered “a wholesome recreation of the mind and also an exercise of
the body”.
New music and instruments led to the creation of new dances
The dances varied to the social classes
Court dances enjoyed by royalty, nobility and upper classes were often
imported from Italy, Spain, or France.
These dance forms varied form the energetic Galliard to the refined
Pavane
The lower classes enjoyed more traditional country dances such as
the Jig, Morris dancing, the Brand, or the Brawle which were usually
danced at festivals in Elizabethan, England
Upper Class
Upper class enjoyed new types of music at court
Dancing Masters were employed to teach the new dances
These dances were highly sophisticated and had intricate
steps, but the old country dances were still popular
Many of the court dances were couples
The Volt was the only dance which allowed the dancers to
embrace closely
The form of entertainment call the Masque was more popular
with the upper class
They were accompanied with music and dance at the
beginning, end, and during the interludes
The dances usually had names like the ‘Tinkernell’ and ‘Maske
of Queens’
Dancing Masters each printed and distributed dance manuals
It included different dance steps including walking steps,
sliding, stamping, leaping, jumping, and hopping.
Queen Elizabeth I
Encouraged music and dance
Patron of all the Arts and encouraged composers and musicians
Continued strenuous dancing into her late 50’s
Lower Class
They only heard the new music and saw the intricate
steps and fashion in theatre
Dances were danced by couples in round or square sets
Dances were repetitive
They were passed down through generations
Different types of country dances were popular with
everyone
Performed at fairs and festivals
Dances
Upper Class
Ballet – Italian dance
established at the French
court in the 16th Century
The Canary – Spanish
dance described as “strange
and fantastic with a strong
barbaric flavor”
Lower Class
The Jig – Traditionally
involved leaps
The Hornpipe – Lively
dance resembling a jig. The
dance became linked with
sailors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ35ZkLkJJ4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2fRsxAFV4w&feature=related
Cites
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-dance.htm