16th and 17th Century Dance Trivia Quiz

Answer: A printed explanation of the ballet and copy of the verses sung in the works.

Court ballets were often based on literary works, so the librettos distributed among the audience were meant to aid in the audience's understanding of the work. Sort of an early version of today's stage bills.

Answer: Le Paradis d'Amour

This was presented in 1572 by request of Catherine, who apparently brought her love of dance to France from her native Italy. The dance was performed by 12 women dressed as nymphs. The title of the work translates to 'the paradise of love', which is appropriate considering the occasion!

Answer: To honor Polish ambassadors.

They were visiting Paris upon the accession to the Polish throne of Henry of Anjou. This work was commissioned by Catherine de Medici in 1573, and is one of the earliest recognized court ballets.

Answer: Transform men into animals.

In the court ballet version, this power was symbolic of the warring tendencies of the time. In the ballet, Henry III was pleaded with for the power to resist Circe (and thus resist war). What's more, the ballet was performed at a wedding that was supposed to reconcile the warring factions in the country. In this way, many court ballets were symbolically political.

Answer: Royal

An 'entree' was an episode in a 'ballet a entrees'. It would include an opening recitation or song followed by dances. A royal ballet usually had 30 'entrees', a fine ballet at least 20, and a small ballet 10 or 12. One reason for these differences was simple financing.

The structure of the 'ballet a entrees' became popular as the taste for ballet spread to the middle class. They would often stage ballets in emulation of the court lifestyle, but the 'entrees' allowed them to adapt according to their financial means.

After all, not everyone had access to the king's coffers!

Answer: Richelieu

Richelieu, under the reign of Louis XIII, created a work to be performed on the proscenium stage of the theater at the Palais-Royal, which was built at Richelieu's behest. This stage framed the action and elevated the performers to a level separate from the audience.

The audience was now expected to watch rather than participate. The advent of this sort of stage also changed the dance itself, as the new vantage point (people now watched from in front and below or level to the movement, as opposed to before when they looked down on it from three sides) made the paths of movement less interesting and the movement itself more interesting.

It was no longer enough for dancers to walk in circles and patterns on the floor - now they had to do jumps and turns.

In turn, this forced dance to become more professional. No longer was it the realm of privileged courtiers. Dance now started to fall to the hands of those lower class people who could train their bodies to perform the sorts of virtuoso tricks the audience craved.

Answer: He debuted in 1651 and retired in 1670.

He performed central roles in many ballets, often playing the Sun King, a symbol which became linked to him over the course of his reign.

Answer: Inigo Jones

Under the reign of Charles I, Jones gave distinct form to the English court masque. Similar to the court ballet, masques were a composite form that were often politically slanted. Jones is probably best known now for his architectural work, designing the Queen's House at Greenwich and the Banqueting House (used for masques) at Whitehall.

Answer: Yes

When he ruled England in the 1630s, Charles I performed lead roles in the masques, always portrayed as a wise and benevolent leader. In this way, the masques serves as propaganda of sorts for the promotion of the ruler's reign.

Answer: A mimed or danced episode performed prior to the main work.

Sort of like antipasto, I guess. 'Anti' comes from a Latin prefix 'ante', meaning 'before'. 'Anti-masques' were often grotesque and portrayed ideas contradictory to those espoused by the main work.