History of the dance

Social science the purpose of which is to describe the historical interactions between the Danse and the others arts, the history of the dance has, it also, a Histoire…

The 18th century is the century of all the innovations, of all research, and it is at the beginning of this period that the first attempts should be found to tell a “evolution” of the dance since the Antiquité. The first author to have written on the subject is the French Jacques Bonnet , in his general Histoire of the crowned dance and layman (Paris 1723), whom it published eight years after his Histoire of the music (Paris 1715).

On the basis of the dance in the Greek Antiquity and Roman, Bonnet traverses the history of this art, as well under the crowned angle as layman, and tackles the great questions which agitate the Opéra-ballet at the beginning of the 18th century. It evokes also the Bal S of the court and the city, as well as the open spectacles, tightrope walkers and “jumpers”. The work will make authority a long time and will be abundantly recopied until the 20th century.

Some 30 years later, Louis de Cahusac develops the thought of Bonnet and provides the foundations of the theories that Jean-Georges Noverre will publish in 1760 on the revival of the Ballet and on the Ballet of action.

The 19th century does not bring any novel idea unfortunately and is satisfied to reproduce the former speech, decorated few formal updates. It is necessary to await the fundamental work of Curt Sachs ( Eine Weltgeschichte of Tanzes , 1933) so that a universal vision of the dance, released is formed of the Eurocentrisme which had prevailed hitherto.

the dance is first-born arts. The music and poetry run out in time; the visual arts and architecture model space. But the dance lives at the same time in space and time. Before entrusting to its emotions to the stone, the verb, the sound, the man is useful itself of his own body to organize space and for rythmer time .

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