In the 1973 version of the “Three Musketeers”, I laways enjoyed the scene at King Louis’ elaborate ball,when the queen has to wear the famous diamond neclace. The queen finally gets here jewels (courtesy of York) and the dance begins-it is a very elaborate dance, and the king begins to forget his steps.
I know this period (Louis XIV) is not medieval, but I assume this dance (was it a gavotte?) is of a medieval style. How haed was it to learn these dances? And when did these very elaborate dances go out of style?
Also…lighting up the palace of Versailles for an evening party must of been very expensive! How long did it take JUST to light all of those candles in the chandeliers?
Those styles of dances would be better characterised as Renaissance rather than Medieval , and yes, they can get that elaborate - quite a few of the ones I’ve danced in the SCA have a verse-chorus-verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure with different figures in each verse and each chorus, lots of crossing over, sometimes partner-swapping, and the only way to learn them is lots of practice. You have to know that specific dance, you can’t just step into one without knowing the moves. Complicated ones can take a few tries to memorise, and we always need a quick refresher for ones we don’t dance regularly.
I guess this explains the profession of “Dancing Master”.
I can’t say for sure when they went out of style, the SCA only goes up to 1600/1650 depending who you ask. They seem to have morphed into Waltzes by the 1800s, but not sure of the transition.
Oh, and lighting the candles? That’s what servants are for…100s of servants in Versailles, I’d imagine.
Actually, the dances of the Italian and French Renaissance morphed into Baroque dances, which is what you see in Jane Austin movies. Eventually those became so complex and freakishly stylized that it morphed into ballet, which is now only done by professionals. There’s a bunch of Dance Stuff at the Library of Congress, if you have an urge for education.