Be ready for your next ball at the French King‘s Court

Dance is one of the most fundamental human activities. After food and shelter, expression comes next in the pyramid of needs. And what simpler way to express your emotions than with movement? You might think that dancing is not for you but don‘t dismiss it beforehand. I, for one, didn‘t imagine that I would like it that much. So, today I want to mix a history lesson with some dancing tutoring! Like most social activities, it has a rich and complex history in various traditions, so which one should we choose? For my part, I chose ballet. A classic in the European tradition, drenched in influence. A probably easier than you might think (for the basics at least). Without further ado, let‘s dance!

Getting into position

Ballet as we know it has evolved a lot throughout its history. I will focus on lessons matching its original style. That would be the French ballet emerging from Louis XIV‘s court. Yes, ballet was born in Italy but it really became something in France. Its popularity owes much to the emergence of a professional French dancing class at the end of the seventeenth century. The Académie Royale de France (1661) established under the command of Louis XIV (who had already stopped dancing himself at that point) would mark its beginnings, but it would be the Académie de l‘Opéra in 1669 (what would become the Académie Royale de Musique) that would popularize it. Today, we join a distinguished member of the Académie de l‘Opéra: Raoul Feuillet. Let‘s hear what he has to teach us.

Academic ballet is based on five accepted so-called positions of the feet. Positions are exactly that - where and how you can rest your feet on the ground. Each position guarantees some regularity between feet, with both tips turned outside. Those positions are:

Both feet are joined by the heels.

Both feet opened on the same line, with a distance of about a foot between both heels.

The heel of one foot is nested on the ankle of the other.

One foot in front of the other on the same line. Again distanced by about one foot between both heels.

Both feet crossed, with one heel aligned with the tip of the other foot.

Each accepted position has one matching “wrong“ position. The core difference between “accepted“ and “wrong“ positions is that both tiptoes are inwards instead of outwards. Feuillet argues that wrong positions make fluid movement harder. An interesting distinction.

Take the pace

But ballet is built around a flow that moves between dancers and around the room. Now that we can rest our feet, let‘s see how we move around. Ballet dancing must follow a set path. According to Feuillet, this path will help choose what position is appropriate although I could not find evidence on why sadly. In any case, dance paths are of two types: straight or round. Self-explanatory. What requires more attention is keeping track of which dance path you are in the room. Feuillet gives some examples of ballet path set-ups. Here is one:

A first path going up the room at its center and a second going down next to it.
Another pair of paths to go left and right from the center of the room.
4 concentric paths filling the four sections made by the previous paths.

Following a path must be done by a series of accepted steps - each intersected by resting the feet in one of the accepted positions. Here are the types of steps listed by Feuillet:

Straight step: Either to the front or to the back.
Opened step: When the leg opens. The leg can open either inwards, outwards or in a circular motion (no picture given sadly).
Round step: When the foot itself follows an exaggerated circular motion.
Twisted step: When the foot is turned inwards or outwards during the step.
Beaten step: When both feet (or legs) are quickly brought together during the step.
Jumping step: Done either by falling back on the same leg or the other.

Feuillet adds about a dozen different “signs“, which can be seen as variations of these steps. I won‘t dabble more on them but just remember that ballet was a rich and complex art that allowed much variation and yet largely regulated. In a word, the art of ballet is found in matching positions and steps in such a way as to express some beauty or emotion. As regulated as Feuillet depicts it, I am sure that most dancers went with the flow more than any textbook.

To the beat

One aspect of ballet that absolutely didn‘t permit variation was following the beat. Ballet music could be in two, three or four beats per meter. None was necessarily better or worse, just faster or slower. Most importantly, all dancers had to follow the same beat for any ballet reception to even work.

One last remark I will make is about figures. Simply put, figures define how a pair of dancers move one from the other. In a regular figure, they mirror each other. In an irregular figure, they follow the same side. Oh and according to Feuillet, you can lend your hand or arm to your dance companion “as your heart desires“.

Time for a break

That will be all for today. As you can see, even in the early stages of ballet history, it was heavily regulated (or studied at least). I find such sources fascinating and open windows to another world with its concerns and priorities. Yet, we should keep in mind that the most important part of dancing is to have fun. Don‘t let rules ruin that.

In any case, thank you for your time and see you soon.

References

The history of dance, Mary Clarke, 1981.
Chorégraphie ou l‘art de décrire la danse, Raoul Feuillet, 1700.
Lettres sur la dance et le ballet, Jean-George Noverre, 1760.