Baroque Dance: The Spanheim

[@suzanrudulph4141]

Very sweet

[@thecourtlyartsperformers]

Thank you 😊

[@VFella]

The importance of dance during European history from the Middle Ages up until (maybe) the XIX century cannot be understated. During the Renaissance and Baroque period, any lady or gentlemen worth their name had to be proficient in quite a few different dances. And they must be good at it to boot, lest they would have been frowned upon or worse. It was a matter of utter social importance, not just a pastime. We always tend to idealize the "simpler" times of the past. Yet we fail to acknowledge just how complex they were and how intricate social norms and customs were. Some were even a matter of life and death, like the ritual of taking the hat off when meeting another person. A hat not taken off at the appropriate moment could make the other feel insulted and end up in a duel. There was a gigantic contrast between the courtly rituals of dance and the fact that most men would be able to kill you without a second of hesitation if they needed to. I find it enormously interesting and intriguing. Thanks for sharing, I loved it.

[@thecourtlyartsperformers]

Thank you for taking the time to write this very interesting comment. We have two programmes which would have been of particular interest to you, I think. We have playlists for both of them. In 'The European Courtier' we considered the work and travels of Baldassare Castiglione, and in 'The Etiquette of Dance' we based our concert around comments and advice from various dance masters of the Renaissance. It is a fascinating topic!

[@famweiland8989]

lovely dance, what music is played?

[@thecourtlyartsperformers]

We're so glad you like it 🙂. The music is the Spanheim, same as the dance. It was published as a single line of music, together with the choreography in Mr Isaac's "A collection of ball-dances perform'd at court'. One of our Consort members arranged the music for recorders, viol and baroque guitar.