In the Dances of Death, society was showing its disappointment with the pursuits of life. They considered most material things vain, and the Dances typically show skeletons leading human being to their death. There is no class distinction in the Dances; all the classes are on the same level whether they are noble or common men. The Grim Reaper is a common figure in the Dances. Death is a bigger reality than anything in life.
Louis XIV made some important contributions to Ballet dance. Five of these are: He built the Palace at Versailles where nobles were invited to dance, he set the standards for the training of dancers, he established dance as a career for both genders, he granted licenses to the teachers of dance and he moved venues from the palace to new Italian theater.
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"Short Answer Questions – Dance".
The mystery plays strayed from the religious theme and evolved into satire and mockery. In their most popular time, they were very elaborate productions but hey were eventually abandoned because they did not have religious value. The miracle play was scheduled to enhance calendar festivals honoring certain saints. The plays were either biographical or fictitious, but they told the story of the miracles of the saint. The Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas became the most popular topics of the miracle play; both of these saints had active cults during the Middle Ages. They were believed to have healing powers, which made the miracle play even more popular. The morality play was an early version of the fable. A lesson was taught through the actors who portrayed certain moral qualities or vices. They usually centered on a hero who was tormented by weakness and tempted by evil forces like The Seven Deadly Sins.
Movement as dance makes the point that we must move for pleasure and fulfillment as human beings. It states that as we grow older, our movement takes a more ordered form that is task-oriented rather than just skipping around for fun. The author also points out that adult humans and their interactions are equal to a dance. She says that the gestures and animations that we now call ‘body language’ are similar to dance movements. She implies that although dance is seen as frivolous youthful pursuit to be abandoned in adulthood, the intention-filled movements of adults mimic the moves of the dance. The author implies that dance remains a part of the natural action of mankind as he grows from youth to old age.
The Roman Christian Church preached that because the end of the world was near, anything like dance was lighthearted and silly; it didn’t have anything to do with the serious business of saving peoples’ souls. The development of the Spirit was the priority set by the powerful members of the Church; dance was not accepted as part of spiritual development. These members guided the lives of the people, and they interpreted scripture to judge if a person was living a spiritual life. They decided what was proper and moral in the society.
A divertissement is a short performance during the ballet that is presented as a diversion to the main drama of the work. These shorter dramas can be numerous throughout the main work, and are presented as subtexts to take the patrons’ attention away from the heavier, more intense action of the main play.
Renaissance dancers were to be formally trained, as opposed to folk dancers. They were to dance in theaters where they were formally separated from the audience. The dance was the principal reason for the audience’s attendance. The dancer was now a member of upper society; a cultured person. Even though formal foot positions weren’t popularized until the 19th century, the Renaissance dancers maintained those flat-footed positions throughout the dance.
