Italian Dance Masters

Pas Le Bourrée

In the 15th and 16th centuries, ballet developed as an aristocratic art. That development took place during a long series of splendid parties, much love and first at the Italian court, later at the French and other European royal courts. Feasts during which people ate, drank, sang, made love and danced for a long time (often the dishes were carried inside with appropriate movements!), made music, declaimed and acted in showy, sometimes fantastic robes.

At first there was virtually no connection between the different dance scenes, later (end of the 15th century) there was more unity. The dance masters competed with each other in arranging the 'balli' (dance spectacles), while the guests competed in seizing the best dance masters. What standards did the dancers have to meet at that time? 

The Italian dance masters Guglielmo and Cornazano noted 6 qualities, which they believed every dancer should possess: sense of beat, memory (memorizing combinations of steps), coordination (connecting movements of arms, legs and trunk), presentation, variety (in dancing ) and sense of space (arranging the steps to the available space).

At first there was virtually no connection between the different dance scenes, later (end of the 15th century) there was more unity. The dance masters competed with each other in arranging the "balli" (dance spectacles), while the guests competed in seizing the best dance masters. What standards did the dancers have to meet at that time? 

The Italian dance masters Guglielmo and Cornazano noted 6 qualities, which they believed every dancer should possess: sense of beat, memory (memorizing combinations of steps), coordination (connecting movements of arms, legs and trunk), presentation, variety (in dancing ) and sense of space (arranging the steps to the available space). 

Due to the heavy and long costumes that were worn, the dances were rather 'earthbound', 'terre à terre', and were collectively referred to as 'basses danses' (low dances). The first "technical" dance books from the 15th and 16th centuries are mainly devoted to the description of the above dances. 

But away from the royal courts, a folk dance art flourished full of vigor and freshness, much less hampered by oppressive costumes and conventions, and time and again the dance masters sought 'new' steps and figures from the storehouse of folk dances. 

They brought these steps into a refined form in the ballroom and incorporated it into the ballets they had to arrange. This is how it happened with many a pass: the 'pas de bourrée', 'pas de basque', 'pas de courante' and others..

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