Dance in the Renaissance
European Fashion, French Obsession
Published on 24. September 2008
Book
Hardback
330 pages
978-0-300-11557-4 (ISBN)
Description
Dance was at the core of Renaissance social activity in France and had important connections with most major issues of the period. This finely illustrated book provides the first full account of the pivotal place and high status of dance in sixteenth-century French culture and society.
Margaret M. McGowan examines the diverse forms of dance in the Renaissance, contemporary attitudes toward dance, and the light this throws on moral, political, and aesthetic concerns of the time. Among the subjects she covers are: expectations of dance; style, costume, music, and social coding; court dance versus social dancing; dance and the Valois dynasty; professional dancers, virtuosos, and choreographers; burlesque; opposition to dance; and dance and the people. Nearly one hundred illustrations, many of them rare, accompany the engrossing text.
Margaret M. McGowan examines the diverse forms of dance in the Renaissance, contemporary attitudes toward dance, and the light this throws on moral, political, and aesthetic concerns of the time. Among the subjects she covers are: expectations of dance; style, costume, music, and social coding; court dance versus social dancing; dance and the Valois dynasty; professional dancers, virtuosos, and choreographers; burlesque; opposition to dance; and dance and the people. Nearly one hundred illustrations, many of them rare, accompany the engrossing text.
Reviews / Votes
Chosen as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2009 by Choice Magazine * Choice * "[A] magisterial new book on dance in the sixteenth century. . . . [A] comprehensive new history."-Katie van Orden, Journal of Modern History -- Kate van Orden * Journal of Modern History * "A bibliographic trove, begging to be explored, and the fact that Professor McGowan has assembled it all is simply astounding."-Katherine Tucker McGinnis, Renaissance Quarterly -- Katherine Tucker McGinnis * Renaissance Quarterly * "On the subject of Renaissance dance, no maestro knows better how to orchestrate such a performance than Margaret M. McGowan. . . . Elegantly written and lavishly produced. . . . Perhaps it should likened to a performance in perpetual rehearsal, one that invites the reader to join and thus contribute to the movement already well underway thanks to McGowan's own mastery of Renaissance dance."-Michael Wolfe, Canadian Journal of History -- Michael Wolfe * Canadian Journal of History * "This erudite and handsomely illustrated book manages to be both scholarly and entertaining. . . . Readers [will] discover the abundant research material, observations, and analyses offered in Dance in the Renaissance."-Herve-Thomas Campagne, The Sixteenth Century Journal -- Herve-Thomas Campagne * The Sixteenth Century Journal *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
96 b-w
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
1111 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-300-11557-4 (9780300115574)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Margaret M. McGowan is research professor of French at the University of Sussex and an internationally known scholar of sixteenth-century French culture. She is the author of The Vision of Rome in Late Renaissance France, published by Yale University Press.