Dance as Text: Ideologies of the Baroque Body

by Mark Franko

Dance as Text is an historical and theoretical examination of French court ballet over a hundred-year period, beginning in 1573, that spans the late Renaissance and the Baroque. Utilising aesthetic and ideological criteria, Mark Franko analyses court ballet librettos, contemporary performance theory, and related commentary on dance and movement in the literature of this period. Examining the formal choreographic apparatus that characterises late Valois and early Bourbon ballet spectacle, Franko argues that the evolving aesthetic ultimately reflected the political situation of the noble class, who devised and performed court ballets. Franko's analysis blends archival research with critical and cultural theory in order to re-situate the burlesque tradition in its politically volatile context.

260 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 1993

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished reading the bulk of this book a little while ago now, but I'm holding on to it to read the appendices when I'm in the mood. As it sounds, this is VERY dry and academic, but if you're really interested in dance history, performance theory, and/or Foucauldian readings of court spectacle, I'd recommend it. It's strongest in the latter-- I feel like I need to re-read Foucault now, and that I would probably get a lot more out of it.