Saturday 3 May 2008, 09:00
New College, Oxford
Almost every court of every ruler of Europe had its own palaces, even entire networks of them, often lavishly designed and maintained, serving as residences for the ruling family and as centres of government of which the royal court was the focus. Many of these palaces contained spaces for dance and secular music, either in spaces taken over for court entertainment or in specially designed theatres, and they attracted some of the best dancers, musicians, stage designers and costume-makers of their day. Even in exile, royal courts continued to hold entertainments of music and dance, and royal residences were invariably hotbeds of political intrigue.
This symposium will be looking at the nature and scope of dance in royal palaces between 1600 and 1800: areas we are keen to address include buildings and dance spaces as venues for court entertainments; the motives and interests of patrons and audiences; the employment and organisation of performers, court officials, craftsmen and tradesmen involved in court entertainments; the place of dance and music within celebrations in the annual court calendar; case studies of specific court entertainments; the role of the court dancing-master and court musicians; the heritage of palace-based culture for us today.
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