Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/888

* DANCING. 770 DANCING GIRLS. in the cathedral at Seville, on Corpus Christi and the Immaculate Conception: the (liiilia di »Vojt Paolino is a ritual dance performed on June 26_, in front of the Cathedral of Xola, near Naples, in honor of San Paolino, -nho, on his leturn from Barbary, was met bj' a procession of the citizens of Nola. Jleanwhile the simpler forms of the dance had been preserved by the peasants of Gaul, who kept them alive until they were taken up by the kniglits and nobles. In Spain the heritage of dances left by the Romans was more or less imperfectly preserved. Even the Arab invasion could not completely destroy the old forms: and there are some dances used at present in Sjjain, such as the Ttirdion and Gibidana, which date from about the twelfth century. Liveliness is characteristic of early as well as later Spanish dances. Dancing in Germany and England developed along the lines originated by the barbaric na- tions which governed their early history'. In England the egg dance and the Carole were de- rived from Saxon sources. The Morris dance was introduced in the reign of Edward III. All English dances are lively and varied in motion. In Germany, war, funeral, and luirvest dances were among the earliest popular kind, and with the formation of the guilds eacli trade adopted .its characteristic dance. Hans Sachs gives an excellent description of the SchiJnpart, which was a carnival dance peculiar to the city of Xureni- berg. From the thirteenth century on, each class of society had its own dances: but there were two general classes — the 'circular dance' and 'the measure.' The first was a rapid, uneven sort of dance; the second, a slow, gliding move- ment. !MoDEKX Daxces. The revival of dancing as an art began in Italy in the fifteenth century. The Renaissance awoke an interest in dancing as well as in the other arts, and ballets were given on an elaborate scale. Catherine de' Jledici introduced the fashion into France, and from that time on France has led the world in the re- finement of its dances and the gi'acefulness of its jierforniers. It borrowed dance forms from almost every civilized coimtiy, but so adajited and changed them that their value was immeas- urably increased. The origin of modern French forms may be traced to the danses basses and the danses hautes of the sixteenth century. The former were so called because of their slow, even mcrtion : they Avere pi'acticed by the nobility. The da»ses hatitcs were lively, jumping dances, and were performed only by the country people and the lower classes. Later the (jaUmrd, couraiite, and volta, which were of a more lively character than the old Court dances, were introduced; and still later the branle became popular. It was a dance of exceedingly varied character, each province having its own form, the passepicd of Bretagne and the minuet of Poitou being branles. Richelieu gave many famous ballets during the reign of Louis XIII., while Louis XIV. was him- self an enthusiast of the dance, foimding in 1G61 the Academy of the Dance. In the seventeenth century many of these Court dances were enjoyed for the sake of the music alone, and the idea arose of playing several of them in succession as a merely instnnnental entertainment. Out of this custom originated the suite (q.v.), which in its turn suggested the sonata fq.v.) and the sj-niphony (q.v.). The suites of Bach, Handel, and Corelli cnnlain excellent examples of some of these old dances. In Italy these groups of dances were early Iviiown as Honate da Camera. As the classic composers used these old dance forms, so modern composers have utilized more recent dances in their compositions. Thus the csiirdas is found in Liszt's Hungarian Rh<xpso- dies; the scguidiUa in Bizet's Carmen; and there is a charming series of Spanish dances in Massenet's I^e Cid. The list of national dances is large, but the most representative are the fandango and bolero of Spain; the tarantella, the saltaretlo, and the forlana of Italy; the mazurka and the polonaise of Poland: the reel and the Highland fling of Scotland; and the jig in Ire- land and Wales. X'umeroiis classes of national dancers have arisen, of which the Bayederes or Xautch girls in India and' the Geishas in Japan are well-known examples. In all the Eastern countries the dance is really a sort of pantomime containing a series of gestures, postures, and mimicries. Of the more popular modern dances, the quadrille is probably the oldest. Its recent de- velopment dates from 181.5; but before that time it was common in Europe for centuries. The lancers was invented in 1830 : the polka w'as in- troduced about 1835; and the waltz, from Ger- many, about 1812. The fuo-step is of American origin, and has lately become exceedingly popu- lar. For a discussion of the development of the ballet, see that article. There is no authoritative and comprehensive history of dancing, but the best works are: Grove, and collaborators. Danc- ing (London. 180.5) : Vuillier, A History of Dancing, translated from the French (New York. 1897) ; Giraudet, Traite de la danse (Paris 1000), which gives exact descriptions of a great number of dances; Cahusac, La danse ancienne ct moderne (La Hague, 1754), which, although completely out of date, contains much of historical value ; and Emmanuel, La danse greeque antique, d'apres les monuments figures (Paris, 1896). See also Axlemande ; Bolero; Cachucha; Canarie; Cancan; Car- 5IAGN0LE ; ChACONXE ; COTII.LON ; CUSHION Dance; CsardAs; Egg Dance; Fandango; Farandole; Fire Dances; Flower Dance; Galop; Gavotte; Geisha; Highland Fling; Hormos ; Hornpipe ; Jig ; .Iota ; Kirmess ; Lan- cers; May Dance; Mazurka; Medicine Dances; Minuet; Morris Dance; Nautch Girls; Passepied; Pavane; Polka; Polo- naise; Quadrille; Redowa; Reel; Rigadoon; Salmon Dance: Sarabande: Schottische; Seguidilla; Siciliana; Coverley, Sir Roger de; Snake Dances; Sun D.vnces; Skirt Dances; Strathspey; Sword Dances: Tambourin; Tarantella: Tarasque, La; Torch Dance; Waltz. DANCING FAUN. An antique bronze rep- resenting a faun dancing and snapping his fin- gers to mark the time. It was discovered in 1853 in a house in Pompeii, hence known as the House of the Faun. DANCING GIRLS. A designation applied to various classes of wtunen. especially in India, whose profession is to dance and sing in connec- tion with the temples, and in services upon the idol of some god. They also perform at enter- tainments of private persons or nobles. A num- ber of subdivisions or classes of these dancers