Name : Angela Cubilla

Section: BSED English 1A

Topic Title: Renaissance Dance ( Court Dances)

Renaissance is a French word which means “rebirth” and it also describe a period in time dated
in the 14th Century until 17th Century when European Civilization had recovered from the Dark Age
which ended in the late 14th Century, this period pave way to new discoveries in the field of science,
richness in culture, new strategies in politics, and even in the rise of economy. Moreover, many great
thinkers, artists, and musicians and poets that are known today had lived in that period of time, like
Nicolai Copernicus, Rene De Cartes, Michael Angelo, Leonardo the Vinci, Handel, Bach, and William
Shakespeare. As mention above, there is richness in culture in the Renaissance that is why it is not
surprising that arts, music, and dance are widely popular in that time, one example of these are the
Renaissance court dances that are not only performed as an entertainment but it also plays a distinct
role in the society and culture of the European in the Renaissance.

Renaissance court dances may seem as a form of entertainment but goes beyond what it seemed
to be its purpose. First, in the Renaissance period the people believe that God punishes them that is why
bad omen ad happened in the dark- age, so in the renaissance period the art forms like music, dance and
visual arts are in sacred theme to honor God. One example of these in the court dances is the Pavane-
which is a formal dance perform in rituals and noble celebrations and it also performed as an orchestral
piece. Then, the court dances also symbolizes skills as it require professional training especially when
performing it in a courtroom, though it seems to be an entertainment for nobles, dancing is also an
important skilled that they must posess and learned throughout their life, like King Louis XIV of
France who is fond of court dances like Gigue and Minuet. Next is that the Renaissance court dances is
also one of the wall that separates the social class and set boundaries between the nobles and the
layman. The renaissance dance is also became a way to describe how different a noble is from an
ordinary person starting from clothes up until the movements, as an example, a noble’s clothes are
extravagant keeping their movements more sophisticated and limited while country dances were more
lively and have bigger movements, it shows how different the social classification are even in those
times.

To sum up all that have been stated above, Renaissance Dance have made a great contribution
in the field of culture and arts especially in ballroom dances. Renaissance became a bridge to the
modern age, renaissance dance not only represent how people in that time values arts especially music
and dance. It also shows the social distinction of the higher class or the nobles between the lower
classes. It is deeply rooted in the history and culture of the Europeans. The renaissance dances have
different ranges and different history where they came from and it is amazing how the people of the
renaissance make these dance popular and known up to this day, indeed artists, musicians, poets, and
thinkers are the gems of the past that are even more valued and treasure until now.