Französischer Tanz und Tanzmusik in Europa zur Zeit Ludwigs XIV.

Dance was one of the most important means of conveying the granduer of the French court under Louis XIV. It was used to such an extent to present the fame of the King and of the French state which he embodied, that contemporaries generally considered it practically synonymous with the expression of French identity. European dance culture was thus soon dominated by that of France. But how did other countries react to the implicit communicative nature of the French dancing style?

Combining semiotic, hermeneutic and anthropological elements, this study describes and analyses the ways in which meanings were conveyed in baroque dance culture, what these meanings were, and how they were understood or misunderstood.

Topics discussed include the ballets de cour under Louis XIV, ballets in French and Italian opera in the second half of the 17th century, formal dancing in France, Germany, England and Italy, and the adoption of French dance forms in late 17th-century Italian instrumental music.

In all the areas examined, dance is shown to be a form of symbolic communication suited to the determination of social, ideological and national identities at the time of Louis XIV.