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  • Dance in the Renaissance: European Fashion, French Obsession
  • Brandin Barón-Nusbaum
Dance in the Renaissance: European Fashion, French Obsession. by Margaret M. McGowan. 2008. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 352 pp., 82 illustrations, records of dance in the French Renaissance, notes, bibliography, index. $45.00 hardcover.

Margaret McGowan is the Ferdinand Magellan of Renaissance dance scholarship. Her prolific bibliography has uncovered early ballet performances through recreations of libretti, accompanying contemporary criticism, and rare scenographic imagery. Among her best-known contributions are her textual accompaniments to the reprinting of the libretto from le Balet comique (Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 1982) and the exhibition catalog for The Court Ballet of Louis XIII (Victoria and Albert Museum, 1986). Her published doctoral thesis from 1964, L'art du Ballet de Cour en France, 1581-1643, is widely regarded as the first important work in sixteenth century dance scholarship.

L'art du Ballet de Cour en France prioritized analysis onto the early dance performances that occurred in the sixteenth century courts of the Valois Dynasty, led by Francois I, Henri II, the Regency of Catherine de Medicis, Charles IX, and Henri III. Through investigation of these early dance pieces, McGowan identified the wealth of European performance practice models, scenographic methods, and the roles of the producing agent, performers, and spectators for this genre. Dance in the Renaissance is a revised, revamped, and reconfigured treatment of this work—an exclamation point at the end of McGowan's name as the expert on this field. Unlike L'art du Ballet de Cour, this text is written in English, making it instantly accessible to a wider audience. The primary topic in Dance in the Renaissance is McGowan's comfort zone—court ballet during the Valois dynasty—but also introduces coexisting popular and low art forms alongside the aristocratic models. McGowan's chapters on non-aristocratic performance are her most thrilling and further liberate scholarship about sixteenth century performance. [End Page 92]

Through its clear writing style and imagery, the work is also both an entry-point for scholars unfamiliar with McGowan's formidable impact on dance scholarship and a restructuring of her past published works into a more unified, chronologically relevant format. In several instances, it provides more expansive clarification into her previous writing and allows her the opportunity to represent the century divorced from her past individually specific texts (such as museum exhibition catalogues), so as to fully represent her own context for this vibrant historical period in dance.

McGowan is an archivist's scholar. Her strength is in clearly establishing a context obtained through examinations of visual artifacts, contemporary accounts, journal entries, and court documents. To date, little of her work has been invested in dance theory, though readers will be surprised to see more analysis of sixteenth century dance discourse and practices in this work. Her research acknowledges the social role of dancing, insights into dance training, and a more meta-view of the sixteenth century performer and audience than in previous writings. Through her inclusions of all of the varied dance forms of the century, Dance in the Renaissance is highly successful in defining terminology in the naming and classifications of dance genres in the sixteenth century.

As in McGowan's previous texts, there are extended descriptions of scenographic methods (scenery, costume, and props) that accompany her recounting of the dance performances throughout the period. This writing is supported with a multitude of rare imagery of actual dancing (public and private balls, country fairs) in addition to a myriad of scenic and costume renderings. Chapter 3 of the book presents a comprehensive view into the logistics of staging ballet, including a rare look into the actual expenses, production schedules/rehearsals, and information related to musical accompaniment. At the end of the book, McGowan attaches an invaluable inventory of records of the official balls, mascarades, and ballets that were sponsored by the French court. Dance in the Renaissance also introduces new information on the varied forms of dance performance: balls, mascarades, ballets, and carrousels (horse ballets). Chapter 4 offers a fascinating short lesson on the Pyrrhic, an oft-described dance of the period (122). Unlike most texts dealing with the sixteenth...

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