Famed for Dance: Essays on the Theory and Practice of Theatrical Dancing in England, 1660-1740 |
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Popular passages
Page 55 - Statesman, yet friend to truth ! of soul sincere, In action faithful, and in honour clear ; Who broke no promise, served no private end, Who gain'd no title, and who lost no friend ; Ennobled by himself, by all approved, And praised, unenvied, by the muse he loved,
Page 23 - The Tragedy of Macbeth, alter'd by Sir William Davenant; being drest in all it's Finery, as new Cloath's, new Scenes, Machines, as flyings for the Witches ; with all the Singing and Dancing in it : THE first Compos'd by Mr.
Page 61 - It would be a great improvement, as •well as embellishment to the theatre, if dancing were more regarded, and taught to all the actors.
Page 42 - To give even dancing, therefore, some improvement, and to make it something more than motion without meaning, the fable of Mars and Venus was formed into a connected presentation of dances in character, wherein the passions were so happily expressed, and the whole story so intelligibly told, by a mute narration of gesture only, that even thinking spectators allowed it both a pleasing and a rational entertainment...
Page 40 - For you must know (as trivial as this art is thought to be) no one ever was a good dancer, that had not a good understanding. If this be a truth, I shall leave the reader to judge from that maxim, what esteem they ought to have for such impertinents as fly, hop, caper, tumble, twirl, turn round, and jump over their heads...
Page 51 - The gentle softness of her voice, the composed innocence of her aspect, the modesty of her dress, the reserved decency of her gesture, and the simplicity of the sentiments that naturally fell from her, made her seem the amiable maid she represented.
Page 57 - ... examination, that all I am now possessed of does not amount to two-thirds of the fortune my wife brought me on the day of our marriage, together with the yearly additions and advantages since arising from her laborious employment on the stage during twelve years past, I thought myself bound by honesty, honour, and gratitude, due to her constant affection, not to give away any part of the remainder of her fortune at my death...
Page 49 - She was a beautiful woman, lively in her countenance, delicate in her form, a pleasing actress and a most admirable dancer ; generally allowed in the last mentioned part of her profession to have been superior to all who had been seen before her, and perhaps she has not been since excelled.
Page 56 - Benedict when the union was a few brief years old : — " Happy the hour when first our souls were joined ! The social virtues and the cheerful mind Have ever crowned our days, beguiled our pain ; Strangers to discord and her clamorous train. Connubial friendship, hail...
Page 38 - Gestures and Motions of the Body, and plainly and intelligibly representing Actions, Manners, and Passions; so that the Spectator might perfectly understand the Performer by these his Motions, tho' he say not a Word. Thus far the Excellency of the Art appears; but its Beauties consist in the regulated Motion of all Parts, by forming the Body, Head, Arms and Feet, into such Positions, Gestures and Movements, as represent the aforesaid Passions, Manners and Actions; so that...
Bibliographic information
| Title | Famed for Dance: Essays on the Theory and Practice of Theatrical Dancing in England, 1660-1740 |
| Authors | Ifan Kyrle Fletcher, Selma Jeanne Cohen, Roger H. Lonsdale |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | New York Public Library, 1960 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | 19 Jul 2007 |
| ISBN | 0836992911, 9780836992915 |
| Length | 64 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |