The code of Terpsichore. The art of dancing, tr. by R. Barton

Front Cover
 

Selected pages

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 108 - Long labour, why, forgetful of his toils And due repose, he loiters to behold The sun-shine gleaming as through amber clouds. O'er all the western sky ; full soon, I ween, His rude expression and untutor'd airs, Beyond the power of language, will unfold The form of beauty smiling at his heart...
Page 15 - Animated by the accompanying mandolines, tambourines and castagnettes, the woman tries, by her rapidity and liveliness, to excite the love of her partner, who, in his turn, endeavours to charm her with his agility, elegance and demonstrations of tenderness. The two dancers unite, separate, return, fly into each other's arms, again bound away, and in their different gestures alternately exhibit love, coquetry and inconstancy. The eye of the spectator is incessantly diverted with the variety of sentiments...
Page 48 - In the leqon and exercices pay an equal regard to both legs, lest the execution of the one surpass that of the other. I have seen many dance with one leg only; these I compare to painters that can draw figures but on one side. Dancers and painters of such limited talent are certainly not to be considered as good artists. Take especial care to acquire perpendicularity and an exact equilibrium. In your performance be correct, and very precise; in your steps, brilliant and light; in every attitude,...
Page 128 - Mure indent, or those written before the twelfth century; — 2. .Indent, or those written in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries ; — 3. More recent, or those written at the end of the fourteenth, or at the beginning of the fifteenth century. The...
Page 14 - Taranlella is the national dance of the Neapolitans. It is gay and voluptuous ; its steps, attitude and music, still exhibit the character of those who invented it. This dance is generally supposed to have derived its name from the Tarantella, a venomous spider of Sicily. Those who have the misfortune to be bitten by it cannot escape dissolution but by violent perspiration, which forces...
Page 10 - Divide il tempo e la misura eguale, ed osserva in ogni atto ordine e norma. Secondo ch'ode il sonatore, e quale o grave il suono o concitato ei forma, tal col piede atteggiando o scende o sale, e va tarda o veloce a stampar l'orma. Fiamma ed onda somiglia e turbo e biscia, se poggia, o cala, o si rivolge, o strìscia.
Page 468 - ... success. Without these, a person would appear awkward and ridiculous in dancing ; and it is far preferable to be a passive spectator than a clumsy performer. It may be observed also, that while a knowledge of dancing adds to the attractions of a figure, naturally symmetrical and agile, it serves but to render still more conspicuous, those who are incurably ill-shaped, unconquerably heavy, or insensible to any graceful motion.
Page 21 - In short, from the remotest ages a multiplicty of high authorities have successively proved that dancing tends equally to our amusement and to our instruction. The whole body moves with more freedom, and acquires an easy and agreeable appearance. The shoulders and arms are thrown back, the inferior limbs attain greater strength and elasticity, the muscular masses of the hips, thighs and legs, are symmetrically displayed, the feet are constantly turned...
Page 29 - ... of the avowal. The eyes, oftentimes directed towards the feet, glance over every part of the body, and testify the pleasure which symmetry of form inspires them with. The agitations of the body, the footing, the postures, the attitudes, the waverings, whether they be lively or dull, are the representatives of desire, of gallantry, of impatience, of uncertainty, of tenderness, of chagrin, of confusion, of despair, of revival, of satisfaction, and, finally, of happiness. It is from these different...
Page 21 - ... whole body moves with more freedom, and acquires an easy and agreeable appearance. The shoulders and arms are thrown back, the inferior limbs attain greater strength and elasticity, the muscular masses of the hips, thighs and legs, are symmetrically displayed, the feet are constantly turned outwards, and in the gait there is something peculiar, by which we immediately discover a person that has cultivated dancing. Dancing is of signal service to young people, at that time of life when motion...

Bibliographic information