The Dance

V. Dances of the Hebrews and Arabs 43

Biblical allusions; sacred dances; the Salome episode and its modern influence--The Arabs; Moorish florescence in the Middle Ages; characteristics of the Moorish dances; the dance in daily life; the harem, the Dance of Greeting; pictorial quality of the Arab dances.

Vi. Dancing in Ancient Greece 52

Homeric testimony; importance of the dance in Greek life; Xenophon’s description; Greek religion and the dance; Terpsichore--Dancing of youths, educational value; Greek dance music; Hyporchema and Saltation; Gymnopœdia; the Pyrrhic dance; the Dipoda and the Babasis; the Emmeleia; The Cordax; the Hormos--Greek theatres; comparison of periods; the Eleusinian mysteries; the Dionysian mysteries; the Heteræ; technique.

Vii. Dancing in the Roman Empire 72

Æsthetic subservience to Greece; Pylades and Bathyllus; the Bellicrepa saltatio; the Ludiones; the Roman pantomime; the Lupercalia and Floralia; Bacchantic orgies; the Augustinian age; importations from Cadiz; famous dancers.

Viii. Dancing in the Middle Ages 78

The mediæval eclipse; ecclesiastical dancing in Spain; the strolling ballets of Spain and Italy; suppression of dancing by the church; dances of the mediæval nobility; Renaissance court ballets; the English masques; famous masques of the seventeenth century.

Ix. the Grand Ballet of France 86

Louis XIV and the ballet; the Pavane and the Courante; reforms under Louis XV; Noverre and the ballet d’action; Auguste Vestris and others; famous ballets of the period--the Revolution and the Consulate; the French technique, the foundation of ‘choreographic grammar’; the ‘five positions’; the ballet steps--Famous danseuses; Sallé, Camargo; Madeleine Guimard; Allard.

X. the Folk-dances of Europe 104

The rise of nationalism--The Spanish folk-dances: the Fandango; the Jota; the Bolero; the Seguidilla; other Spanish folk-dances; general characteristics; costumes--England: the Morris dance; the Country dance; the Sword dance; the Horn dance--Scotland: Scotch Reel, Hornpipe, etc.--Ireland: the Jig; British social dances--France: Rondo, Bourrée and Farandole--Italy: the Tarantella, etc.--Hungary: the Czardas, Szolo and related dances; the Esthonians--Germany: the Fackeltanz, etc.--Finland; Scandinavia and Holland--The Lithuanians, Poles and Southern Slavs; the Roumanians and Armenians--The Russians: ballad dances; the Kasatchy and Kamarienskaya; conclusion.

XI. THE CELEBRATED SOCIAL DANCES OF THE PAST 144

The Pavane and the Courante; the Allemande and the Sarabande; the Minuet and the Gavotte; the Rigaudon and other dances--The Waltz.

XII. THE CLASSIC BALLET OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 151

Aims and tendencies of the nineteenth century--Maria Taglioni--Fanny Elssler--Carlotta Grisi and Fanny Cerito; decadence of the classic ballet.

Xiii. the Ballet in Scandinavia 161

The Danish ballet and Boumoville’s reform; Lucile Grahn, Augusta Nielsen, etc.--Mrs. Elna Jörgen-Jensen; Adeline Genée; the mission of the Danish ballet.

Xiv. the Russian Ballet 170

Nationalism of the Russian ballet; pedagogic principles of the Russian school; French and Russian schools compared-- Begutcheff and Ostrowsky; history of the Russian ballet--Didelot and the Imperial ballet school; Petipa and his reforms--Tschaikowsky’s ‘Snow-Maiden’ and other ballets; Pavlowa and other famous ballerinas; Mordkin; Volinin, Kyasht, Lopokova.

Xv. the Era of Degeneration 189

Nineteenth-century decadence; sensationalism--Loie Fuller and the Serpentine Dance--Louise Weber, Lottie Collins and others.

XVI. THE NATURALISTIC SCHOOL OF DANCING 195

The ‘return to nature’; Isadora Duncan--Duncan’s influence: Maud Allan; Duncan’s German followers--Modern music and the dance; the Russian naturalists; Glière’s ‘Chrisis’-- Pictorial nationalism: Ruth St. Denis--Modern Spanish dancers; ramifications of the naturalistic idea.

Xvii. the New Russian Ballet 214

The old ballet arguments pro and _con_--The new movement: Diaghileff and Fokine; the advent of Diaghileff’s company; the ballets of Diaghileff’s company; ‘Spectre of the Rose,’ ‘Cleopatra,’ Le Pavilion d’Armide, ‘Scheherezade’-- Nijinsky and Karsavina--Stravinsky’s ballets: ‘Petrouchka,’ ‘The Fire-Bird,’ etc.; other ballets and arrangements.

XVIII. THE EURHYTHMICS OF JACQUES-DALCROZE 234

Jacques-Dalcroze and his creed; essentials of the ‘Eurhythmic’ system--Body-rhythm; the plastic expression of musical ideas; merits and shortcomings of the Dalcroze system--Speculation on the value of Eurhythmics to the dance.

Xix. Plastomimic Choreography 247

The defects of the new Russian and other modern schools; the new ideals; Prince Volkhonsky’s theories--Lada and choreographic symbolism--The question of appropriate music.

EPILOGUE: FUTURE ASPECTS OF THE DANCE 261