Page 13 of Feullet's Chorégraphie.

Page 13 of Feullet's Chorégraphie.

Detail map of Paris, Île-de-France, France Overview map of Paris, Île-de-France, France

A: Paris, Île-de-France, France

Raoul Feuillet Publishes the Beauchamp-Feuillet Dance Notation

1700

In 1700 French dance notator, publisher and choreographer Raoul Auger (or Anger) Feuillet published Chorégraphie, ou l'art de d'écrire la danse. Feuillet's work included the first publication of the system of dance notation used in Baroque dance, known as Beauchamp-Feuillet notation. This notation was commissioned by Louis XIV, who had founded the Académie royale de danse in 1661, and devised in the 1680s by Pierre Beauchamp. The system was widely used throughout the 18th century.

"This manual details a dance notation system that indicates the placement of the feet and six basic leg movements: plié, releveé, sauté, cabriole, tombé, and glissé. Changes of body direction and numerous ornamentations of the legs and arms are also part of the system. The system is based on tract drawings that trace the pattern of the dance. Additionaly, bar lines in the dance score correspond to bar lines in the music score. Signs written on the right or left hand side of the tract indicate the steps" (Library of Congress, Dance Instruction Manuals, accessed 04-05-2009).

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