A collection of ball-dances perform'd at court

By Isaac Mr.

Subjects: Music for Dance, Handbooks, manuals, etc, Dance Instruction and Technical Manuals, Ballroom dancing, Early works to 1800, Dance music, Notation for Dance, Handbooks, manuals

Description: Dancer, teacher, and theoretician John Weaver (1673-1760) compiled this important collection of choreographies by Mr. Isaac. With melodies composed by James Paisible, the collection contains six ballroom dances: "The Richman," "The Rondeau," "The Rigadoon," "The Favorite," "The Spanheim," and "The Britannia." All are couple dances and are notated in a notation system first published in 1700 by dancing master Raoul-Auger Feuillet (1659 or 1660-1710). The system is based on tract drawings that trace the pattern of the dance. Additionally, 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.