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Ceremony, courtesy and chivalry


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I discovered this morning that the legendary Eleventh Edition is available online , so of course I looked up "Ballet". I was particularly struck by the conclusion of the article:

"It seems unlikely that we shall see any revival of the best period and styles of dancing until a higher standard of grace and manners becomes fashionable in society. With the constantly increasing abolition of ceremony, courtliness of manner is bound to diminish; and only in an atmosphere of ceremony, courtesy and chivalry can the dance maintain itself in perfection."

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Thank you for posting that, Tancos. It is a striking comment -- and perhaps not a new situation. Isn't that the difference between "Ballet Imperial" and "Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2"? When the old "manners, sense of ceremony, etc. don't make sense to either dancers or audience, one way to deal with it is to reinvent them, change them and make the elegance something that's understandable. It does leave "Sleeping Beauty" in a pickle, though :)

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