Orchesography; or, The art of dancing by characters and demonstrative figures

About this book

Originally published in Paris by Raoul-Auger Feuillet under the title Chorégraphie ... (1700), this translation by English dancing master and theoretician John Weaver is dedicated to famed choreographer, Mr. Issac. The manual details a dance notation system that indicates placement of the feet and basic leg movements. Changes of body direction and numerous ornamentations of the legs and arms are also part of the system. Based on tract drawings, the system traces the floor pattern of the dance. Bar lines in the dance score correspond to the bar lines in the accompanying music, located above the notated diagrams.