Beauchamp–Feuillet notation is a system of

dance notation Dance notation is the symbolic representation of human dance movement and form, using methods such as graphic symbols and figures, path mapping, numerical systems, and letter and word notations. Several dance notation systems have been invented ...

used in

Baroque dance Baroque dance is dance of the Baroque era (roughly 1600–1750), closely linked with Baroque music, theatre, and opera. English country dance The majority of surviving choreographies from the period are English country dances, such as those ...

. The notation was commissioned by

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

(who had founded the

Académie Royale de Danse The Académie Royale de Danse, founded by Letters Patent on the initiative of King Louis XIV of France in March 1661, was the first dance institution established in the Western world. As one of King Louis’ first official edicts after the death ...

in 1661), and devised in the 1680s by

Pierre Beauchamp Pierre Beauchamp or Beauchamps (; 30 October 1631 – February 1705) was a French choreographer, dancer and composer, and the probable inventor of Beauchamp–Feuillet notation. His grand-father was called Christophe (a musician) and his fa ...

. The notation system was first described in detail in 1700 by

Raoul-Auger Feuillet Raoul Auger (or Anger) Feuillet (c.1660–1710) was a French dance notator, publisher and choreographer most well-known today for his ''Chorégraphie, ou l'art de décrire la danse'' (Paris, 1700) which described Beauchamp–Feuillet notation, ...

in ''Chorégraphie''. Feuillet also then began a programme of publishing complete notated dances. It was used to record dances for the stage and domestic use throughout the eighteenth century, being modified by

Pierre Rameau Pierre Rameau (1674 – 26 January 1748), was the French dancing master to Elisabetta Farnese, and the author of two books that now provide us with valuable information about Baroque dance. Rameau's first book, ''Le Maître à Danser'' (1725, Par ...

in 1725, and surviving into at least the 1780s in various modified forms. One of the innovations of this notation, as you can see in the sample below, was to show the music, on a staff as a musician would use it, across the top of a page. The roles of the dancer or dancers, the tract they were to follow, and the steps to perform are shown in the notation below. The bar markings on the music are also drawn across the tract of the dancers, clarifying the relation of the steps to the music. The focus of the notation is the footwork

Reading

*Raoul Auger Feuillet (1700) ''Chorégraphie, ou l'art de d'écrire la danse'' (Paris) **a facsimile of the 1700 Paris edition (1968: Broude Brothers) **translated into English by John Weaver: (1706) ''Orchesography'' (London) **translated into English by P. Siris: (1706) ''The Art of Dancing'' (London) *Raoul Auger Feuillet (1706) ''Recueil de contredanses'' (Paris) **a facsimile of the 1706 Paris edition (1968: Broude Brothers) *Wendy Hilton “Dance of court and theater: the French noble style 1690–1725” **reprinted in: (1997) ''Dance and Music of Court and Theater: Selected Writings of Wendy Hilton'' (Pendragon Press) *Meredith Ellis Little & Carol G. Marsh (1992) ''La Danse Noble: An Inventory of Dances and Sources'' (Broude Brothers) *Pierre Rameau (1725) ''Le Maître à danser'' (Paris) **a facsimile of the 1725 Paris edition (1967: Broude Brothers) **translated

John Essex John Essex (born c.1680 - died 1744, London) was an English dancer, choreographer and author who promoted the recording of dance steps through notation as well as performing in London theatre. In 1728 he published his major work ''The Dancing-Ma ...

: (1728) ''The Dancing Master'' (London) *Pierre Rameau (1725) ''Abbregé de la nouvelle methode'' (Paris) *Kellom Tomlinson (1735) ''The Art of Dancing'' (London) *Gregorio Lambranzi (1716) ''Neue und Curieuse Theatralische Tantz-Schul'' (Nürnberg) *Philippa Waite & Judith Appleby (2003) ''Beauchamp–Feuillet Notation: A Guide for Beginner and Intermediate Baroque Dance Students'' (Cardiff:Consort de Danse Baroque)

External links

*Wilson, David.
Project Gutenberg copy of the John Weaver, English language, 1706, book ''Orchesography'', based on the Feuillet, French language, 1700, book ''Chorégraphie''The books of John Weaver
- Facsimiles of 18th-century English translations of Feuillet's books.

by Paige Whitley-Bauguess, including an introduction to reading Beauchamp-Feuillet notation. Dance notation Baroque dance {{Dance-stub