Pierre Rameau (1674 – 26 January 1748), was the French dancing master to

Elisabetta Farnese Elisabeth Farnese (Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She exerted great influence over Spain's foreign policy and was the '' de facto'' ru ...

, and the author of two books that now provide us with valuable information about

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 i ...

. Rameau's first book, ''Le Maître à Danser'' (1725, Paris), was a dance manual giving instruction on formal ballroom dancing in the French style. The first part covers posture, reverences, steps, and the ballroom

minuet A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form that accomp ...

, while the second part is concerned entirely with the use of the arms. His second book, ''Abbregé de la Nouvelle Methode'' (c1725, Paris), described a modified version of

Beauchamp–Feuillet notation Beauchamp–Feuillet notation is a system of dance notation used in Baroque dance. The 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 notatio ...

and included several choreographies by Pécour in the new notation. While Rameau's notation was not generally adopted, his information about the shortcomings of Beauchamp–Feuillet notation provides dance historians with clarifications about the execution of the steps.

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Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

An American Ballroom Companion An American Ballroom Companion is an online collection of over two hundred social dance manuals at the Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de ...

'' facsimiles of Rameau's works: *
''Le Maître à Danser''
(1748 edition)From the Collections at the

*
''Abbregé de la Nouvelle Methode''
From the Collections at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rameau, Pierre 18th-century French dancers French didactic writers French choreographers Baroque dance 18th-century French writers 18th-century French male writers 1674 births 1748 deaths French male non-fiction writers French male dancers