1. The Elizabethan Age Dance

2. General Facts
Dancing was an extremely popular past time during this time and was considered “a wholesome recreation of the mind and also an exercise of the body”.
New music and instruments led to the creation of new dances
The dances varied to the social classes
Court dances enjoyed by royalty, nobility and upper classes were often imported from Italy, Spain, or France.
These dance forms varied form the energetic Galliard to the refined Pavane
The lower classes enjoyed more traditional country dances such as the Jig, Morris dancing, the Brand, or the Brawle which were usually danced at festivals in Elizabethan, England

3. Upper Class Upper class enjoyed new types of music at court
Dancing Masters were employed to teach the new dances
These dances were highly sophisticated and had intricate steps, but the old country dances were still popular
Many of the court dances were couples
The Volt was the only dance which allowed the dancers to embrace closely
The form of entertainment call the Masque was more popular with the upper class
They were accompanied with music and dance at the beginning, end, and during the interludes
The dances usually had names like the ‘Tinkernell’ and ‘Maske of Queens’
Dancing Masters each printed and distributed dance manuals
It included different dance steps including walking steps, sliding, stamping, leaping, jumping, and hopping.

4. Queen Elizabeth I Encouraged music and dance
Patron of all the Arts and encouraged composers and musicians
Continued strenuous dancing into her late 50’s

5. Lower Class
They only heard the new music and saw the intricate steps and fashion in theatre
Dances were danced by couples in round or square sets
Dances were repetitive
They were passed down through generations
Different types of country dances were popular with everyone
Performed at fairs and festivals

6. Dances Upper Class Lower Class
Ballet – Italian dance established at the French court in the 16th Century
The Canary – Spanish dance described as “strange and fantastic with a strong barbaric flavor”
The Jig – Traditionally involved leaps
The Hornpipe – Lively dance resembling a jig. The dance became linked with sailors

7. Cites