Académie Royale de Danse
Encyclopedia
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
on the initiative of King Louis XIV of France in March 1661, was the first dance institution established in the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
. It was an association of thirteen dancing experts whose purpose according to the preamble of the King's letters was "to restore the art of dancing to its original perfection and to improve it as much as possible". The group was intended to codify court and character dances and to certify dance teachers by examination, but since no archives of the organization have been found, it has not been possible to evaluate in detail its activities and accomplishments. The Académie Royale de Musique
Académie Royale de Musique
The Salle Le Peletier was the home of the Paris Opera from 1821 until the building was destroyed by fire in 1873. The theatre was designed and constructed by the architect François Debret on the site of the former Hôtel de Choiseul...
, originally founded in 1669 as the Académie d'Opéra, was a closely related opera and ballet company (see also Paris Opera Ballet
Paris Opera Ballet
The Paris Opera Ballet is the oldest national ballet company in the world, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it...
), and although the two institutions never merged, members of the dance academy were also associated with the opera. Along with many other royal institutions, the dance academy ceased to exist at the time of the overthrow of the monarchy in 1789
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, but the opera and ballet company survived and today is known as the Opéra National de Paris.
History
The dance academy's members (académistes) formed part of the king's entourage and court and were, for the most part, simultaneously both dancers and musicians. It was this that motivated the fraternity of musicians of Saint-Julien to publish a virulent factum against the "" in 1664. This long , entitled , was signed by Guillaume Dumanoir, "violin player to His Majesty, one of the 25 members of his "grand' Bande", and also holder of the Office de Roy of the Instrument Players, and of the dance masters of France". The quarrel was settled in 1695, by a decree according the same rights to both parties.Although the object of the Academy was to reflect, analyze and normalize matters of dance, no document relating to its activity or to this theorization has survived. Little by little, recruitment of dancers into the royal entourage gave way to recruitment into the ballet-corps of the Opéra
Paris Opera Ballet
The Paris Opera Ballet is the oldest national ballet company in the world, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it...
. This little by little altered the Academy's profile, making it and its members more dedicated to dance training alone.
Founding letters patent
Members
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