What is a minuet
What is a minuet
Minuet is an old French dance. The word "minuet" in French means "insignificant" or "small". It is believed that the dance was named so, because it consists entirely of small steps and bows. Minuet originated from folk dance that originated in the province of Poitou.
In the middle of the XVII century, this dance attracted the attention of the aristocracy. He was changed to the tastes of the nobility and became a ball. By the end of the century the minuet was widely spread across Europe.
Initially, the court (gallant) minuetone pair performed. In fact, this dance was a complex combination of curtsey, bows, turns and small steps, on the part of the minuet, it was more like an invitation to a dance. Even under Louis XIV the minuet became a favorite court dance.
In the XVIII century as the development of the gallant styleThe minuet has become significantly more complicated. The tempo increased, new movements and pas were added, as a result, this dance acquired bright features of refinement and affectation. He began to perform several pairs, most often with the change of partners. Like many dances of that time, the minuet became one of the ways to communicate and flirt.
The stage minuet in opera-ballet productions developed to a virtuoso form. This dance acquired subject specificity and genre characteristic, which led to the appearance of several varieties.
There is a huge number of species of this dance. In different schools, the same kind of minuet may differ in details. Currently, the minuets are dancing in groups (no less than four people), most minuets have retained the tradition of changing partners in the performance process.
The minuet always begins with bowing and curtsey. If he dances in the fours, the participants bow to each other in turn. For the minuet, smooth but fairly fast steps and movements are characteristic. Most often, dancers move along complex trajectories - loops, diagonals and arcs. There are very few touches in the minuet, it is difficult to call it "contact dance", this is due to the time of its appearance. Most often for performing certain figures, the gentleman gives the hand to the lady, after which the dancers again diverge.
Particular attention in the performance of the minuet followsgive coordination and smoothness of movements, since almost every pas is accompanied by a change in the position of the head and body. Hands should move very smoothly, rise and fall without jerking, with the shoulders should always be lowered, and the elbows should be rounded.
Minuet is a very elegant dance, all his charmis the attention of dancing to each other, neatness and nobility in the movements. Excessive mannerisms can only spoil the impression of dancing, so it should be avoided whenever possible.
