Pierre Rameau
Pierre Rameau (* 1674 in Cirea; † January 26, 1748 in Nanterre ) was a French dancing-master and choreographer.
About Rameau's private life is up to date, almost nothing is known. For its time, unusually, his writings contain only scant biographical information. Full research effort in recent years has been able to reconstruct a few key figures in his life from the archives.
He was born in 1674 in Cirea. His parents were George Rameau, a wine seller, and Jeanne Thiersault. About his training and the majority of his career nothing is known. The first track is found in the archives of Lyon Opera. Here is his signature in 1703, together with forty other colleagues under a privilege to perform operas in Dijon. In Lyon, he also married his first wife in 1705, Elisabeth La Haye that his son Jean Baptiste Rameau, who should be dancing master in La Rochelle later bore him. 1705 broke the opera company in Lyon for financial reasons, together with the collapse of Rameau also disappears from the files. 1709 he married his second wife Catherine Muffat.
Around 1710 immersed in the archives of the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris Dancers ' Rameau ' for some years, but of which can not be said whether it is identical with Pierre Rameau. Official documents of the time call him ' dancing master in Paris '. Since to find his Maître à Danser exact knowledge about the dancer at the Paris Opera in the preface, a Contribute to the opera could not be excluded, even if it is strangely not mentioned in his book. 1716 he participated in the performance of the Jesuit ballet Le Tableau allegorique of Moers, in which he played the role of Dieu du Temps on the side of dancers of the Paris Opera. Contrary to popular belief, he was never ' Dancing Master of the Queen of Spain ', a post which by Michel Blondy ( c. 1675-1739 ), a famous dancer and choreographer at the Paris Opera, was paused, but Maître à danser de of Pages de Sa majesté Catholique de Reine d' Espagne. In his abrégé ( 1725) he calls himself maître à Danser Ordinaire de la Maison de Sa majesté Catholique, la Seconde Reine d'Espagne Douairriere. This designation provides clarity, since it is only in the Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon- Orléans, Mademoiselle de Montpensier called (1709-1742) can act, which is also dedicated to his abrégé.
Louise Élisabeth had on January 20, 1722 married Louis I of Spain, Prince of Asturias and heir to the throne of Spain thus. This took over in 1724 from his father to the throne, but in August the same year, Louise Élisabeth was widowed and returned to Paris. Rameau could therefore have only a short time occupied its place, as in 1725 his famous newspaper Le Maître à danser. Qui la enseigne maniere de faire tous les differens pas de Danse dans la tute régularité de l'Art, & de conduire les Bras à chaque pas appeared in Paris. This book was highly successful and appeared in two subsequent editions in 1734 and 1748. Soon it became the standard work in Europe and 1728 in Essex translated into English. Numerous publications by Rameau mention him, lean on him or copy him almost verbatim.
In the same year, probably encouraged by the great success of his Maître à Danser, appeared to be abrégé de la nouvelle method dans l'art d' écrire ou de tracer touts sortes de danses de ville, improve and edit the Chorégraphie by Raoul Auger Feuillet - (Paris 1700), the two further conditions c. 1728 and c. 1732 followed. In the second edition the only choreography received from him La Nouvelle des Princesses Bourée appeared that the daughters of Louis XV. dedicated and tends to be of average quality and originality is what probably has to do with the rates of infant and toddler years of dedication wearers. This publication was banned in August 1732 by the Académie de Danse, because it threatened to undermine the existing order. Rameau abrégé also became the model for other writings, but attention to it has not been met with the same degree. His Traité autre qui la enseignera maniere de faire tous les pas de differens balets, tant que serieux comique, as he announces at the end of Maître à Danser, seems never to have been published or is to be regarded as lost.
1736 he married his third wife, Marie -Anne Courbe. In 1745 he moved from Paris to Nanterre. Two wills are received from him: One of 6 May 1745 in which he bequeathed all his possessions to his son Jean, and one of 20 January 1748 in which a daughter is mentioned, in which he his son an annual pension of one hundred livres exposed. Six days later, Rameau died on January 26, 1748 in Nanterre in modest circumstances. His Maître à Danser, as far back as a success, the most important work for the understanding and reconstruction of the French art of dance in 1700, without which the c. 350 traditional choreographies in Feuillet notation could not come to dance life.
The introductory chapter of the Maître à Danser give the rules for standing, walking and sitting in society. Then follow several chapters to the verschiedenenRévérences both for women and for men. A chapter is devoted to the expiration of a royal ball at Versailles. This is followed by explanations of Courante and a minuet. Then follow explanations of all the necessary steps, as found in La Belle Danse. In a second book, the author explains the basics of the port- of -bras and arm movements to the steps of the first book.
Precise Rameau in his Maître à Danser describes the different building blocks of the former dance (the five positions, the Mouvement, the step elements such as sauté and Pointe ) to assemble them to step units. Through this system to combine basic elements together and to establish the rules for their combination, it is possible also to reconstruct step material that is not explicitly stated in Le Maître à Danser. This applies especially to the most complex stage choreography.
Since the 50s of the 20th century witnessed the Maître à Danser again an intensive reception, as it is the basis for any reconstruction of the so-called Baroque dance. In France in particular professional groups such as Ris et Danseries or L' évantail have been set up since the 70s, which deal specifically with the dance art of the 18th century. For this is the Maître à Danser the technical basis. In Germany deal V.A. L' Espace with the source to reconstruct intensely original choreographies.