Books by Edmund Fairfax
Scarecrow Press, 2003
The current notion of ballet history holds that the theatrical dance of the eighteenth-century wa... more The current notion of ballet history holds that the theatrical dance of the eighteenth-century was simple, earthbound, and limited in range of motion, scarcely different from the ballroom dance of the same period. Contemporary opinion also maintains that this early form of ballet was largely a stranger to the tours de force of grand jumps, multiple turns, and lifts so typical of classical ballet, owing to a supposed prevailing sense of Victorian-like decorum.
The Styles of Eighteenth-Century Ballet explodes this false view of ballet history, showing that there were in fact a variety of different styles of dance cultivated in this era -- from the simple to the remarkably difficult, from the dignified earthbound to the spirited airborne, from the gravely serious to the grotesquely ridiculous.
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Conference Presentations by Edmund Fairfax
This is a video of a conference presentation given in 2024 on the pantomime ballets which were pe... more This is a video of a conference presentation given in 2024 on the pantomime ballets which were performed at the Paris Opéra between the fall of 1776 and the end of 1799. The focus is to establish in some measure what these works actually looked and sounded like, as far as that can be determined. Presented are an overview of the works and their creators, the nature of the plots, music and pantomime, as well as a few general choreographic features.
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The New York Baroque Dance Co. Conference Historical Dance at Play, 2022
This is an introduction to the comic style of eighteenth-century ballet, one of the four conventi... more This is an introduction to the comic style of eighteenth-century ballet, one of the four conventional styles of the period (alongside the serious, half-serious and grotesque). This videoed presentation was given in connection with the New York Baroque Dance Company’s online conference 2022. It includes, moreover, some information on the grotesque, as well as the serious, by way of contrast. A recreation of a comic peasant dance, as it might have been performed in the pantomime ballet _Ninette à la cour_ (1777), is also included as a demonstration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4JNaai1gDw
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Midsummer Early Dance and Music Festival, 2020
An overview of some of the essential technical features setting apart the four traditional styles... more An overview of some of the essential technical features setting apart the four traditional styles of 18C ballet, before the system of distinct styles broke down at the end of the 18C and at the beginning of the 19C, resulting in a single blended style. This is an area in dance history that hitherto has been greatly misunderstood. The material presented in this one-hour session is drawn from my work in progress, a detailed scholarly study to be called _The Technique of Eighteenth-Century Ballet._
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Performance Program Notes by Edmund Fairfax
Potsdammer Musikfestspiele, 2024
Program notes to the performance “Rokoko in Bewegung, Sanssouci Tanzt en Suite,” as part of the M... more Program notes to the performance “Rokoko in Bewegung, Sanssouci Tanzt en Suite,” as part of the Musikfestspiele in Potsdam (7 June 2024).
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Blogposts (Material from a Book in Progress) by Edmund Fairfax
Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2020
https://eighteenthcenturyballet.com/2020/10/18/eighteenth-century-dance-shoes/
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Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2019
https://eighteenthcenturyballet.com/2019/08/06/the-eighteenth-century-dance-mask/
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Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2019
https://eighteenthcenturyballet.com/2019/06/20/personal-style-in-early-ballet/
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Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2019
https://eighteenthcenturyballet.com/2019/05/27/comic-grotesque-steps-eighteenth-century-ballet/
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Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2019
https://eighteenthcenturyballet.com/2019/03/15/arabesque-of-eighteenth-century-ballet/
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Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2019
https://eighteenthcenturyballet.com/2019/02/16/bent-legged-jumps-of-eighteenth-century-ballet/
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Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2019
https://eighteenthcenturyballet.com/2019/01/31/the-boned-arm-of-eighteenth-century-ballet/
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Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2019
https://eighteenthcenturyballet.com/2019/01/15/the-high-leg-of-eighteenth-century-ballet/
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Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2019
https://eighteenthcenturyballet.com/2019/01/02/eighteenth-century-pointe/
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Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2018
https://eighteenthcenturyballet.com/2018/07/21/wrapped-position-eighteenth-century/
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Drafts (Material from a Book in Progress) by Edmund Fairfax
Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2018
A tentative draft of the chapter “The Pas de Rigaudon” from the work in progress _The Technique o... more A tentative draft of the chapter “The Pas de Rigaudon” from the work in progress _The Technique of Eighteenth-Century Ballet_ online at https://eighteenthcenturyballet.com/pas-de-rigaudon/
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Reconstruction of Choreography by Edmund Fairfax
Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2023
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A reconstruction of Pécour’s entrée from the 1710 Paris Opéra remounting of Lully’s opera _Persée... more A reconstruction of Pécour’s entrée from the 1710 Paris Opéra remounting of Lully’s opera _Persée_, recorded in Beauchamps notation (Gaudrau c1714), and adapted here for a single dancer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KiXy-m50ZE
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Reconstruction of Pantomime Ballets by Edmund Fairfax
Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2023
This presents descriptions of the ballet scenes together with the accompanying music (MIDI) and o... more This presents descriptions of the ballet scenes together with the accompanying music (MIDI) and other relevant details concerning the staging of the work https://eighteenthcenturyballet.com/le-premier-navigateur/
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Eighteenth-Century Ballet Website, 2022
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Books by Edmund Fairfax
The Styles of Eighteenth-Century Ballet explodes this false view of ballet history, showing that there were in fact a variety of different styles of dance cultivated in this era -- from the simple to the remarkably difficult, from the dignified earthbound to the spirited airborne, from the gravely serious to the grotesquely ridiculous.
Conference Presentations by Edmund Fairfax
Performance Program Notes by Edmund Fairfax
Blogposts (Material from a Book in Progress) by Edmund Fairfax
Drafts (Material from a Book in Progress) by Edmund Fairfax
Reconstruction of Choreography by Edmund Fairfax
Reconstruction of Pantomime Ballets by Edmund Fairfax
The Styles of Eighteenth-Century Ballet explodes this false view of ballet history, showing that there were in fact a variety of different styles of dance cultivated in this era -- from the simple to the remarkably difficult, from the dignified earthbound to the spirited airborne, from the gravely serious to the grotesquely ridiculous.