Ken Pierce: Favier notation (1688) in theory and practice

Jean Favier developed his system of dance notation in the late seventeenth century, and used it to notate dances and stage movement for “Le Mariage de la Grosse Cathos” (1688).  This workshop will offer an overview of how the system works, discussion of practical issues in deciphering the notation, and examples from one or more of the dances notated in Favier notation.

Ken Pierce, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Ken Pierce: trained originally in ballet and modern dance.  He has taught early dance at workshops in Europe, Canada, and the United States, and his choreographies and dance reconstructions have been shown at festivals from Copenhagen to Vancouver. In 1991 he directed dance reconstructions for, and performed in, a fully-staged production of  “Le Mariage de la Grosse Cathos” at the Amherst Early Music Festival.  Mr. Pierce directs the Ken Pierce Baroque Dance Company, and has performed with other early dance companies on both sides of the Atlantic. He also directs the early dance program at the Longy School of Music (Cambridge, Massachusetts).