“à l'Espagnol” The Spanish element in French baroque dance

Proud, grave, passionate, ambitious, serious, easily irritated, slow, melancholic - in any case, fascinatingly exotic.

Terms like these shaped the image of Spain on this side of the Pyrenees as early as the 17th and 18th centuries. The Spaniards' passion for dancing was also proverbial. Accordingly, dances of Spanish origin repeatedly found their way into the dance repertoire at the French court. People were enthusiastic about the passionate sarabande, enjoyed the wicked ciacona, spun in a castanet whirl to the “Folie d'Espagne” and were amused by the clichés of the “Spanish entrées” on stage.

Some choreographies “à l'espagnol” have been preserved from the French baroque dance repertoire. To what extent do they represent Spanish baroque dance? Is it just a case of “fraudulent labeling” or did Pecour and the other dance masters cleverly incorporate Spanish stylistic elements into the choreographies? What image of the “Spaniard” did these dances evoke on French stages and dance floors?

Ana Yepes, one of the best-known protagonists of Spanish and French baroque dance, will introduce us to the choreographies “à l'espagnol” and together we will trace the image that exotic, passionate Spain left behind in French dance around 1700.