Domenico da Piacenza

Domenico da Piacenza , also Domenico da Ferrara (* around 1420 , † around 1475 ) was an Italian dance master and dance theorist. He was a knight of the golden spur . In the literature it is wrongly called the Knight of the Golden Fleece - a Burgundian order that was reserved only for the European nobility. His student Antonio Cornazzano calls him Domenico da Piacenza and speaks of him as his sole maestro e compatriota , which suggests that both dance masters come from Piacenza. His student Guglielmo Ebreo calls him Domenico da Ferrara, probably because he had spent most of his life as a dance master at the court of the Este in Ferrara.

Domenico da Piacenza, the first comprehensive treatise comes to ballroom dancing , where the choreography with steps and some have accompanied the music (unanimous tenor) are described. Despite the bilingual title - De arte saltandi et choreas ducendi / De la arte di ballare et danzare - the treatise itself is written in Italian alone.

Life

Little is known about the life of Domenico da Piacenza. Between 1439 and 1475 he was mentioned again and again in the payrolls at the court of the Este in Ferrara. Based on this long period of time, it can be assumed that he probably had a permanent job at the court of the Estonians. Likewise, his life data can only be inferred from this data. In 1455 he was a dancer and dance master at the court of Sforza in Milan on the occasion of the wedding of Tristan Sforza and Beatrice d'Este, an illegitimate daughter of Niccolò III. d'Este , active. Between 1455 and 1462 it is also documented in other places such as Milan (Sforza) and Faenza. In 1455 and 1462 he was mentioned together with his pupil Guglielmo Ebreo on the occasion of festivities in Milan and Forlì. He was married to Giovanna Trotto, who came from a respected Ferrari family.

Dance theory and choreography

His dance theory and choreographies are handed down in the handwritten treatise (in Italian) De arte saltandi et choreas ducendi / De la arte di ballare et danzare (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, fonds ital. 972). This not autograph manuscript was created around 1455. The description of the choreographies contained therein is so meticulous that re-choreographing is possible to a certain extent. Apart from the Balli and Bassedanze , which are described in his treatise, other works by Domenico have also come down to us in the treatises of his students Guglielmo Ebreo and Antonio Cornazzano. Even if one cannot definitely dance the individual movements back due to merely superficial step descriptions (probably because they could be assumed to be known), the exact description of the step sequences and, in some cases, the spatial movement sequences allows an informative analysis of the choreographies. What is striking about Domenico is the great variability of the executing people in the individual choreographies. Whether the treatise is a logically closed cycle or whether the choreographies are arranged according to other criteria remains to be investigated in detail.

Domenico's choreographies are based on the five main steps:

• Sempio
• Doppio
• Continenza
• Ripresa
• Riverenza .

Sempio and Doppio denote steps forward, Continenza should mean a lateral direction of movement, Ripresa (actually taking up an already 'lost' space) should mean a backward movement, the Riverenza takes place on the square. These steps are danced differently from the steps of the 16th century, as described in the treatises of Caroso and Negri , although precise step descriptions are missing . The research of the last twenty years has achieved some clarity about the nature of the steps through a meticulous analysis of all over a hundred traditional choreographies, although most step interpretations are based on hypotheses. Apart from these five main movement patterns, there are further steps and step names, the movement of which is largely unclear and for which a separate, modern codification has been developed.

From the treatises of the 15th century a certain regularity of the art of dance can be derived, which is based more on syntactic functions and is not designed according to the rules of poetry and verse, as then applies to the dances of the 16th century. These steps can now be converted to four different "tempos" (i.e. speeds) or types of time, namely 6/4 time, 4/4 time, 3/4 time (actually 6/8) and 2/4 time ( actually 4/8) to be danced. The rhythmic proportions thus result in a harmoniously logical sequence of 6: 4: 3: 2 (see Pythagoras ). This detour creates a connection between the harmonious proportions of the microcosm and macrocosm. On the one hand, man himself is composed of harmonious proportions, as described by Albrecht Dürer in his treatise on human proportions. On the other hand, people always dance to music, the intervals of which correspond to the proportions given by nature. After all, people dance to music in rooms that are built according to musical proportions (see also: Leon Battista Alberti ).

The Parisian manuscript of De la arte di ballare et danzare contains the simply notated music examples of the dances, which are usually ascribed to Domenico.

Works

BALLI (in the order as in the treatise):

a) handed down in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris (F-Pn):

• Belriguardo
• Belriguardo novo
• Lioncello vecchio
• Lioncello novo
• La Ingrata
• La Gelosia
• Pinzochera
• Verçeppe
• Prigioniera
• Belfiore
• Anello
• La Marchesana
• Giove
• Figlia di Guglielmino (2 versions)
• Mercanzia
• Sobria
• Tesara

b) transmitted in other sources and attributed to Domenico:

• Fioretto
• La Gelosia
• Lioncello vecchio (further version)
• Petite rose
• Rostiboli Gioioso

BASSEDANCE (in the order as in the treatise):

a) handed down in F-Pn:

• Daphnes
• Mignotta vecchia
• Mignotta nova
• corona
• Zoglioxa (attribution rather uncertain)

b) transmitted in other sources and attributed to Domenico:

• Daphnes
• February
• Flandesca
• Fortunosa
• Real (2 versions)

literature

• Ingrid Brainard: Pattern, Imagery and Drama in the Choreographic Work of Domenico da Piacenza . In: Maurizio Padovan (ed.): Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro e la danza nelle corti italiane del XV secolo. Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi, Pesaro 16/18 luglio 1987 . Pacini, Pisa 1990, pp. 85-96.
• D. Michele Falconi-Pulignani (Ed.): Otto basse danze di M. Guglielmo da Pesaro e di M. Domenico da Ferrara . Pietro Sgariglia, Foligno 1887.
• Volker Saftien: Ars Saltandi. European ballroom dancing in the Renaissance and Baroque periods . Olms Verlag, Hildesheim et al. 1994, ISBN 3-487-09876-8 , (also: Stuttgart, Univ., Habil.-Schr., 1992/93).
• William A. Smith: Fifteenth-Century Dance and Music. Twelve Transcribed Italian Treatises and Collections in the Tradition of Domenico da Piacenza . Pendragon Press, Stuyvesant NY 1995, ( Dance and music series 4, ZDB -ID 1426986-7 ).
• DR Wilson (ed.): Domenico da Piacenza: De arte saltandi ... (Paris Bibliothèque Nationale, MS Italian 972) . Early Dance Circle, Cambridge 1988, ( Sources for Early Dance Series I: Fifteenth-Century Italy 1, ISSN  0953-8127 ).
• DR Wilson: The steps used in court dancing in fifteenth-century Italy . 3rd expanded edition. DR Wilson, Cambridge 2003, ISBN 0-9519307-3-7 .