International book international book of favorite sports_FV | Page 34

even sweeps them into an act of murder, are immortalized in a tragedy, the
Bacchae, by Euripides. Short of this unfortunate extreme, all social dances
promise the same desirable mood of release and excitement.
Egyptian paintings, from as early as about 1400 BC, depict another eternal appeal
of dancing. Scantily clad girls, accompanied by seated musicians, cavort
enticingly on the walls of tombs. They will delight the male occupant during his
residence in the next world. But dancing girls are for this world too. From
princely banquet to back-street strip club, they require no explanation.
Entertainment, and the closely related theme of display, underlies the story of
public dance. In the courts of Europe spectacles of this kind lead eventually to
ballet.
A favourite entertainment in Renaissance France and Italy involves ladies and
gentlemen of the court being wheeled into the banqueting hall on scenic floats
from which they descend to perform a dance. Such festivities are much
encouraged by Catherine de Médicis after she marries into the French royal
family.
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