International book international book of favorite sports_FV | Page 36

This French and Italian love of dance continues in the next century. At the court
of Savoy, in Turin, there is a strong tradition of lavish amateur ballets for any
festive occasion in the mid-17th century.
In France Louis XIII, son of Marie de Médicis, loves to show off his talents in this
line - although, reports a contemporary, he "never performed anything but
ridiculous characters". The king's typical roles include a wandering musician,
a Dutch captain, a grotesque warrior, a farmer and a woman. His son Louis XIV
enjoys similar pleasures, but his roles have a little more classical gravitas -
a Bacchante, a Titan, a Muse and (presumably a favourite) Apollo dressed as the
sun.
The dancers in court ballets are the courtiers themselves, and a large part of the
pleasure comes from watching one's friends prance about in spectacular
costumes. The English diarist John Evelyn sees Louis XIV dancing in Paris in 1651;
he marvels not so much at the dancing as at so many Sumptuously attired
aristocrats.
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