Publisher's Synopsis
Winner of The Society of Dance History Scholars De la Torre Bueno Prize.
The Compleat Dancing Masteris a translation of the Rechtschaffener Tantzmeister(1717), by Gottfried Taubert, a monumental and encyclopedic treatise on the universe of dance during the musical High Baroque and the dawn of the Beauchamps-Feuillet dance notation system. Taubert (1679-1746) worked in Danzig (now Gdansk) and later in Leipzig at the same time as Johann Sebastian Bach. His work is in three parts, covering the history, morality, and social utility of dance; the theory and practice of dance; and the métier of the dancing master, the teacherstudent relationship, and the occasions and customs connected with social dance. Due to its sheer vastness and linguistic difficulties, the Rechtschaffener Tantzmeisterhas been largely ignored until recently, even by those who read German.
Volume I of The Compleat Dancing Masterprovides an overview of Taubert's magnum opus and a master key to some of his most important themes and ideas - in short, a mode of entry into Taubert's world - and includes a biographical sketch and essays on specific topics whose wider significance is discussed in the order of their presentation by Taubert. Volume II is an English translation of Taubert's entire, 1231-page text, including front and back matter - the first complete translation of this book in any language. The Compleat Dancing Masteris addressed to dance historians, historical dancers, choreographers, musicologists, students of German eighteenth-century culture, and dix-huitièmistesof all types.
