the famous Spartan legislator Lycurgus had a special part of his warlike exercises devoted to dancing.
Richelieu, the brilliant statesman, and one of the foremost figures in history, did not deem it beneath his dignity to direct the court dances of his day. Darwin and W. H. Hudson assert that not only man expresses his pleasure by dancing, but that several animals, notably birds, indulge in the pastime. Vauquelia des Yveteau, at eighty years of age, desired to die to the tune of the Saraband, so that his soul might pass away sweetly.
Locke wrote many years ago "that the effect of dancing is not confined to the body only; it imparts to the mind some of its grace."
Undoubtedly dancing was brought to its greatest perfection in France—that land of brilliancy, vivacity, and polished charm. It is a very significant fact that the technology of dancing is altogether French. The national dances of other countries were taken to France, polished and perfected, and brought back in a new and splendidly changed condition. As France has been the leader par excellence in fashion and the fine arts, so it has been, if not the birthplace, at least the nursery of dancing The history of the social art of Terpsichore is a history of France. Italy in the
fifteenth century saw the renaissance of dancing;
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