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Dance "how to" and etiquette:

Arbeau, Thoinot. Orchesography. Langres, 1589. Translated by Mary Stewart Evans; Introduction and Notes by Julia Sutton. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1967. (purchase)

The essential text for any beginning Renaissance dance reconstructor. The dances--mostly branles and galliard combinations--are simple and straightforward as are their explanations although the step names are left in their original French. There are some original illustrations of the steps as well as Labanotation, and Julia Sutton’s editiorial comments though detailed, are easily understood. Arbeau gives the melody line for all the dances although arrangements from other sources are recommended for performance. Arbeau’s highly amusing but still relevant defense of dancing makes great reading, and there is also a lengthy section on dance and marching drumbeats.


Caroso, Fabritio. Courtly Dance of the Renaissance: A New Translation and Edition of the "Nobilità di dame" (1600). Translated and edited by Julia Sutton. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1995. (purchase)

Contains fairly elaborate and elegant dances with modern transcriptions of the lute tabulatures. (In other words, the music can be played on the piano right out of the book.) The dances, however, can be difficult to reconstruct from the book--despite Sutton’s extensive commentary and the Labanotation--if one does not already know the basic steps, and even then, it often unclear what steps occur on what counts of the music. However, the "Notes on Conduct," offering useful and entertaining advice for actors and dancers on how to sit, bow, and otherwise behave at balls and other social gatherings, requires no prior knowledge.

Ready-made dances w/music:

Wortelboer, Dorothée. Celeste Giglio: Flowers of 16th Century Dance. Amsterdam: Tactus Music, 1996. (purchase)

This is a secondary source, a modern dance manual with a detailed glossary of steps, sheet music arranged for three or four part ensembles, and an accompanying compact disc. The dances are primarily complicated Italian choreographies from Fabritio Caroso and Cesare Negri’s dance manuals with a few additions from Thoinot Arbeau and other dance masters. While one should always consult the original text, this manual offers workable interpretations of ambiguous passages and clearly specifies what steps should be done during what bar of music. Some adjustments may be necessary in performance on the stage, however, as most of the dances are long, physically arduous, and frequently have a dancer’s back to the audience.

Dance’s function in the plays:

Brissenden, Alan. Shakespeare and the Dance. London: The MacMillan Press, 1981. (out of print, check Shakespeare section of library)

Essential text for studying dance references in the plays. Extensive analysis both of how dance functions as a plot device and how Shakespeare uses dance references within the text. While Brissenden gives no choreographies -- just the names of suggested dances for fifteen of the plays, he does provide a concise history of Renaissance court dance and explains how dance was viewed by the Elizabethans. Consult this text for specific dance references and for general themes in the different genres of tragedy, comedy, etc. Brissenden also includes a short, but well-chosen glossary of common dance terms and a substantial bibliography.

Music for dances and processions:

The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. London, 1899. Edited by J. A. Fuller Mailand and W. Barclay Squire. New York: Dover Publications, 1963. (purchase)

Two volumes, also known as Queen Elizabeth’s Virginal Book. Contains instrumental music contemporary with Shakespeare including William Byrd’s "O Mistris myne" sung in Twelfth Night. Unfortunately, there are few notes on the pieces, and half of them are in German. (Electronic excerpts).

Four Hundred Songs & Dances From the Stuart Masque. Ed. Andrew Sabol. Hanover and London: Brown University Press, 1982. (out of print, check amongst scores in a music library)

The arrangements in the chapter "Dances for the Measures and Revels" are excellent for dances and processions in Shakespeare plays, just avoid those with too late a date. Several of the notes on the pieces refer to dancing, and Appendix C is John Ramsay’s "Practise for Danucinge," a description of 24 English dances from the Inns of Court.

Recorded music:

Songs & Dances from Shakespeare. The Broadside Band. Director Jeremy Barlow. Wotton-Under-Edge, England: Saydisc Records, 1995. (purchase)

This compact disc features songs and dances referred to or most likely used in the original productions and dances of the period as well as songs from early revivals of the plays. Lyrics for all songs are included as well as suggestions for which music should be used in which plays and helpful background material. In addition, Jeremy Barlow was the accompanist (or rather, harpsichordist) at the Dolmetsch Historical Dance Society Summer School I attended in England in August of 1998 and personally recommended music and instruments for my production, The Bard’s Galliard... or how to party like an Elizabethan. The Broadside Band also has recordings of Renaissance court dance music. (Shakespeare's Musick (Songs & Dances...)

Music’s function in the plays:

Naylor, Edward W. Shakespeare and Music. London: J.M. Dent & Co., 1896. (out of print, check Shakespeare section of library)

Whole chapter on dancing founded on Arbeau’s Orchesography and references to dancing by Thomas Morley and other Shakespeare contemporaries. Detailed explanation of dance and music vocabulary in the plays and more hints at choreography than Brissenden’s analysis. While one of two of Naylor’s acknowledged suppositions are no longer believed true, this is still an extremely useful text. Naylor offers unusually clear explanations of rhythm as well as information regarding processions and entrances and exits not found in other texts.

Background information:

International Encyclopedia of Dance: A project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, 1998. (purchase, but it's incredibly expensive, so check your library first)

Excellent general resource if you can find it. Recommended books and articles for further study follow each entry which are on every dance subject imaginable and written by the experts in every field.

Research aide:

The Internet

There is a wealth of information available online. Sites change addresses frequently, but relevant Renaissance Dance Links and Early Dance Texts are listed elsewhere on this site. A search of "Renaissance," "Dance," and/or "Shakespeare" will uncover many primary and secondary resources including all the works of Shakespeare and most of the original, dance manual texts. The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), Renaissance faires, and early music organizations often have links to useful sites. The main caveat is to be wary of misleading or incorrect information as there is no guarantee of authenticity or validity for information found on a website.

** Honorable Mention **

There are several wonderful videos, tapes, and documents in the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’s Dance Collection at Lincoln Center. Since access to the collection is restricted by geography and videos can only be seen by appointment, I have not included it in the list of Top 10 Resources. If you can arrange it, however, every effort should be made to visit the Dance Collection as it probably has the best public (or somewhat public) collection of Renaissance dance videos available anywhere.