Journal des sçavans... (1698-...)

Les Oeuvres de M. Bensserade... (1698)

La Vie de Scaramouche... (1699)

An Essay Towards An History of Dancing... (1712)

Histoire générale de la danse... (1724)

La danse ancienne... (1754)

Encyclopédie... (1751-1772)

Critical Observations on the Art of Dancing... (1770)

Lettres et entretiens sur la danse... (1824)

Even though Jacques Bonnet considered himself unworthy to write about a subject as noble as the history of dance, he does a remarkable job in his book entitled Histoire générale de la danse, Sacrée et Prophane; ses progrès & ses révolutions, depuis son origine jusqu’à présent. Avec un Supplément de l’Histoire de la Musique, & le Parallèle de la Peinture & la Poésie, dedicated to S.A.R. Monseigneur le Duc d’Orléans, petit-fils de France. Published in 1724, this work eventually became a cornerstone for many authors on dance in the centuries that followed. Today, many scholars of dance cite Bonnet as a seminal reference, even referring to him as “le père Bonnet.” The title page of Histoire générale de la danse appears in the French review, Culture et Recherche 90 (May - June 2002), under the section “Sources, traces et mémoires de la danse.”

Bonnet goes as far back as the Ancients to open his discussion on dance. He treats the sacred dances of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, and early Christians in his presentation on the evolution of dance. Bonnet recounts the various ends to which these different peoples used dance. While the Greeks saw dance as a means of education for the proper upbringing of their youth, the Hebrews considered their sacred dances an integral part of their worship sessions. The Early Christian church, for its part, saw dance as a pagan activity that distracted its followers, on public holidays when they were expected to be at church. In addition, Bonnet’s description of the origin and practice of various dances is very thorough. He describes ceremonial dances, masked balls, tightrope and gymnastic spectacles. He also lists 150 ballets performed in the courts of Europe (mostly in France) from 1450-1723.

Full Text                       By Dorine Sosso Ndobe