Elizabethan dance performances

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1 music and dance experienced a golden age. She was very fond of dancing and demanded her Court be proficient as well. The popularity of dance reached such a height, that some of the great political and romantic court battles of that time were not fought by political means, but on the dance floors of London Court.

Some of the most notable Court dances of the Elizabethan era included the stately Pavane, the more moderate Almaine, the energetic Galliard and Courante, and the outrageous La Volta, where the male partner would lay hands on the female to lift her up into the air.

The country dances of the middle and lower classes were generally less 'stately' and tended to be progression style dances with interaction between partners and other dancers. They often had interesting names - such as Jenny Plucks Pears and The Maid Peeped Out at the Window.

Enjoy watching - or even participating in - a display of Elizabethan dancing with historian Dr Heather Blasdale Clark (with music by Phillip's Dog).

Location: Performance is on the Amphitheatre Lawn.