Domenico da Piacenza
Template:Short description Domenico da Piacenza (c. 1400 – c. 1470), also known as Domenico da Ferrara,<ref name="procopio">Template:Cite book</ref> was an Italian Renaissance dancing master. He became a very popular teacher with his students – most notably Antonio Cornazzano and Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro – who both later became successful dance masters. At a time between 1452 and 1463, he received the Order of the Golden Spur.
Biography
Domenico was born in Piacenza, Northern Italy in around 1400,<ref name="oxref">Template:Cite web</ref> and was the first known dancing master to have left published dance instructions.<ref name="britannica">Template:Cite web</ref> He began teaching dance in around 1440 and is believed to have taught elements of dramatic mime and elaborate dance.<ref name="oxref"/> He taught future dance masters Antonio Cornazzano and Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro.<ref name="dancemaster"/>
He moved from Piacenza to Ferrara during Leonello d'Este's tenure as marquis of the city between 1441 and 1450.<ref name="treccani">Template:Cite web</ref> Between 1452 and 1463 Domenico received the Order of the Golden Spur, and is believed to have been knighted by Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. In April 1455 he composed a dance for the wedding between Tristano Sforza and Niccolò III d'Este's illegitimate daughter Beatrice.<ref name="dancemaster">Template:Cite web</ref>
In late 1455 he choreographed dances for the wedding between Ippolita Maria Sforza and Alfonso II.<ref name="dancemaster"/> In the 1450s or 1460s<ref name="oxref"/> he published De arte saltandi et choreas ducendi about dancing and choreography, the oldest surviving European guide on dancing.<ref name="britannica"/> It gives instructions on various dances and also outlines what is required to be a good dancer.<ref name="oxref"/> He identified that successful dance consisted of many techniques: an understanding of musical tempos, knowledge of the prescribed steps, manners, agility, the ability to moderate one's movements, overall control of the body, and speed.<ref name="dancemaster"/> Domenico died in around 1470 in Ferrara, Northern Italy.<ref name="oxref"/>
See also
References
External links
- Treatise "De la arte di ballare et danzare" (digital facsimile)