{"id":1915,"date":"2024-12-20T16:43:47","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T15:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.histoiredebal.com\/?p=1915"},"modified":"2025-11-10T08:16:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T07:16:22","slug":"la-volte-mythes-et-realites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.histoiredebal.com\/en\/2024\/12\/20\/la-volte-mythes-et-realites\/","title":{"rendered":"The volta: myth and reality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you know the volta? It is without doubt the most striking dance of the Renaissance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s an impressive couple’s dance, in which the dancer lifts his partner while twirling her around. So it’s hardly surprising that it left its mark on people’s minds\u2026 including yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With its acrobatic lift, the volta is particularly photogenic. So it’s often seen on cinema and television screens. And even in its day, it was often depicted in paintings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what do we really know about the volte? Where does it come from, and how exactly was it danced? Why is it so well known? Where does the sulphur and scandal surrounding this dance come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s retrace the history of the volta together!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a French native speaker, I write in English as good as I can. Please let me know if you sot any error. thank you!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origins of the volta<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The volte<\/em>, volta <\/em>or lavolta <\/em>(from the Italian voltare<\/em>, to turn), is a sixteenth-century dance. It is related to the gaillarde and the tourdion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, the word \u2018volte\u2019 came from the vocabulary of the equestrian arts, like many other dance terms (quadrille<\/em>, cabriole<\/em>, galop<\/em>, etc.). It refers to \u2018the movement that the rider makes his horse perform by leading it in circles\u2019 (Larousse<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The volte dance originated in Provence, where it is still danced today as a traditional dance. See for example “Les enfants d’Arausio<\/a>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 16th century, the dance was very much in vogue. Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) and Queen Margot (Marguerite of France, 1553-1615) were among the most famous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The staple of Renaissance dancing, Thoinot Arbeau, gave us a detailed description of the volte.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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La volte est une esp\u00e8ce de gaillarde famili\u00e8re aux Proven\u00e7aulx, laquelle se dance comme le tourdion par mesure ternaire : les mouvements et pas de ceste dance se font en tournant le corps, et consistent en deux pas, un souspir pour le sault majeur, une assiette de pieds joincts et enfin deux souspirs ou pauses<\/em><\/p>\nThoinot Arbeau, Orch\u00e9sographie (…), Jean des Preys, Langre, 1589. All following quotes are from the same book.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Lavolta is a sort of galliard familiar to the Proven\u00e7al people, which is danced like the tourdion in ternary time: the movements and steps of this dance are made by turning the body, and consist of two steps, a quarter rest for the major sault, a balance with the feet together and finally two quarter rests or pauses.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What does the volta look like?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"Peinture
Bal \u00e0 la cour des Valois<\/em> (d\u00e9tail), French anonymous, circa 1580.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The volta is a couple’s dance in which the dancer lifts his partner by carrying her on his thigh while he turns on himself. Yes, I know, it’s still not very clear. That’s why the image is there! Apart from the iconography, the most precise description we have is that of Thoinot Arbeau, who wrote for the step :<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00ab \u2026un pied en l\u2019air, un pas, un sault majeur, & la posture de pieds joincts\u2026 \u00bb<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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“… a foot in the air, a big jump, & the posture of joint feet…”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The volta has two main characteristics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spinning dance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It’s a dance where you turn a lot<\/strong>: about 3\/4 of a turn every six beats. So much so that the dancers get dizzy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00ab Et apr\u00e9s avoir tournoy\u00e9 par tant de cadances qu\u2019il vous plaira, restituerez la damoiselle en sa place, ou elle sentira (quelque bonne contenance qu\u2019elle face) son cerveau esbranl\u00e9, plain de vertigues & tornoyements de teste, & vous n\u2019en aurez peult estre pas moins \u00bb<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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And after twirling around in as many rhythms as you please, you will return the young lady to her place, or she will feel (no matter how well she holds herself) her brain shaken, full of dizziness and head spinning, and you will perhaps have no less.<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
This dance-induced dizziness is considered dangerous by contemporary authors, as it allegedly causes miscarriages and impairs health. It’s an anti-dance argument that can be found throughout the history of social dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A scandalous dance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The volte is considered daring and scandalous. There are several reasons for this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Firstly, the position of the dancers during the lift. The damsel can either sit or straddle her partner’s thigh. The dancer can also grab his partner by the crotch to lift her up more easily – something we would still find rather\u2026 provocative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, there was a real risk of seeing the dancer’s shirt (i.e. her underwear) or even her bare thigh during the dance. That’s why Arbeau warns her:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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[Elle] \u00ab mettra sa main gaulche sur sa
cuisse pour tenir ferme sa cotte ou sa robbe, affin que cueillant le vent, elle
ne monstre sa chemise ou sa cuisse nue \u00bb<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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[She] \u2018will put her left hand on her thigh to hold her overdress or dress firm, so that, picking up the wind, she does not show her shirt or naked thigh\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
And finally, it was considered inappropriate for a young girl to take big steps. Or in Arbeau’s words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Je vous laisse \u00e0 considerer si cest chose bien seante \u00e0 une jeusne fille de faire de grands pas & ouvertures de jambes: Et si en ceste volte l\u2019honneur & la sant\u00e9 y sont pas hazardez & interessez<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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I'll leave it to you to decide whether it's proper for a young girl to take long steps and open her legs, and whether doing so does not compromise her honour and health.<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
The ancestor of the waltz?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some authors have seen the volta as the ancestor of the waltz. It is true that the two dances have a similar name: volta \/ waltz (both meanin “to turn”). They also both have a ternary rhythm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The waltz and the volta also share a daring reputation. Indeed, when the waltz arrived in Western Europe, it was very much frowned upon: partners too close together, dangerous rotation of the couple, this dance was only really accepted by the most frivolous dancers of the decadent French Directory .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the waltz and the volta are fundamentally different and are not related. On this subject, see the excellent article by Jean-Marie and Yvon Guilcher : L’Histoire de la danse: Parent pauvre de la recherche<\/em> (full references in bibliography).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The waltz and the volta steps have different structure, and the rhythm is not the same. While the waltz emphasises the first and fourth beats, the volte emphasises beats 3 and 4. The position of the dancers is not the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, for the less observant among you, the basic step of the waltz does not involve lifting your partner, unlike the volte \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The volta on screen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The volta has been brought to the screen many times. Let’s compare a few choreographies and see how they interpret Thoinot Arbeau’s instructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elizabeth<\/em>, by Shekhar Kapur (1998)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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