{"id":2523,"date":"2026-03-13T10:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T09:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.histoiredebal.com\/?p=2523"},"modified":"2026-03-13T10:11:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T09:11:16","slug":"cest-comme-ca-dogmatisme-et-danse-historique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.histoiredebal.com\/en\/2026\/03\/13\/cest-comme-ca-dogmatisme-et-danse-historique\/","title":{"rendered":"That’s just the way it is! Dogmatism in historical dance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you suffered from dogmatism in historical dance? Or are you dogmatic? What are you sure you know about historical dance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dogmatism <\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. the expression of an opinion or belief as if it were a fact : <\/strong>positiveness in assertion of opinion especially when unwarranted or arrogant<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. a viewpoint or system of ideas based on insufficiently examined premises<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nMerriam-Webster dictionary<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    A personal example. During a ball, I taught the Veleta. At the end of the dance, a man came to me, with a knowing smile: <\/em>“This Veleta is ridiculous, we all agree on that, right?”. I didn’t understand this statement, and asked him what he would have done differently. “Well, normally, at the end, the music speeds up a lot, and you spin around on the spot with your partner” (remark accompanied by an exasperated tone, as if to say, \u201ceveryone knows that\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ah. Oh. Well, the music I used didn’t speed up (he had just heard it). My music finished gracefully at the end of the melody, not calling for any specific final move”… And the choreographer, Arthur Morris, didn’t mention anything special for the ending. But, as my version differed from this gentleman’s (by exactly 4 bars), it was obiously “nonsense”.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"Couple
    Couple waltzing<\/a> (1887). Animation based on Eadweard Muybridge’s photographic plate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    The origins of dogmatisme<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    People can be particularly dogmatic in the field of historical dancing. However, the discipline is based on the critical mind, the polar opposit of dogmatism. Why do we observe that phenomenon? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    La critique historique est contraire \u00e0 la tournure normale de l\u2019intelligence humaine : la tendance spontan\u00e9e de l\u2019homme est de croire ce qu\u2019on lui dit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Historical criticism runs counter to the normal course of human intelligence: man’s spontaneous tendency is to believe what he is told.<\/p>\nCharles Seignobos, La M\u00e9thode historique appliqu\u00e9e aux sciences sociales, Alcan, Paris, 1901.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    According to Seignobos, human beings tend to believe what they are told, and to believe it wholeheartedly. This is true in all areas, including our own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many dancers stick to what they have learned in class. The version they know is the only valid version. They react violently to any version that differs even slightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some dogmas are unshakeable. This is particularly true in cinema. Second anecdote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dogmatism and confirmation bias<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    I gave a lecture about dancing in Jane Austen’s era. One hour, explaining that the dances you saw in the period dramas are not (always) historical, that Jane Austen never danced Mr Beveridge’s Maggot<\/a>, nor any dances from the Dancing Master<\/em>. All statements were based on genuine sources, with many examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Despite everything, at the end of the talk, a member of the audience called out to me: \u201cOkay, they danced La Boulang\u00e8re<\/em>, but they also danced Mr. Beveridge’s Maggot<\/em>, didn’t they?<\/strong>\u201d I had an urge to rip him apart.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"When
    When words aren’t enough to express your dismay, you can always resort to a \u201cfacepalm.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    In this case, confirmation bias makes the situation worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Biais de confirmation<\/strong> : Il se caract\u00e9rise par la propension \u00e0 privil\u00e9gier les informations qui confortent nos opinions et \u00e0 rejeter celles qui les contredisent, voire \u00e0 ne pas en tenir compte. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Confirmation bias:<\/strong> This is characterized by a tendency to favor information that supports our opinions and to reject or even ignore information that contradicts them.<\/p>\nZo\u00e9 St-Onge et Serge lariv\u00e9e, “C’est confirm\u00e9, point barre!<\/a> le biais de confirmation au quotidien”, dans Revue internationale de communication et de socialisation, vol. 5, n\u00b02, 2018.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Fortunately, I saw the other audience members giving the unfortunate man dirty looks. All hope is not lost for spreading the truth about this dance, my friends!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Everyone has a tendency toward dogmatism and a propensity for confirmation bias. You, me, internationally recognized researchers, novice amateurs. The purpose of my article is not to stigmatize one group or another, but to alert you to the dangers of dogmatism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The danger of dogmatism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I am concerned by this dogmatism in general, and in the field of historical dancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    First, because it is against the historical method<\/strong>. This is by searching and analysing more and more sources that one can reconstruct the fact as accurately as possible. Searchers benefit from challening everything and everyone – themselves included. That’s how their understanding of the dance become more precise and deeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Also, that inflexibility is dangerous because it creates division inside our small community. People scream at each other, claiming that they know what is “true”, without bringing arguments and without listening their opponent’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dear historical dance lovers, we have more to gain by discussing and exchanging than by losing our time in pointless quarrels. There are not enough of us to divide ourselves into subgroups<\/strong> that look down on each other.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"We're<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why is there no absolute truth in historical dancing, or the origins of the different versions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Several \u2018truths\u2019 can coexist at a given time. Depending on the location, social environment, type of occasion (private, public, formal, secret, etc.), the repertoires, styles and steps differ. Some dances have had several versions since their inception (or almost) (e.g. La Temp\u00eate<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Furthermore, research is constantly evolving as new discoveries are made and sources are re-examined. So much so that a researcher may change their mind during their career. See how C\u00e9cile Laye<\/a> decided to change her starting foot in English figure dances overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Without going into the anatomical details of dance, I will give you some thoughts on the origin of the differences between reconstructions. Indeed, it is from the process of reconstruction and reassembly that different versions arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Remember that a reconstruction is just that: a hypothesis based on historical sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Sources open to interpretation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Multiple sources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Sometimes, researchers are fortunate enough to find several sources for a dance. With perseverance, they can reconcile these sources. They then shed light on each other and enable a reconstruction that satisfies all sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Other times, the sources contradict each other outright. It is impossible to reconcile them. I had this trying experience with the A\u00e9ronette<\/a>. In such cases, choices must be made: follow one source or the other, or even propose a solution between the two.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"So<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Ambiguous sources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The same issue arises when one source contradicts itself. Yes, it happens, and more often than you think. For example, Step Stately<\/em>, from the Dancing Master<\/em>, supplies since a while the debates amongst researchers and reenactors. Those debates come from the ambiguity and the vagueness of the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    See for another example the beginning of Prenes a gard de tribus<\/em>, from the Gresley manuscript:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    After the end of the trace the first man lepe the second lepe the III thred torne<\/p>\nQuoted in Ann & Paul Kent, Cherwell thy wyne<\/a>. Dances of the fifteenth-century England from the Gresley manuscript<\/em>, DHDS, 2013.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    That short sentence leads the researcher to ask dozens of questions (or more):<\/p>\n\n\n\n