The year is 1581. The sister of Queen Louise is to marry the Duke de
Joyeuse. This is to be the occasion of the millennia. Catherine de
M=E9dicis … wife of Henri II … commissions her favorite court
musician and dance master–Baltazarini di Belgioioso–to arrange the
entertainment.
The responsibility of creating a moment that will be remembered
throughout the annals of history rests on Belgioioso’s shoulders. He
will not disappoint the queen mother. He will devise an extravaganza
so momentous it will cause the blaze of the sun to pale in
comparison. The moon will stop dead in its tracks. The stars will
gaze down in amazement. He’s gonna knock 'em dead.
And so he devises the Ballet Comique de la Reine. It is to be a
grand exhibition of song and dance and poetry and pantomime. There
was no stage. The performers romped about on the floor of a great
hall while the audience watched from raised galleries. Alas … the
spectacle was neither comical nor was it easy to sit through. It
lasted a paralyzing six hours.
However … the exhibition had one extraordinary redeeming fact to
its credit. Staged in a Salle at the Louvre Palace on October 15
… this creative endeavor by Belgioioso pinpoints for most dance
historians the birth of the art form called ballet. Of course … one
can not have ballet without ballerinas. And one can not have
ballerinas without ballerina brooches.
Ah … the art of segue. From dance to jewelry in one easy step.
The year is circa 1945. A jeweler of unknown name creates a set of
four bejeweled ballerina brooches embellished with rubies and
diamonds with a single ruby for a head … all set in platinum. A
pretty sight … evoking a night on the town … dressed up …
going to the city to watch the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies. Go
take a look. It has charm.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that says
Tidbits Graphics … and then click on the link that says: Ballerina
… where you will see a graphic of our brooches.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark
-- http://www.tyler-adam.com --