Isaac’s Dances for the Royal Court

Abstract

In Isaac’s day palace balls were held regularly in the royal palaces of Whitehall, St James’s, Kensington (after 1689), and occasionally Windsor. The monarch’s birthday was also celebrated each year by special events at court, attended by courtiers, officers of State, members of parliament, and visiting dignitaries. The celebrations inside the palace included professional performance of a play, opera, or entertainment with dancing, and in the evening was held the birthday/birthnight ball. Even though Queen Anne was often too ill to attend all the celebrations, they were regarded as central to the court calendar, serving as additional tools of diplomacy. Each year Isaac prepared a special dance to honour Queen Anne’s birthday, its music attributed by the music publishers Walsh and Hare to James Paisible and often published separately from the dance notation. All the participants were expected to be accomplished dancers, careful preparation was essential, and the Maids of Honour normally received annual clothing allowances for ball dresses. Several of Isaac’s birthday dances honoured significant events, including the Union of England and Scotland and the Peace of Utrecht; and some of the dances were subsequently performed in the London theatres by Hester Santlow and other leading dancers of the day.