Lambranzi's Scenography in 1716

Gregorio Lambranzi's Neue und Curieuse Theatralische Tanz-Schul (New and Curious School of Theatrical Dancing), published in Nuremberg in 1716, is a well-known treatise on theatrical and pantomimic dancing as performed by Lambranzi himself in various European theatres. It contains a wide range of pantomimic, serious and burlesque dances by performers dancing in roles which include sailors, tradesmen, skilled craftsmen and commedia characters, all recognisable by their costumes. The engraved plates by Johann Puschner placed these dancers within imagined or real stage sets designed, often in perspective and with much verisimilitude of scenery and stage props, to further enhance the visual impact of the dancers' performances. This paper looks at some of the scene sets depicting different types of building interiors and "outdoor" scenes in 1716. 

Jennifer Thorp has a particular interest in resources for the performance of dance and its historical context in London during the late-seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Her recent publications include With a Grace not to be Captured: Representing the Georgian Theatrical Dancer 1760-1830 (Brepols, 2020), edited jointly with Michael Burden; and at present she is completing her monograph, The Gentleman Dancing-Master: Mr Isaac and the English Royal Court from Charles II to Queen Anne (Clemson University Press, scheduled for 2023). In 2022 she had the privilege of speaking at the University of Lille on the subject of "Teaching dance in England during the late-seventeenth and eighteenth centuries" for the project EnDansant: Enseigner la danse, and in Paris on the subject of "Kellom Tomlinson and the engravings in his Art of Dancing (1735)" for the project EnDansant: Enseigner la danse, and in Paris on the subject of "Kellom Tomlinson and the engravings in his Art of Dancing (1735) for the project Graver led danse, la musique, les sciences... at the Institut national d'histoire de l'art in Paris.