And the peasants came too: pastoral themes in entr'acte dances on the London stage

This paper explores English perceptions of arcadian and bucolic pastoral dance in the extant notated dances and advertisements for entr'acte dances in the London theatres during the first three decades of the 18th century. It considers the dance forms employed, the dancers who performed them, and also looks at the peculiar popularity of theatrical dances for peasants during the 1720s.