Observing and Commenting on Napoleon's Court Balls & their Audiences

"L'empereur, voulant faire voir sa cour à la ville de Paris, permit qu'on invitât un nombre considérable de femmes et d'hommes pris dans toutes les classes... On fit deux quadrilles; l'un, conduit par madame Louis Bonaparte, exécuta des pas de danse dans la salle des Marécheaux; ... Ensuite, on permit à tout le monde de danser; la cour et la ville se mélèrent."

This citation from Madame de Rémusat, one of Josephine's court ladies, is only one of the many comments by eyewitnesses about a new style of balls held by the Napoleonic court between 1802 and 1814. She mentioned a particularity - the deliberate mixing of the classes - for which they would quickly gain a reputation all over Europe. An important amount of the original musical scores for his court balls have been preserved. Despite their estimable provenance, deciphering these sources proved challenging. However, the importance of the choreographers involved (Pierre Gardel and Jean-Etienne Despréaux among others), strongly hinted that artistic standards were held high. The link to the corps de ballet of the Paris Opera speaks clearly from other contemporary sources as well, the royal privilege of the menus plaisirs being unexpectedly reinstated by Napoleon for this purpose. By confronting eyewitness accounts with the archival sources, it became possible to fill in at least some of the missing choreographic details and social circumstances. 

About the author

Cornelis Vanistendael graduated with a Masters in East-European Languages & Cultures (UGENT 1990-1995). After obtaining his degree, Cornelis worked for 8 years as a HR Consultant & Headhunter. Having left Deloitte, he pursued his career in heritage, having been active as a free-lance archival researcher covering various topics. His first professional contract was to research an entire new musical museum in Antwerp for two years (Vleeshuis Museum, Sound of the City). As from September 2016 he received a grant to complete this PhD in dance history which he had been working on in his spare time since 2011 and which will be defended end of 2019. Professionally, Cornelis has been working for the past 10 years with Erfgoed Noorderkempen (Heritage North Campina) where he is full time responsible for digitization, databases and ICT management.