Renaissance noble couple holding hands and gazing tenderly

**The Basse Danse, Early Renaissance (1470s)** --- Reigning as the premier courtly dance of 15th-century Burgundy and Renaissance Italy, the Basse Danse—literally translated as "low dance"—took its name from the smooth, gliding steps in which the dancers' feet remained close to the floor without jumps or leaps. Performed in a stately, measured rhythm to the accompaniment of lutes, harps, and shawms, couples moved side-by-side in graceful processions, executing slow bows, gentle rises on the toes, and dignified turns. Celebrated in the earliest surviving European dance manuals by Italian masters like Domenico da Piacenza, the Basse Danse prized composure, harmonious posture, and aristocratic elegance above athletic display.

Entry in the Dance theme.