In 1922 the dance historian Cyril Beaumont contributed to the Dancing Times an article on the history of Harlequin, which as a result of continuous research since that period grew into the present volume. It covers the history of Harlequin, and of the Commedia dell'Arte, from their beginnings in the 16th century through their heydays in the 17th and 18th century and their gradual decline thereafter. The book includes more than 40 illustrations and the complete text of a Harlequinade from 1806, together with a dance for a Harlequin in Feuillet notation.

Gregorio Lambranzi was an Italian dancing master, working in Venice in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His New and Curious School of Theatrical Dancing, originally published in two parts in Nuremberg in 1716, gives details of more than one hundred theatrical dances of the time, with the emphasis on the comic and grotesque, many drawn from Commedia dell'arte characters. Also included are dances suggested by various professions and trades, and dances representing sports and pastimes. Each dance is illustrated by a full page engraving by Johann Georg Puschner and accompanied by a melody line of the music used and suggestions for steps. Lambranzi's work thus provides a unique record of theatrical dancing of his period. Unlike the Dover paperback edition this is a laminated hardback edition, reproducing the original cover design and with the plates printed one to a page.

Tiberio Fiorilli, also known as Scaramouche, (November 9, 1608 - December 7, 1694) was an Italian actor of commedia dell'arte, popular in France for his role of Scaramouche. He was the director of the troop of the Comediens Italiens, which shared with the troop of his friend Moliere the Theatre of the Petit-Bourbon, and the Theatre of the Palais-Royal. This biography of Fiorilli by his fellow-actor Angelo Constantini was published in Paris in 1695, shortly after the actor's death. The English translation by the dance scholar and historian Cyril W Beaumont, presented here, includes detailed explanatory notes and background information.

This classic book is the definitive work on one of ballet's greatest and most popular works, Swan Lake. The book is in two parts. The first describes the evolution of Swan Lake from its initial conception to its first realisation by the Austrian choreographer Julius Wenzel Reisinger, which was a comparative failure, followed by the story of the ballet's resuscitation and eventual triumph by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Included are the original synopses of both the original Reisinger production and the Petipa-Ivanov version. There is an account of Tchaikovsky and his score, together with details of the original settings and costumes, and many of those designed for later productions. The second part of the book is concerned with the actual presentation of the ballet. The choreography of all four acts of the Petipa-Ivanov version is set out in full, with explanations of not only the stage action, but also of how the dancers move, the kind of steps they do, the gestures they make and what they are intended to express. The various roles are also analysed from the dancers' points of view, and some of the problems that may confront both dancer and producer are considered and resolved. Finally, there is a survey of some of the great dancers who over the years have achieved distinction in the roles of Odette-Odile and Prince Siegfried.

This is the first English translation of Andre Levinson's classic biography of the celebrated ballerina Marie Taglioni, one of the greatest representatives of the art of classical ballet. The book affords a complete account of the dancer's career from her first appearance at Vienna in 1822 to her triumphs in La Sylphide, La Gitane, and La Fille du Danube; it tells the story of her immensely successful tours all over continental Europe, and ends with the sadness of her last years, when straightened circumstances forced her to eke out a bare living by giving lessons in deportment to young ladies of the aristocracy.

First published in 1944, this classic book remains the definitive work on the masterpiece of the Romantic Ballet, Giselle. The book is in two parts, the first dealing with the original 1841 production, the second with technical and critical aspects of the ballet. Part I charts the evolution of the Romantic Ballet, and then gives a detailed description of the original production of Giselle, including a synopsis and accounts of the settings, costumes and creators of the original roles. Part II describes the stage action - the steps, gestures and the meanings they express - and analyses the interpretation of the roles. The book concludes with a survey of dancers who won fame for their performances as Giselle and as Albrecht.

Pierre Rameau's Le Maitre a Danser is the standard work on the technique of eighteenth century dancing. It was first published in Paris in 1725, and bore the printed recommendation of the celebrated dancer and maitre de ballet Louis Pecour. As a guide to contemporary social etiquette in the ballroom, the dances that were in vogue, the various steps and arm movements that were in use and how they were executed, Rameau's book is an invaluable source of information. For although the eighteenth century saw the publication of a number of books on dancing which record the steps and arm movements used in contemporary dances, they do not explain how the steps were to be carried out, and this information was first made available in Le Maitre a Danser. This edition is a facsimile of the translation made by the great dance scholar and historian Cyril Beaumont, and first published by him in book form in 1931.