Ballet de Cour

(Fr.). A court dance of French royalty, from Henry III to Louis XIV, with court members, including the king, participating in the performance. Subject matter included mythology, non-Christian "primitives and savages," and the glory of the royal state. Stylistically, the genre borrowed from the Italian MASCHERATA and INTERMEDIO and French courtly pantomimes and fêtes; it was similar to the English MASQUE. Louis XIV danced from 1651 (at age 13) until 1670; thereafter, the genre began a decline that, excepting a brief revival under Louis XV, saw its extinction by the mid-18th century. Most major French composers of the period wrote music for these performances.