Baroque Equestrian Formations

A Culture of Spectacle

Classical Ballet owes a debt to horse ballets and other military exercises and displays, which were the formation and parade and spectacle culture of their time. Military parade merged with masquerades; fighting scenes were elaborate in early opera-ballets. The large formation structure of classical ballet derived from military culture. This example is from the Carousel in Florence for the marriage of The Grand Duke Ferdinand II.

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