Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet

What was the primary reason for Catherine de Medici's influence on French culture?

• To introduce French and Italian culture into a formal alliance

• To promote the arts as a means to soothe tensions and pacify conflicts

• To establish the Académie de Poésie et de Musique

• To bring her Italianate taste to bear on French courtiers

What was the connection between Catherine de Medici and the Florentine Platonic Academy?

• Catherine founded the Florentine Platonic Academy

• The Académie de Poésie et de Musique was modeled after the Florentine Platonic Academy

• Catherine was a student at the Florentine Platonic Academy

• Catherine's influence on French culture was inspired by the Florentine Platonic Academy

What was the main goal of the Académie de Poésie et de Musique?

• To create a new kind of spectacle in which the rigorous rhythms of classical Greek verse would harmonize dance, music, and language

• To establish a secret society dedicated to Neoplatonism

• To create a new form of Catholic liturgy through theater and art

• To promote the Italian Renaissance thought in France

What was the key element that made dance an essential part of the Académie de Poésie et de Musique's vision?

• To redirect man's troublesome passions and physical desires towards a transcendent love of God

• To demonstrate the natural laws of the universe and the mystical power of God

• To create a perfect mathematical proportion between the body and the soul

• To showcase the allegorical and symbolic character of gods and goddesses

Which ballet is considered the first ballet de cour?

• Ballet comique de la Reine

• Ballet de la Naissance de la Puix

• Ballet de la Couronne Royale

• Ballet de la Fête des Rois

What was the primary purpose of the Ballet comique de la Reine?

• To celebrate the marriage of the queen's sister

• To demonstrate the order of the universe and the power of God

• To showcase the artistic achievements of the Académie de Poésie et de Musique

• To celebrate the reign of King Henri III

Who was the dancing master responsible for creating the dances for the Ballet comique de la Reine?

• Jean Dorat

• Pierre de Ronsard

• Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx

• René Descartes

What was the Great Chain of Being?

• A reference to the lowliest vegetative and material creatures up to the angels

• A way to describe man's place in the universe according to perfect mathematical proportion

• A metaphor for the hierarchy of living things from the lowest to the highest

• A term used to describe the relationship between dance and music in the Académie de Poésie et de Musique

Which ballet was engraved in French memory as the first of a new genre, the ballet de cour?

• Ballet comique de la Reine

• Ballet de la Naissance de la Puix

• Ballet de la Couronne Royale

• Ballet de la Fête des Rois

What was the main concern of critics regarding the Ballet comique de la Reine?

• The waste of resources on a lavish entertainment during civil war

• The inability to understand the spiritual aspirations behind the ballet

• The lack of appreciation for the artistic achievements of the Académie de Poésie et de Musique

• The failure to create a perfect mathematical proportion in the dance