Editing Louis XIV (section)

===Ballet===
[[File:Ballet de la nuit 1653.jpg|thumb|Louis XIV as [[Apollo]] in the ''[[Ballet Royal de la Nuit]]'' (1653)]]
[[File:Chateau Versailles Galerie des Glaces.jpg|thumb|[[Hall of Mirrors]], Palace of Versailles]]
Louis loved [[French ballet|ballet]] and frequently danced in court ballets during the early half of his reign. In general, Louis was an eager dancer who performed 80 roles in 40 major ballets. This approaches the career of a professional ballet dancer.{{Sfn|Prest|2001|pp=283–298}}

His choices were strategic and varied. He danced four parts in three of [[Molière]]'s comédies-ballets, which are plays accompanied by music and dance. Louis played an Egyptian in ''Le Mariage forcé'' in 1664, a Moorish gentleman in ''Le Sicilien'' in 1667, and both Neptune and Apollo in ''Les Amants magnifiques'' in 1670.

He sometimes danced leading roles that were suitably royal or godlike (such as Neptune, Apollo, or the Sun).{{Sfn|Prest|2001|pp=283–298}} At other times, he would adopt mundane roles before appearing at the end in the lead role. It is considered that, at all times, he provided his roles with sufficient majesty and drew the limelight with his flair for dancing.{{Sfn|Prest|2001|pp=283–298}} For Louis, ballet may not have merely been a tool for manipulation in his propaganda machinery. The sheer number of performances he gave as well as the diversity of roles he played may serve to indicate a deeper understanding and interest in the art form.{{Sfn|Prest|2001|pp=283–298}}<ref>See also Louis' commissioned academy of dance, discussed in {{Cite journal |last=Needham |first=Maureen |date=1997 |title=Louis XIV and the Académie Royale de Danse, 1661: A Commentary and Translation |journal=Dance Chronicle |volume=20/2 |issue=2 |pages=173–190 |doi=10.1080/01472529708569278 |jstor=1568065| issn = 0147-2526 }}</ref>

Ballet dancing was used by Louis as a political tool to hold power over his state. He integrated ballet deeply into court social functions and fixated his nobles' attention on upholding standards in ballet dancing, effectively distracting them from political activities.{{Sfn|Homans|2010|p=52}} In 1661, the [[Académie Royale de Danse|Royal Academy of Dance]] was founded by Louis to further his ambition. [[Pierre Beauchamp]], his private dance instructor, was ordered by Louis to come up with a [[Beauchamp-Feuillet notation|notation system]] to record ballet performances, which he did with great success. His work was adopted and published by [[Raoul Auger Feuillet|Feuillet]] in 1700 as ''Choregraphie''. This major development in ballet played an important role in promoting French culture and ballet throughout Europe during Louis's time.{{Sfn|Homans|2010|pp=64–66}}

Louis greatly emphasized etiquettes in ballet dancing, evidently seen in "La belle danse" (the [[French ballet|French noble style]]). More challenging skills were required to perform this dance with movements very much resembling court behaviours, as a way to remind the nobles of the king's absolute power and their own status. All the details and rules were compressed in five positions of the bodies codified by Beauchamp.{{Sfn|Homans|2010|pp=66–72}}