Editing Molière (section)

===Les Comédies-Ballets===
In 1661, Molière introduced the ''[[comédies-ballets]]'' in conjunction with ''Les Fâcheux''. These ballets were a transitional form of dance performance between the [[court ballets of Louis XIV]] and the art of professional theatre which was developing in the advent of the use of the [[proscenium stage]].<ref name="Au 2002 23">{{cite book|last=Au|first=Susan|title=Ballet and Modern Dance - Second Edition |year=2002 |publisher=Thames & Hudson LTD|location=London|isbn=978-0-500-20352-1|page=23}}</ref> The ''comédies-ballets'' developed accidentally when Molière was enlisted to mount both a play and a ballet in the honor of Louis XIV and found that he did not have a big enough cast to meet these demands. Molière therefore decided to combine the ballet and the play so that his goal could be met while the performers catch their breath and change costume.<ref name="Au 2002 23"/> The risky move paid off and Molière was asked to produce twelve more ''comédies-ballets'' before his death.<ref name="Au 2002 23"/> During the ''comédies-ballets'', Molière collaborated with [[Pierre Beauchamp]]. who codified the five balletic positions of the feet and arms and was largely responsible for the creation of the [[Beauchamp-Feuillet dance notation]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Au|first=Susan|title=Ballet and Modern Dance - Second Edition|year=2002|publisher=Thames & Hudson LTD |location=London |isbn=978-0-500-20352-1|page=26}}</ref> Molière also collaborated with Jean-Baptiste Lully.<ref name="Au 2002 23"/> Lully was a dancer, choreographer, and composer, whose dominant reign at the [[Paris Opéra]] lasted 15 years. Under his command, ballet and opera rightly became professional arts unto themselves.<ref>{{cite book|last=Au|first=Susan|title=Ballet and Modern Dance - Second Edition|year=2002|publisher=Thames & Hudson LTD|location=London|isbn=978-0-500-20352-1|page=25}}</ref> The ''comédies-ballets'' closely integrated dance with music and the action of the play and the style of continuity distinctly separated these performances from the court ballets of the time;<ref name="Au 2002 24">{{cite book|last=Au|first=Susan|title=Ballet and Modern Dance - Second Edition |year=2002 |publisher=Thames & Hudson LTD|location=London|isbn=978-0-500-20352-1|page=24}}</ref> additionally, the ''comédies-ballets'' demanded that both the dancers and the actors play an important role in advancing the story. Similar to the court ballets, both professionally trained dancers and courtiers socialized together at the ''comédies-ballets'' - Louis XIV even played the part of an Egyptian in Molière's ''Le Mariage forcé'' (1664) and also appeared as [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]] and [[Apollo]] in his retirement performance of ''Les Amants magnifiques'' (1670).<ref name="Au 2002 24"/>