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Le Roi Soleil: The King Dances

Academy of Ancient Music

15th century costume design illustration by Daniel Rabel, created for the court ballets of Louis XIII. This illustration depicts the Fairy of Music and her entourage of musicians.

The Sun King dances: Academy of Ancient Music and baroque dance experts Mary Collins and Steve Player recreate the sounds and sights of the court of Louis XIV of France.

Versailles, 1700: where all arts revolved in brilliantly choreographed splendour around the monarch they called The Sun King. Historical dance experts Mary Collins and Steve Player join Academy of Ancient Music to pay homage to Louis XIV of France, a king for whom music and political power were all part of the same resplendent dance.

So expect to hear from the greatest composers of the age – the exotic spectacles of Lully and Campra, the stately elegance of Rebel and Delalande, and the eloquent poetry and courtly wit of Marais and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre. And watch it spring to life, too, as the specialists use all their expertise and artistry to recreate the art of dance at the glittering pinnacle of the French baroque.

This performance will finish at approximately 9.30pm, including a 20-minute interval

Produced by Academy of Ancient Music

£5

Aged 14–25? Join Young Barbican for free.

Subject to availability

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Pre-concert talk

6.30pm, Milton Court Concert Hall

Free

Milton Court Concert Hall