Dance has had a significant meaning in life and society, for mastering the present and the future of a community, since time began. Because the Christian church spoke against such pleasures, we partly connect movement and traditional dance culture with regions other than Europe. Dance is and remains a central part of parties, festivals and daily life, an important and many-facetted element of life and historical change. Kings and the rulers elite used dance as an instrument to secure and legitimize power. The "dance of the powerful" is fascinating because one gains insight of their ideological ideas and the social situation of the time through their form and choreography.

In 1653, a not quite 15 year old Louis appeared on stage as Apollon in the "Ballet de la Nuit". He wore a golden-haired wig representing the sun's radiance, and a mask symbolizing the rising sun. The king did not appear on stage as Louis per se, but as a personification of sovereignty. The sun as metaphor of a solar system of political ideology were given to Louis at birth. Louis' birth implies a miracle. On September 5, 1638, Anna of Austria gave birth to her son. The event according to Vergil was the transition from the Iron Age into the Golden Age. The symbol of the sun was developed exclusively for the monarch, and Louis XIV identified wholly with it. As we can read in his memoirs, it was no coincidence that the king chose the sun as his central element for a political ideology and this had several advantages: First of all, the sun has its singular quality and unique environment; secondly, the sun gives light to other stars which, according to Louis' metaphorical explanation, represents "a type of court"; and third, the sun distributes its light evenly and equally to all climates of the world (read: France announces its claim for worldwide political power). The sun is good, it brings life and happiness, and acts in the way economic policies should function. The continuing and never changing movement of the sun symbolizes, amongst others, the stability of the political system. Louis XIV was not the first monarch to take the sun as his symbol, but he was the first one to develop such a consistent concept. Painters, sculptors, poets, choreographers, dancers, musicians and architects, all contributed to the concept. At all festivities, Louis XIV "appeared" as Apollon. The king as a person eclipsed behind the symbol of power; the monarch and his environment became mythology.

In 1661, after Mazarin's death, Louis XIV began his autocratic reign and was faced with the numerous political problems Mazarin left him. Chaos reigned in the tax and justice system. Every region had its own laws, and their parliaments were powerful. Religious diversity created problems in regard to the Huguenots and Jansenists. High taxes and customs barriers negatively affected the French economy which was chiefly agricultural. Holland was still leader in world trade, while Spain and the countries under the Habsburg rule were constant political threats.

Nonetheless, Louis XIV had measures to find solutions to his political problems. Firstly Mazarin also left behind numerous well trained and experienced government officials. One of them was Colbert, who will later introduce mercantilism in France. Secondly, military power will be brought under control of civilians. After the capitulation of the Fronde, the upper nobility was deprived of its political power, and the army became much more effective. Thirdly, after a debate of nearly one hundred years, the question on the nature of political authority was resolved. In the 17th century, nearly everything the king did was considered infallible. With the support of his advocates, who had elaborated the concept of the "rex a legibus solutus" (the king is liberated from all laws), the monarch obtained the power to decide over right and wrong. This empowerment lead to the term Absolutism. The unlimited power of the monarch was then limited by the laws of God only.

Even Louis XIV's personality contributed to the success of Absolutism. He wasn't extraordinarily gifted but he had an excellent and wide ranging knowledge. Besides politics, he also knew about soldiering and hunting, riding, fencing, the construction of fortifications as well as ballet and playing the guitar. He centralized the tax system which lead to greater efficiency. Monopolizing the arts contributed to Absolutism as well as Louis' demand for more discipline from the clergy and nobility.

When Louis XIV succeeded to the throne, he set the propaganda ball rolling in order to broadcast his glory. The arts which were used to spread the royal splendor were strictly regulated and closely monitored through a central organizations. There was the Académie des Beaux Arts, the Académie des Sciennces, the Académie des Inscriptions et des Belles Lettres, the Académie Royale de la Danse and the Académie de la Musique. The king employed highly paid cultural specialists who were responsible for establishing rules and setting standards. They had to transmit the kings' sanctioned world view. Whenever an opera, a poem or even a piece of music described the world, the artist had to abide by the official rules. This also shows how the social world after 1661 was seen. Authors, artists and scientists were hired depending on their suitability to propagate the glory of the king.

Since the beginning of the 17th century, the mathematical geometrical paradigm was the most successful method of scientific research. It held the key to the harmony of the world involving the aspects of astronomy and physics. But knowledge is transient, and therefore needed order. The royal library and the "Journal des Savants" assured documentation of all scientific findings. The efforts of the academies influenced the universities as well as the "collèges". The administrative elite of France, (upon which the absolute monarchy was built),: notary publics, judges, as well as physicians and government officials were educated following an academically standardized curriculum declared valid by the experts of the king. The royal academies aimed at the establishment of rules, codes, systems and scientific explanations.

Court festivities served the purpose of distracting the masses from politically dangerous questions, as well as allowing the king to be at the center of attention while simultaneously keeping an eye on his subjects. Louis used royal dances and balls as an effective strategy to bond the powerful to the king. Not only was the nobility required to watch the king, they also had to take an active part in the spectacle and submit to Beauchamp, the royal ballet master.

In 1653, after the victory that deprived the nobility, la Fronde, of its power, a fourteen year old Louis XIV made his appearance in the "Ballet de la Nuit". His appearance as Apollon was a carefully planned political act and representation of the defeat of the upper nobility. Cardinal Mazarin, the regent at the time, wrote that a huge festivity with impressive dances is precisely the means to represent the glory of a king after years of warfare. However, the king rarely appeared in ballets, and when, as a young man when he was exceptional enough to set standards. The last time he appeared on stage was in 1669 at the age of 31. Because the king's appearances were rare they were carefully planned to make a lasting impression.

But even if the king did not personally appear on stage, the event was an epitome of the monarchy. The king, seated where he could be seen by everyone, had an excellent view of the stage and kept watch of the spectators and the nobility.

The dances of the 17th century are based on complicated movements which again are subdivided into little steps. These steps are combined in many variations to produce many different dances. Feuillet, a dance master, introduced strict rules in order to bring order and structure to dance. The master introduced a shorthand for dance rules, a system of graphic documentation for all the steps. The system consisted of positions (where the feet are to be placed); pas (movements), pliés (knee bends); elevés (stretching the knee), sautés (jumps); glissés (steps without lifting the foot from the ground) as well as many other essentials. The court dance of the 17th century concentrated on choreographic elements. Feuillet created bizarre drawings on a board which resembled a landscaped French garden. The most famous dance, the Minuette, is considered the most noble of dances. This elegant dance seems to retrace an imaginary pattern on the dance floor. Every movement of the legs, knees, feet, arms, hands, fingers and the head are stringently prescribed. The Courante, once a casual "hop dance", when danced to his complicated rules of choreography becomes noble, majestic and graceful. The strict rules lasted thirty years, until 1697, when the popularity of other dances like the Contredanse began to increase. The narrow corset of rules began to loosen. The people used the informal dances to express their rejection of the strict order of the aging court. Since 1715 balls were held three times a week at the Opéra. To those festivities there was no need of a royal invitations. They were attedended by the people who could afford to buy tickets. Thus the history of dance reflects the history of social development.