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Music and Dance in the Elizabethan Era - Gender
The Elizabethan Era was full of charming music and dance. Music and dance played a vital role in the lives of the people in the Elizabethan time period, for music and dance was a form of entertainment and social activities. In this era, the gender roles for music and dance are not as rigid as what most people would think. Both men and women were allowed to dance and sing music. However, it cannot be said that there were no gender roles for music and dance in the Elizabethan Era.

=Music= Music was an important part of the lives of the people who lived during the Elizabethan era. Elizabethan music was varied and was introduced to society because of the music that accompanied the plays and poems of the theatre. Elizabethan music is well known for its rhythm and its harmony as well as for reflecting moods and emotions. ([|source]) Moreover, the Elizabethan era was the birth of the Madrigal, Anthem and Opera that started a new era of music. ([|source]) The madrigal was a type of voice music compostion that is similar to a an acapella, and the anthem was music would spiritual context or in other words an anthem is a hyms. The many talented musicians and the love for music vastly influenced the Elizabethan time period.

Men
The music in the Elizabethan time period was open to everyone. However, men mostly wrote and composed music and only male musicians were famous or appreciated during this time. There were many famous composers such as William Bryd, John Bull and John Dowland who are all men. ([|source]) However, being a professional musician was not considered a good job unless you were famous or appreciated by Queen Elizabeth I and the court. Most middle class people would hire a personal musicians to play for them. Also, unlike today, music was more of something that a man would do. Men were the ones who performed publicly like the theatre and in combinations of different instruments or in modern terms: the orchestra. Furthermore, in the Elizabethan era, men who could not sing well were not considered to be a gentleman. ([|source])

Women
During the Elizabethan time period, music influenced everyone including women. Music was essential for the upper class and middle class Elizabethan women, and the women were expected to sing and play the lute or virginals, a keyboard instrument related to the harpsichord family. ([|source]) However, learning music was only forthe upper and middle class women because women were not allowed to go to school or university, but the privileged women were educated in music by private tutors. ([|source]) Even though some women were educated in music, there were no female musicians, and there were only some women composers but they were unappreciated. ([|source]) Music as a career was considered to be something that men were supposed to do, and women were not allowed to perform publicly. Many women would play their instruments or sing only in their houses.

= = =Dance= Elizabethan Music complemented the various and interesting dances of the Elizabethan era. During the Elizabethan time period, dancing was considered “a wholesome recreation of the mind and also an exercise of the body.” ([|source] ) In other words, dance was considered an elegant form of exercise and it was a necessary social skill for the upper and middle class. Different classes enjoyed different kinds of dances. Moreover, the most important part of the Elizabethan dance was the footwork because the clothing at that time limited them from upper body movements. ([|source]). People may not have been able to freely move their upper body, but the could have very The dance in the Elizabethan era is fascinating and amusing for the people who watched and for the people who danced.



Men and Women
The dances in the Elizabethan era included both men and women, exept for ballet that was a formal upper class dance that was only performed by men. Many dances in the upper class required a couple to dance. For example, Lavolta, Volt, and Volte are some dances that require close contact between the couple. For example, the Lavolta includes the male partner lifting their partner. On the other hand, dances of the lower class like Brand, Brawle, Branle were danced by many people in a circle or line. ([|source]) Everyone danced even if they did not learn properly for it was part of their daily life. Both men and women were allowed to learn how to dance, but the dancing masters where mostly men. Thoinot Arbeau, Fabritio Caroso and Cesare Negri were famous Elizabethan dance masters who are all men. These famous dancing masters created new dances and distributed the paper that had all the steps to the new dance writte on it. ([|source]) Dancing masters were the people who taught the upper class how to dance. They also organized the steps and made new dances for the complex variety of dances in the upper class of the Elizabethan era.