Balls and Battue - 19th century

The character of the river in history was created thanks to the meandering of the archipelago, in the 19th century it was called Great Venice. At that time, there was also a port that connected Prague with Hamburg. Great Venice became an important cultural and social center, with important balls and farces. However, there was declining battue fun on the island, bloody and morbid games, which were definitively banned by Francis 1 in 1805. In the 19th century, there were already about three cruise restaurants on the island and they also offered dance halls. One of the other pastimes was shooting rifles at targets, which used to be very dangerous, allegedly with the occasional fatal impact of people on passing ships. In 1877, the enterprising Italian Eugenio Averino built wooden varieties on the eastern side of the island with a somewhat more cultural program of music, acrobatics, and dance - but that disappeared after five years and the first Prague ice house began operating in its place.

Ball dances of 19th century

At the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, two wheel dances appeared, which presented a pair dance in closer physical contact than ever before. Waltz, which appears earlier, and Czech polka.

Waltz, who was initially condemned precisely because of the tighter holding of the dancing couple. However, it didn't take long for the waltz to become a hit with private and public balls, and its popularity and rhythm also inspired many composers, such as Johann Strauss.

The second popular form of dances of this period was polka, which originated in Bohemia. Originally it was called madara, but according to its half rhythm it was called half and later polka. Her rhythm very soon dominated the dance halls of France and gradually other European countries.

Performative communication

Fans are a well-known element of dances from the 19th century. There was even a "fan talk" when the woman moved to indicate whether she wanted to dance or not, or whether a kiss had taken place.

https://ct24.ceskatelevize.cz/relax/1500044-historicka-o-plesech-vejirem-pred-usty-divka-znacila-ze-dostala-polibek

Changing the paradigm of proximity

An important milestone in the dance was the proximity between the dancers. The waltz was the first pair dance that physically bound the dancers. The dance was originally perceived as obscene, but soon spread throughout the world. It's a revolution near dance.