Medieval Dance

Unlike today, dancing in the Middle Ages was reserved mainly for peasant festivals. It was not performed for show, but for the audience of the musicians to participate in rather than watch. Dance in the medieval period often closely resembled the line dances of the Victorian and Elizabethan  eras that were performed during balls. From the videos I've watched, most of them require couples who switch partners throughout the dance. Men had their own choreography that was mirrored or echoed by the women. However, medieval dances were not for the wealthy, they were mostly performed by peasants during holiday festivals. 

Each holiday had its own unique dance related to its traditions. For Christmas they would dance to Christmas carols and for Easter they danced around eggs that were placed on the floor and tried to damage as few as possible. The choreography to these dances often included skipping, jumping, and kicking. The people would make certain formations as they danced which somewhat resembles square dancing. Sometimes tricks, such as flips or cartwheels, are thrown into the dance, always by men.

I found it interesting that ballet actually originated during the Middle Ages in Milan and was performed before royal courts for entertainment. It began as a dance that was combined with play acting to tell a story, normally five acts long.