French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. B. Fabbricatore, Action in the Text. Towards a Hermeneutic Approach to G. Magri's Trattato teorico-prattico di Ballo (1779)
Theatre and Performance
Bibliographic reference: A. B. Fabbricatore, Action in the Text. Towards a Hermeneutic Approach to the Trattato teorico-prattico di Ballo (1779) by G. Magri, CND, 2019.
Arianna Béatrice Fabbricatore
Action in the Text.
Towards a Hermeneutic Approach to the Trattato teorico-prattico di Ballo (1779) by G. Magri,
CND, 2019.
Can words describe movement? Can we truly understand and interpret a dance step based solely on its verbal description? Aiming to offer the reader a clear and practical overview of the dance of his era, Gennaro Magri, a Neapolitan grotesque dancer, published the Trattato teorico-prattico di ballo in 1779. In this unique work on late 18th-century theatrical dance, Magri meticulously describes the steps, principles, and rules of his art, highlighting Italian virtuosity and the grotesque style in an unprecedented way. But what is the grotesque, and why is it called "Italian"? What is its technique, its repertoire? And how do we get from words to Magri's dance?
Based on a project for a "kinetic" reading of the Trattato, this book retraces the stages and presents the results of two years of research at the National Center for Dance, during which a team of researchers and dancers undertook pioneering work on the relationship between word and action. In constant dialogue between theory and practice, this project made it possible to develop conceptual tools and test a protocol for a new research methodology to approach the "choreotext." It represents a first step, paving the way for a new field in dance studies dedicated to an applied hermeneutics of performance.
Gennaro Magri's 1779 treatise, Trattato teorico-prattico di ballo, remains a crucial source for understanding late eighteenth-century theatrical dance, particularly the Italian grotesque style. Characterized by athletic virtuosity, leaps, and expressive physical comedy, the grotesque style contrasted with the more formal, academic French style of the era. Fabbricatore's work introduces the concept of the choreotext, treating historical dance notation and verbal descriptions not merely as static historical documents, but as dynamic scripts for physical action. This approach bridges the gap between historical dance reconstruction and modern performance theory.
By translating historical words into physical movement, this book addresses a fundamental challenge of performing arts historiography: how to reconstruct ephemeral physical actions from written texts. It offers a practical methodology for researchers, choreographers, and dance historians interested in historical performance practice and applied hermeneutics. Scholars of eighteenth-century theater, Italian cultural history, and performance studies will find this volume invaluable for understanding how theory and practice intersect. It demonstrates how collaborative research between academics and dancers can successfully revive lost theatrical traditions.