'And now, let there be dance'

 

"All the ills of mankind, all thetragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the political blunders, allthe failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack of skill atdancing." – Moliere

 

Born in France on this date in 1622,Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, who acted and wrote as Moliere, was a playwright consideredone of the great masters of comedy in Western literature.  Among hisbest-known works are The Misanthrope, Tartuffe and TheMiser.  He was one of the firsttheatrical writers to combine words with music and dance – a precursor totoday’s musical theater.

 

Moliere died in 1673 whileperforming the last play he had written – ironically titled TheImaginary Invalid.   Playing the role of ahypochondriac, he had a severe coughing fit and collapsed during the last act;many in the audience thinking it was part of the show.  True to theold saying “The show must go on,” he insisted on finishing the performance and died onstage after the final curtain fell.

 

His works continue to resonate, being performed around the world.   As his quote above notes,he was a patron of and supporter of the dance, which he said would keep peopleso preoccupied and in good spirits that they wouldn’t have time for mischiefand misdeeds. He felt equally strong about using comedy, both to entertainand “skewer.”

 

“The duty of comedy,” theplaywright added, “is to correct men by amusing them.”