Ballet de la Nuit

This new study brings together visual images and scholarly discussion of Le Ballet de la Nuit , a major ballet de cour organised by Louis de Hesselin and first performed in the Louvre's Salle du Petit Bourbon in 1653. Le Ballet de la Nuit was notable for many reasons: most prominent among them was the involvement of the young Louis XIV, who danced in five different roles, including his most famous role as the Sun King, accompanied by chosen courtiers and professional dancers, singers and acrobat