An Unexpected Presence, or the Master of Dance and the Master of Music in Portuguese Baroque Society

Masters of music and dance were very important figures within the European Baroque society. They were responsible for educating the upper classes and did so in the suitable privacy of the home environment. However, their presence in Portugal has been little noted, and few studies concerning their functions as teachers and choreographers have been produced in the last decades. Analysis of new iconographic and literary sources from the second half of the seventeenth and the first half of the eighteenth centuries has resulted in new data about their existence and relevance. A study of this new information proves the presence of this professional class in Portugal and allows for the contextualization of its members’ activity, the evaluation of their importance to the musical life of that period, and the analysis of issues related to musical and dancing practices.