Minuet was the leading couple dance of the European royal courts and high society from the late 1600’s to the late 1700’s. Most minuets are composed almost entirely of the basic minuet step, which takes two measures of moderately lively 3/4 time. The dancers move along a prescribed route in the form of an S or Z. They engage in a set series of encounters, first taking right hands, then left hands, and finally both hands. Minuet is also the term for music that accompanies the dance.
The minuet was first developed in the court of King Louis XIV of France in the late 1650’s and early 1660’s. The dance subsequently gained favor across Europe as an ornament of well-bred accomplishment. Minuets appear in many ballets and operas of the late 1600’s to late 1700’s. From the late 1600’s to the early 1800’s, the minuet became a standard movement in musical forms with two or more movements, such as the sonata, string quartet, and symphony.
