"
Sir John Hawkins describes these productions as "musical dramas," or
"tragedies with interludes set to music."
But as yet the ballet, or rather the ballet of action--which may be
defined to be a ballet with a plot or story of some kind told by means
of dancing dumb motions, and musical accompaniments--was not known
upon our stage; and when an entertainment of this kind did make its
appearance it was promptly designated a pantomime, and so has become
confused with the distinct kind of performances still presented under
that name at our larger theatres at Christmas time. "When one company
is too hard for another," writes Cibber, "the lower in reputation has
always been forced to exhibit some new-fangled foppery to draw the
multitude after them;" which is, however, only a way of saying that
managers need the stimulus of opposition to induce them to provide new
entertainments. In 1721 there was great rivalry between Drury
Lane--Cibber being one of its managers--and the theatre then newly
erected in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Of the "new-fangled foppery," which
it now became necessary for the one theatre to resort to as a weapon
of offence against its rival, singing and dancing had been effectual
instances.
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