March Matron

This guy . . .

Photo of an actor dressed as Louis XIV (Not a photo of the real Louis XIV)

is Louis XIV, King of France, AKA Louis the Great (Louis le Grand), AKA the Sun King (Roi Soleil).

The Death of Louis XIV, starring Jean-Pierre Léaud as the Sun-King

In addition to being the longest reigning monarch (72 years and 110 days) and the grandfather of this guy . . .

Portrait of Louis XVI, King of France in Versailles painted by Callet before he lost his head in the revolution

he made his royal debut in court in 1653 at age fifteen . . .

Scene from Le Roi Danse, The King is Dancing, 2000

by staring in a 12-hour ballet, Le Ballet de la nuit or Ballet of the Night.

Louis XIV as the Sun, in Le Ballet de la Nuit

The ballet consisted of 45 dances and the king danced in five of them, concluding with his triumph over the night and ascension as the Sun King. Over the next 30 days, the performance was repeated six times.

Maurice Leloir Le Roy soleil Le ballet de la nuit

According to some accounts, during the first performance, a painted canvas background caught fire and the king calmed the crowd while directing the extinguishing of the flames. (This may have been a bit of an exageration.)

Cyrano de Bergerac, 1900

The expected abilities of a gentleman circa 1600 included mastery of riding, fencing, and dancing.

Tetsuya Kumakawa, The Royal Ballet

King Louis XIV, skilled in pirouette and jeté, would call on other aristocrats to display their dancing ability before the royal court. A poor showing was not only an embarrassment but could lead to political and financial ruin.

Faune, Theatre Costumes Dell Arte

The nobles, kept busy taking ballet lessons, had less time to plot rebellion or power grabs. At one point, there were more than two hundred dancing schools in Paris offering proper ballet training to the aristocracy.

Portrait of Louis XIV as Jupiter Conquering the Fronde by Charles Poerson.

The Sun King staged more elaborate and expensive productions, staring himself, and favored roles as a Roman Emperor.

Embellised shoe of Louis XIV

At 5 foot, 4 inches tall, jewel encrusted heels not only added to his height, but flexed his well developed calf muscles, leaving no one in doubt of his royal leaping prowess.

Portrait of Louis XIV of France, at age 65, standing in the 4th position. Standing in the 4th position, displaying as much leg as possible, became wildly desirable . . .

Illustration of the execution of Louis XVI in 1793

until it didn't work out well for his grandson.

Louis XIV, as the Sun, in Le Ballet de la Nuit or Ballet of the Night

My thought is we should bring this back.

Mikhail Baryshnikov, classically trained at the Mariinsky Ballet

If McConnell, Hatch, or Cruz want to propose legislation, the country should first see, at the very least, an arabesque . . . 

John Lowe, a WWII vet, POW, and retired teacher, started Ballet at 79 and dances in his 90s. because time spent in the dance studio is time not making a political mess . . .

and redirecting Trump and Kim Jong-un to a Swan Lake dance-off can only benefit the globe.