Philosophical Underpinnings.

The movement known as the Enlightenment had an ever-deepening effect on theatrical dance during the course of the eighteenth century. Throughout the eighteenth century the thinkers of this broad, international movement argued that ancient superstitions and outmoded customs should be eliminated, and that reason should play a major role in reforming society. Their works were particularly important for all forms of literature and theater at the time because in France the leaders of the movement known as philosophes devoted special attention to the arts. In 1751, one of the greatest Enlightenment projects, the publication of the Encylopédie, began in Paris. This project was directed by the philosophes Denis Diderot (1713–1784) and Jean le Rond d'Albert (1717–1783). The two commissioned other like-minded progressive social figures to write the 72,000 entries contained in their project. Although the work was not completed for more than twenty...