De arte saltandi et choreas ducendi

The work De arte saltandi et choreas ducendi ("On the Art of Dancing and Directing Choruses") was published by Domenico da Piacenza around 1416. This is recognized as the first European dance manual. Piacenza was a learned dancing master who, along with others, documented court dances and spectacles during the Renaissance. These manuals, while not detailing every step, described balli—invented dance performances that adapted social dance steps into a form of dance pantomime. The saltarello, a medieval and Renaissance dance, was popular in the 14th century as an afterdance and in the 15th century as a follow-up to the basse danse. It was a light, gay dance in triple meter, eventually being absorbed by the galliard in the 16th century.12