WebFacts More WebFacts    WebFacts 1 While writing the ballet Agon, Stravinsky was inspired by two historic accounts of dances from the seventeenth century: De Lauza's Apologie de la danse (1623), which includes descriptions of the dancers' movements and gestures, and Marin Mersenne's Harmonie Universelle (1636-37), which includes notation of dance rhythms associated with particular dances. A recent study of Agon reveals that the movements named for historical dances, like the "Bransle Gay," borrow more the tempo and attitude of the dance rather than specific rhythms or phrasing.

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