Courting a Dancing Court in Waiting. Winning Hearts and Minds of the Restauration of Absolutist Power in Brussels (1813 – 1818)

After the Battle of Leipzig (October 1813) speedily, the plans to restore the old absolutist powers to their thrones became tangible. The Treaty of Chaumont (30th of March 1814) laid the foundations to turn the former Austrian Netherlands into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands ruled by Willem van Oranje-Nassau. This would prove not to be a walk in the (Brussels) park. The house of Orange-Nassau didn’t have much credit in its adjacent streets where the elites mostly resided. Nevertheless the new monarch swiftly managed to establish a new court in Brussels. This new institution - Brussels never harboured a true royal court before – used ephemerality and public display at a scale and rhythm rarely seen. In particular, the public dances, concluding these events, present us with a surprisingly early use of historical allegories danced as costumed quadrilles to convey political messages of continuity and legitimacy in support of the new rule. The first Spanish and Flemish quadrilles were already performed in 1815, almost 14 years before the famous Marie Stuart Quadrille was danced in 1829 in Paris. 

Cornelis Vanistendael graduated as a master in East-European Languages & Cultures (UGENT 1990 – 1995). After obtaining his degree, Cornelis worked for 8 years as a HR Consultant & headhunter. Leaving his position at Deloitte behind, he pursued his career in heritage previously having been active as a free-lance archival researcher covering various topics. His first professional contract was to research an entire new musical museum in Antwerp for a period of two years (Vleeshuis Museum, Sound of the City). Afterwards he moved to Erfgoed Noorderkempen (Heritage Centre Northern Campina, Belgium) for 13 years. From September 2016 he received a grant for one year to complete his PhD in dance history which he had been working on in his spare time since 2011. He defended his PhD. the 27th of May 2020 during full COVID lockdown. Since then, he continues his research in his spare time and remains connected to his research group Theatre History and Musicology at Ghent University as a volunteer. Professionally, Cornelis has been specialising for the past 15 years in heritage databases, collection management and digitization of heritage collections.