Translation and commentary of an excerpt from the work Symposiaká / Quaestiones Convivales, by Plutarch: Question XV - Book IX

Abstract

In this work is translated and commented an excerpt from the book Symposiaká from Plutarch, specifically question 15 of book 9 of the referred note. The text deals with three key concepts for dance theorization at this time, namely, levada (φοÏά-dance step), appearance (σχῆμα- choreographic disposition of the body) and indicative part (δεῖξις-pointing beings or objects on stage). The introduction discusses the scope of meanings of each of these terms, as well as Plutarch's analogy and comparison between dance and poetry. The text nevertheless evokes pantomime, although not nominally referenced; thus, it is one of the sources about this dramatic dance in antiquity. In translation, I seek to highlight the game sought between these concepts, which generates, on the one hand, a certain strangeness and, on the other, a greater effort of reflection and interpretation by the reader.