Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro

Who was Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro?

Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro, dancer and dancing master at some of the most influential courts in Renaissance Italy, including Naples, Urbino, Milan, and Ferrara. Between October 1463 and May 1465, Guglielmo probably converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism and took the name Giovanni Ambrosio.

He studied with Domenico da Piacenza in the 1440s, and is mentioned in Domenico's Liber ballorum.

Guglielmo authored the treatise De pratica seu arte tripudii around 1463. This is sometimes cited as "Trattato dell' arte del ballare".

In De practica, Guglielmo defends dancing as a noble art, emphasizing the important role of music. He also describes qualities necessary for dancers, including posture, musicality, style, and memory, and provides first-hand accounts of massive court celebrations in which he played a role. The treatise contains choreographies and music for thirty-six dances by Guglielmo and his contemporaries.