Educação do corpo - bailes no Rio de Janeiro do século XIX: O olhar de Paranhos

Abstract

Many authors consider the 1850s a milestone in Brazilian history, because it was a period in which stability arose in different areas, which enabled more effective progress in the process of building an independent nation. The capital (Rio de Janeiro city), which disseminated new trends and customs, nurtured a more mundane social dynamics, and a greater structuring of the trade in luxuries and entertainment. By studying this period of Brazilian history, this article aims to discuss the educational aspects of one of the activities commonly promoted in Rio de Janeiro in the mid-nineteenth century, the dance balls, from the point of view of an important personage of the Brazilian Empire: José Maria da Silva Paranhos. The sources of this historical investigation have been 47 chronicles from the series Cartas ao amigo ausente (Letters to an absent friend), written by Paranhos and published in Jornal do Commercio between 1850 and 1851. The study concludes that Paranhos' view of the balls is directly related to his perception and his projects for the country. He perceived the dance events not only as entertainment, but also as occasions that helped to shape and strengthen a civil society composed of different sectors of the national elite, which could lead Brazil to an auspicious future, marked by the ideas of civilization and progress. Paranhos' positions help understand the dances as a strategy for body education based on three principles: effectiveness, ownership and identity.