Just to prove that nothing is new under the sun:
It transpires that Queen Elizabeth I was a keen dancer, who would dance four Galliards before breakfast. The dance was very energetic, and undoubtedly set her up for a hard day of politics and governance. So if the creators of the modern aerobic dance workout think they were doing something original - they got beaten to it by 400 years or so!
This comes to you from a Radio 3 programme on Renaissance dance music. Sadly, you can't get to it on Listen Again any more, but the playlist is still up on the site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007gbtb
...and you can play some of the samples from the Hyperion records site:
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/a.asp?a=A499
