Pavane pour une infante défunte little princess might, in former times, have danced at the Spanish court". The pavane was a slow processional dance that enjoyed great popularity in the courts of Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This antique miniature is not meant to pay tribute to any particular princess from history, but rather expresses a nostalgic enthusiasm for Spanish customs and sensibilities, which Ravel shared with many of his contemporaries (most notably Debussy and Albéniz) and which is evident in some of his other works such as the "Rapsodie espagnole" and the "Boléro". Ravel dedicated the "Pavane" to his patron, the Princesse
Polka-dot paint Polka-dot paint Polka dot paint is a paint which produces a polka dot pattern. The paint is traditionally an impossible object, and the subject of a fool's errand prank played upon apprentices in the decoration or construction trade, who are sent to obtain a bucket of polka-dot paint. A polka-dot paint effect has been produced in stage magic, and in the 1950s a polychromatic paint was invented which produced a dotted effect when dry. In the United States several magicians invented a trick in which they demonstrating painting with polka-dot paint. Prior to the performance, an object is pre-painted in