Snap at the Palace of Versailles

Snapchat and the Palace of Versailles are partnering to offer a unique cultural experience in augmented reality: Dansez Versailles. Thanks to Snapchat’s cutting-edge technologies, visitors to the Palace gardens are invited to rediscover the baroque festivities and dances that enlivened the Royal Court through AR. Through an immersive, fun, and educational journey, history comes to life in the heart of the gardens.

The art of dance at Louis XIV’s Versailles

Under the reign of Louis XIV, dance was much more than entertainment: It was a true political weapon and a tool for cultural influence. The Sun King, himself an accomplished dancer trained from childhood, made baroque dance a pillar of Court life. At Versailles, balls, masquerades, ballets, and comedy-ballets punctuated the royal calendar and set the rhythm of the courtiers’ days. The famous Royal Academy of Dance, founded in 1661 by Louis XIV, testifies to the importance of this art in the construction of monarchical power. To dance at Court was to demonstrate one’s rank, discipline, and refinement. It is this spectacular and living artistic heritage that Dansez Versailles aims to bring back to life through AR.

A historical and immersive journey in four stages integrated into the Palace of Versailles’ app

With Dansez Versailles, the objective is to restore the gardens of the Palace to their original function: a space for life, pleasure, and spectacle. By leveraging the immersive possibilities of AR, four emblematic places in the gardens become scenes of artistic reconstruction, where each space reveals an iconic dance of the era, allowing visitors to the Palace to step into the shoes of a dancer of the time.

Accessible via the official mobile application of the Palace of Versailles, the Dansez Versailles experience integrates seamlessly into the visit. On the interactive map, four points of interest each signal a historical dance reconstructed in AR:

• The "King’s Ball" Lens – Installed in the heart of the gardens designed by André Le Nôtre, this experience invites visitors to step into the shoes of a baroque dancer around the majestic Latona Fountain.

• The "Masked Ball" Lens – To discover in the Orangery of the Palace, this experience highlights the elegance and rigor of the dances practiced at Court.

• The "Ballet" Lens – Located in the Water Theater grove, this experience evokes popular and joyful country dances.

• The "Comedy-ballet" Lens – Offered in the Ballroom grove, it immerses visitors in the festive and theatrical world of shows combining music, dance, and comedy.