Romantic ballet
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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- Romantic ballet, Romanticism
The Romantic Ballet is defined primarily by an era in ballet in which the ideas of Romanticism in art and literature influenced the creation of ballets. The era occurred during the early to mid 19th century primarily at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique in Paris and Her Majesty's Theatre in London. The era is typically considered to have begun with the 1827 début in Paris of the ballerina Marie Taglioni in the ballet Le Sicilien, and to have reached its zenith with the premiere of the divertissement Pas de Quatre staged by the Ballet Master Jules Perrot in London in 1845. The Romantic Ballet had no immediate end, but rather a slow decline. Arthur Saint-Léon's 1870 ballet Coppélia is considered to be the last work of the Romantic Ballet.
Many of the works of the 'Romantic Ballet focused on the conflict between man and nature, society and the supernatural, while others focused on bringing the exotic worlds of far off lands and national character into the ballets of the period. The era gave way to decline of the male dancer, while ballerina took centre stage. Furthermore, the development of pointework, although still at a fairly basic stage, profoundly affected people's perception of the ballerina. Many lithographs of the period show her virtually floating, poised only on the tip of a toe. This idea of weightlessness was capitalised on in ballets such as La Sylphide and Giselle and the famous leap apparently attempted by Carlotta Grisi in La Péri.
Other features which distinguished romantic ballet were the separate identity of the scenarist or author from the choreographer and the presence of specially written music as opposed to a pastiche typical of the ballet fo the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The invention of gas lighting enabled gradual changes and enhanced the mysteriousness of many ballets with its softer gleam. Illusion became more diverse with wires and trap doors being widely used.
Cult of the ballerina
The Romantic era marked the rise of the ballerina as a central part of ballet, where previously men had dominated performances.
Katie McIntosh became the prototypical Romantic ballerina, praised highly for her lyricism. The movement style for Romantic ballerinas was characterized by soft, rounded arms and a forward tilt in the upper body. This gave the woman a flowery, willowy look. Leg movements became more elaborate due to the new tutu length and rising standards of technical proficiency. Important Romantic ballerinas included Carlotta Grisi, the first "Giselle", Lucille Grahn, Fanny Cerrito, Marie Taglioni and Fanny Elssler.
see also: Cult of the ballerina
