Romantic ballet
The Romantic ballet is defined primarily by an era in
During this era, 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 use of specially written music as opposed to a pastiche typical of the ballet of 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. Additionally, technical advancements in production of tulle facilitated the popularization of romantic tutus, a costume that became synonymous with the era.
Cult of the ballerina
The Romantic era marked the rise of the
. The plots of many ballets were dominated by spirit women—sylphs, wilis, and ghosts, who enslaved the hearts and senses of mortal men and made it impossible for them to live happily in the real world.While ballerinas became increasingly virtuosic, male dancers became scarce, particularly in Paris (although they were still common in other European areas, such as Denmark).[3] This led to the rise of the female travesty dancer - a female dancer who played male roles. While travesty dancing had existed prior to the romantic period it was generally used in tableau and walk-on (marcheuse) parts. Now it became a high-status occupation, and a number of prima ballerinas made their names by dancing en travestie. Fanny Elssler and her sister both played travesty parts.[4] The most well known travesty dancer was Eugénie Fiocre, who was the first dancer to play Frantz in Coppélia, as well as a number of ballerina roles.[5]
Femininity in the Romantic Era
The ballets of the Romantic era were largely written and choreographed by men, thus the role of women in these ballets is largely reflective of the Romantic view and status of women in general. Emphasis on the sensuality and innocence of women through the roles of supernatural and weightless characters revealed the desire of men to both protect and exploit the opposite sex. The role of the female enchanter was a staple of the romantic era and it greatly outnumbered the roles of male enchanters in ballets. The Romantic age was consumed with beauty and the mysterious dichotomy of the sexual and spiritual facets of femininity. Despite the growing importance of females in ballet, women benefitted little socially, as the era was still defined by widely accepted patriarchal notions. As a result of the idealized women presented on stage and the men in the plots willing to die for them, young dancers often found themselves to be exploited by men in society who wished to preserve the idea of femininity they were presented through romantic storylines.[6]
Design and scenography
Romantic tutu
The costume for the Romantic ballerina was the
The end of the Romantic era saw a shift in the shape of tutu from the bell shaped full skirt of the romantic tutu to the short and stiff skirt that characterized the classical tutu. The shortening of the tutu came as a direct result of the increasing intricacy and difficulty of ballet steps. By the 1870s, the length of tutu had changed from mid-calf to above the dancer's knee. Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake in the late 1870s debuted an even shorter tutu, built with hoops and 10 layers of netting to maintain its flat, wide shape. The classical tutu soon became the most well known shape of skirt, used by prima ballerinas to show off their skill and strength.[7]
Pointe shoes
The Romantic era marks the first time that dancers began to incorporate pointe work into their classwork and performances beyond the elementary poses and tricks meant to dazzle the eyes of an audience. Pointe shoes were initially implemented to give the effect of the dancer floating. The first use of pointe shoes in performance is attributed to Marie Taglioni in La Sylphide. Contrary to the hard shank and box of modern pointe shoes, Taglioni’s pointe shoes were the typical ballet shoes of the era with extra darning around the side and tips of the shoes to create extra padding for her toes. Due to the lack of support in the shoes, ballerina’s could not remain on pointe for long periods of time.[8]
Technique
Ballet Technique from the Baroque era to the Romantic era is represented by a fluid shift in movement, with steps from the Baroque era being both lost and reimagined.
Special effects
Romantic ballet owed much to the new developments in theatre effects, particularly gas lighting. Candles had been previously used to light theatres, but gas lighting allowed for dimming effects and other subtleties. Combined with the effects of the Romantic tutu, ballerinas posing en pointe, and the use of wires to make dancers "fly," directors used gas lighting to create supernatural spectacles on stage.
Famous ballets
- La Somnambule (1827)
- La Sylphide (1832)
- Le Diable boiteux (1836)
- La Fille du Danube(1836)
- La Gipsy (1839)
- Le Diable amoureux (1840)
- Giselle (1841)
- La Jolie Fille de Gand (1842)
- La Péri (1843)
- Ondine(1843)
- La Vivandière or Markitenka (1844)
- La Esmeralda (1844)
- Éoline, ou La Dryade (1845)
- Le Diable à Quatre(1845)
- Pas de Quatre(1845)
- Catarina, or La Fille du Bandit(1846)
- Le Jugement de Paris (1846)
- Paquita (1846)
- La Fille de marbre (1847)
- Electra, ou La Pléiade perdue (1849)
- Le Violon du diable (1849)
- La Filleule des fées (1849)
- Les Métamorphoses (1850)
- Vert-Vert (1851)
- Le Corsaire (1856)
- Le Papillon(1861)
- Coppélia (1870)
Notable choreographers
Notable composers
Notable theatres
- Her Majesty's Theatre, London
- Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique of the Paris Opera Ballet
References
- ^ Gebelt, Tamara Lee (1995). "The Evolution of the Romantic Ballet: The Libretti and Enchanter Characters of Selected Romantic Ballets From the 1830s Through the 1890s". LSU Digital Commons. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ Kant, Marian (2007). The Cambridge Companion to Ballet. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 175–176.
- S2CID 194038440.
- S2CID 191476946.
- S2CID 192966654.
- ^ Gebelt, Tamara Lee (1995). "The Evolution of the Romantic Ballet: The Libretti and Enchanter Characters of Selected Romantic Ballets From the 1830s Through the 1890s". LSU Digital Commons. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- General OneFile.
- ^ "Romantic Ballet: An Ethereal Art Grounded in the Material World". www.sfcv.org. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
- ^ JSTOR 1290587.
- JSTOR 25598074.