Romantic Ballet During The 18th And Mid-19th Century

“No era has done more to define the image and essence of ballet than the Romantic decades…” (Garafola, 1997, p.1). Just like the Romantic Era, Romantic ballets were irrational, mystical and exotic; Romantic characteristics from other art forms influenced their creation (Wilson, 1974). Notable choreographers like Perrot, Taglioni, Corali and Petipa created ballet blancs which acted as models for the rest of the era. A Romantic ballet had to incorporate specific characteristics in its storyline, setting, scenography and choreography to fit the guidelines of a true Romantic ballet.
Romanticism was a movement during the 18th and mid-19th century against the Enlightenment and 18th century Rationalism (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2014). This inspired
The setting was always set in dreamy, exotic locations with certain geographical points. Napoli (1842), “…the most famous of Bournonville’s ballets”, displays a perfect example of local colour as he recreated the harbour in Napoli during act one (Andersen, 1993, p. 997). The way of life, scenery, and fisherman were very authentic. Likewise, Giselle was set in Germany and had a castle in the scenery and the river Rhine running through the landscape. Having realistic settings became a major concern in ballet, which increased the attention to detail when recreating foreign landscapes (Smith, 2010). Additionally, national dances provided local colour, which added authenticity to ballet (Garafola, 1997). In fact, “One of Jules Perrot’s concerns was to make his stage picture totally convincing and realistic” (Chapman, 1993, p.1107). He managed this in Giselle, by making the Wilis from France, Germany, Turkey and India. The original libretto included a minuet, a waltz, oriental dance and Indian poses (Smith, 21010). These Romantic Ballets allowed the audience to live and experience places they could never travel
Carlo Blasis built up the Imperiale Regia Accademi Di Danza, where ballerinas were known for their outstanding technique (Au, 2002). His classes were logically formed, and pliés were introduced as the first exercise. Dancers were able to virtually ‘become’ their characters, due to the development in technique and training. Choreographer like Perrot began to solely use dance to express the story, as dancers’ technique improved (Chapman, 1993). Marie Taglioni was the first person to make dancing on pointe beautiful, which influenced the use of pointe work. When she played la Sylphide, she was able to truly depict the character through the fluidity and lightness on her toes (Au, 2002). In traditional Romantic ballets, the supernatural creatures were light and used balloné, while the mortals were grounded and used terre á terre. The choreography excluded harsh edges and stances, as fluidity was seen as the Romantic vision (Chapman,