THE ROMANTIC ERA OF BALLET
By: Erica Pan
Erica Pan
Ballerinas effortlessly gliding across stage, almost like they’re floating; ballerinas in puffy layers of white tulle, like ghosts from the spiritual realm; ballerinas tilting their upper body forward as they dance on the tip of their toes, almost as if yearning for a lost loved one. For any dancer, these descriptions instantly allow them to depict a performance during the romantic era of ballet.
The first is pointe work. Due to the supernatural theme of most Romantic ballets, dancing on pointe was perfect for encapsulating the mystical creatures in the ballets. Ballerinas on pointe gave the illusion of floating across stage, which more realistically portrayed the ethereal beings they were acting, giving them character, personality, and life (“Styles”). Before the development of pointe shoes, people used wires to prop up dancers to look as if they were dancing on pointe. However, after the early development of point shoes during the romantic period, the dancers were finally able to dance on pointe for the first time. Being able to dance on pointe is a “rite of passage” most dancers have the honor of passing in their teenage years; it is one of the most “enduring and identifiable ballet techniques of the [romantic] period” (MasterClass).
Ballerinas effortlessly gliding across stage, almost like they’re floating; ballerinas in puffy layers of white tulle, like ghosts from the spiritual realm; ballerinas tilting their upper body forward as they dance on the tip of their toes, almost as if yearning for a lost loved one For any dancer, these descriptions instantly allow them to depict a performance during the romantic era of ballet.
The romantic era of ballet started in the early 19th century, near the second half of the romantic movement, also known as Romanticism, in the West. Romanticism is an intellectual movement originating from the late 18th century to the mid 19th century. Romanticism rejects ideas of order, harmony, and balance from the classical era, and instead idealizes nature and glorifies the past, particularly the medieval age (“Romanticism”). For ballet specifically, romantic ballet drew a lot of inspiration from the art and literature during the romantic era; it emphasized themes of man vs nature, supernaturalism, etherealism, etc. For example, one of the most prominent ballets during the romantic era, La Sylphide, is about a Scottish farmer that tragically falls in love with a magical Sylph spirit (“Styles”). Romantic era ballets also highlight the mood, emotion, and storytelling behind ballet choreography, rather than form, as it was during the classical era (MasterClass).
Apart from the supernatural themes of most Romantic ballets, there are also three other characteristics most common and known to this style.
Fig. 1. Andrea Mohin, Les Sylphides, 2015.
The second is romantic tutus. These tutus, unlike the pointy and flat tutus people commonly associate with modern ballerinas, are long, puffy, white, and flowing tulle skirts. This costume choice added to the elegance and sense of flight of romantic era ballerinas (MasterClass). In fact, one of the main reasons people believed the romantic tutu came to be, was due to Marie Taglioni, La Slyphide’s original choreographer. Taglioni cut down her skirt so that during her performances, the audience would be able to see her pointe work (“Styles”).
The third is the dominance of female ballerinas. Following the rise of the romantic era, male dancers were no longer equal to female dancers. Men often only played supporting roles, whereas women were now the main characters. But, even then, being a dancer became an unacceptable career for men (“Romantic Ballet”). However, this wasn’t true in all western countries. In Russia and Denmark, the role of men and women in ballet stayed equal. This was because “ballet in those countries were still supported by the court of royalty” (“Romantic Era”).
All these characteristics, among others, are very prominent within the famous romantic era ballets. In fact, “one of the most performed and masterful ballet productions” to this day is the romantic ballet Giselle (“Styles”) Giselle is a story about a peasant girl who, after being cast aside by a suitor, finds herself with the ghosts of other jilted lovers (MasterClass). Of course, Giselle is most well known by its variation, one of the most challenging variations in classical ballet, where a professional ballerina dances with lightness, a fairy like feel, and a one point, even starts hopping on pointe. This scene is greatly admired by ballerinas and non-ballerinas alike.
Fig. 3. Conrado Dy Liacco, "Feifei Ye and Matthew Golding in 'Giselle'", 2018.
Fig. 2 "Giselle is on at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds from March 2 to 4", 2017
Perhaps the most well known dancer of the Romantic era was Marie Taglioni, mentioned previously as La Slyphide’s original choreographer. With her long arms and legs, she became the defining image of a ballerina. It wasn’t surprising that
To this day, many of the characteristics of Romantic era ballet still influence classical ballet. Although some of the original romantic ballet choreography has been lost, dancers are still seen in long tulle skirts, dancing challenging choreography on pointe, and mastering control and technique, while maintaining elegance and the illusion of floating. And in today’s diverse world of genres and variety of dance, Romantic ballet is still making its mark on every ballerina’s journey.
Taglioni became a ballerina as she was born in Sweden into a family of dancers. At age 28, Taglioni and her father Filippo created La Sylphide to accentuate all Taglioni’s assets, where Taglioni was the mystical sylph that the Scottish farmer falls in love with. This ethereal look quickly spread across Europe and became the “defining moment in Romantic ballet.” Taglioni and her father also perfected the technique of dancing on pointe, making it seem effortless and unreal. She was able to showcase La Sylphide on pointe, not only wowing the audience, but setting the foundation for all future pointe work to be “an integral part of ballet technique” (“Romantic Ballet”).
Works Cited
“Romantic Ballet.” Romantic Ballet, Victoria and Albert Museum, 30 Apr. 2013, http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/romantic ballet/.
“Giselle Is on at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds from March 2 to 4.” Suffolk News, 2017, https://www.suffolknews.co.uk/whats on/tragically romantic ballet heads to bury st edmunds-1-7825759/. Accessed 13 June 2022.
Mohin, Andrea. “‘Les Sylphides.’” The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/04/arts/dance/city2015,ballet to present la sylphide a romantic-ballet-standard.html. Accessed 13 June 2022.
“Romantic Era.” Romantic Era, https://www.the ballet.com/romantic.php.
“Romanticism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/art/Romanticism.
“Styles of Ballet: Romantic.” Freed of London, 13 Feb. 2020, https://www.freedoflondon.com/styles of ballet romantic/.
MasterClass staff. “Romantic Ballet Guide: 5 Famous Romantic Ballets 2022.” MasterClass, MasterClass, 9 July 2021, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/romantic ballet guide#5 characteristics-of-the-romantic-ballet-style.
Dy Liacco, Conrado. “Feifei Ye and Matthew Golding in ‘Giselle’. .” The Theatre Times, 2018, https://thetheatretimes.com/hong kong ballets giselle at hong kong cultural centre/. Accessed 13 June 2022.