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- clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 190%; - margin-top: 0em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - h2.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 135%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - page-break-before: avoid; - line-height: 1; } - h3.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 110%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - h4.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 100%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - hr.pgx { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1 class="pgx" title="">The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Art of Ballet, by Mark Edward Perugini</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: The Art of Ballet</p> -<p>Author: Mark Edward Perugini</p> -<p>Release Date: October 25, 2020 [eBook #63550]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ART OF BALLET***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4 class="pgx" title="">E-text prepared by deaurider, Susan Carr,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/artofballet00peru"> - https://archive.org/details/artofballet00peru</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp56" id="cover" style="max-width: 28.125em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<h1 class="pad8 pb2">THE ART OF BALLET</h1> - - -<div class="figcenter illowe4_625 pad30pc" id="colophon"> - <img class="w100 p10" src="images/colophon.png" alt="colophon" /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp52" id="i002b" style="max-width: 21.6875em;"> - <img class="w100 p2" src="images/i_002b.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><em>Adolph Bolm in “Carnival.”</em><br /> -<em>from a photograph by E. O. Hoppé</em> -</div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<p class="pfs240 bold p1">THE<br /> -ART OF BALLET</p> - -<p class="pfs120 bold">BY MARK E. PERUGINI</p> - - -<p class="pfs135 p10 bold">LONDON: MARTIN SECKER</p> -<p class="pfs100 bold pb2">NUMBER FIVE JOHN STREET ADELPHI</p> - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<p class="pfs90 p10 pb10 bold"><em>First published 1915</em></p> - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<p class="pfs120 p2 pb10 bold">TO<br /> -MY WIFE</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[Pg 7]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1">S<span class="smcap">ome</span> may possibly wonder to find here no record of Ballet -in Italy, or at the Opera Houses of Madrid, Lisbon, -Vienna, Buda-Pest, Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Warsaw, -or Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg), not to speak of the -United States and South America. This, however, would be -to miss somewhat the author’s purpose, which is not to trace -the growth of Ballet in every capital where it has been seen. -To do so effectively were hardly possible in a single volume. -A whole book might well be devoted to the history of the art -in Italy alone, herein only touched upon as it came to have -vital influence on France and England in the nineteenth -century. We have already had numerous volumes dealing -with Russian Ballet; and since the ground has been extensively -enough surveyed in that direction there could be no -particular advantage in devoting more space to the subject -than is already given to it in this work, the purpose of which -only is to present—as far as possible from contemporary -sources—some leading phases of the history of the modern Art -of Ballet as seen more particularly in France and England.</p> - -<p>A brief series of biographical essays “Cameos of the -Dance,” by the same writer, was published in <cite>The Whitehall -Review</cite> in 1909; various articles on the subject also being -contributed to <cite>The Evening News</cite>, <cite>Lady’s Pictorial</cite>, <cite>Illustrated -Sporting and Dramatic News</cite>, <cite>Pall Mall Gazette</cite> and -other London journals during 1910 and 1911; and a series -of “Sketches of the Dance and Ballet,” coming from the -same hand, appeared in <cite>The Dancing Times</cite>, 1912, 1913 and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span> -1914. They were based on portions of the manuscript of the -present work which, begun some years ago by way of pastime, -and written during the scant leisure of a crowded business -life, was completed at the publisher’s request, and was—save -for a few brief insertions in the proofs—ready, and announced -for publication before the Great War began in August 1914.</p> - -<p>The preparation of this book has involved the marshalling -of a vast array of facts and dates, the delving into and -comparison of some three hundred or more ancient and -modern volumes on dancing and on theatrical and operatic -history, the study of scores of old newspaper-files and long-forgotten -theatrical “repositories” and souvenirs. Error is -always possible in spite of care, and if it should have happened -here the writer will be grateful for correction. In covering -so wide a field a full bibliography becomes impossible from -limits of space; but to those interested the following list of -leading authorities—supplemented by those referred to in -the text—may be of service. “La Danse Grecque Antique,” -by M. Emmanuel; “Roman Life and Manners under the -Early Empire,” by L. Friedländer; “Dramatic Traditions -of the Dark Ages,” by Joseph S. Tunison (University of -Chicago Press); “Orchésographie,” by Thoinot Arbeau -(1588); “Des Ballets Anciens et Modernes,” by Père -Menestrier (1682); “La Danse Antique et Moderne,” by -De Cahuzac (1754); “The Code of Terpsichore,” by Carlo -Blasis (1823); “Dictionnaire de la Danse,” by G. Desrat -(1895); “Dancing in all Ages,” by Edward Scott (1899); -“Histoire de la Danse,” by F. de Menil (1905); and “The -Dance: Its Place in Art and Life,” by T. and M. W. -Kinney (1914).</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table class="autotable fs90" summary=""> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="3"><span class="fs80"><em>BOOK I. THE FIRST ERA</em></span></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="3"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc fs60">CHAPTER</td> -<td class="tdl"></td> -<td class="tdrb fs60">PAGE</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt"></td> -<td class="tdl">OVERTURE: ON THE ART OF BALLET</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">I.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">A DISTINCTION, AND SOME DIFFERENCES</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">II.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">EGYPT</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">III.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">GREECE</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">IV.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">MIME AND PANTOMIME: ROME, HIPPODROME—OBSCURITY</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">V.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">CHURCH THUNDER AND CHURCH COMPLAISANCE</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">VI.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">A BANQUET-BALL OF 1489: AND THE BALLET COMIQUE DE LA REINE, 1581</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">VII.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">THOINOT ARBEAU’s “ORCHÉSOGRAPHIE,” 1588</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">VIII.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">SCENIC EFFECT: THE ENGLISH MASQUE AS BALLET, 1585-1609</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">IX.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">BALLET ON THE MOVE</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">X.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">COURT BALLETS ABROAD: 1609-1650</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XI.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">THE TURNING POINT: “LE ROI SOLEIL AND HIS ACADEMY OF DANCING,” 1651-1675</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="3"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="3"><span class="fs80"><em>BOOK II. THE SECOND ERA</em></span></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="3"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XII.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">SOME EARLY STARS AND BALLETS</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XIII.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">“PANTOMIME” AT SCEAUX, AND MLLE. PRÉVÔT</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XIV.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">ITALIAN COMEDY, AND THE “THEATRES OF THE FAIR”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XV.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">WATTEAU’S DEBT TO THE STAGE</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XVI.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>“THE SPECTATOR” AND MR. WEAVER</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XVII.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">A FRENCH DANCER IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LONDON</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XVIII.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">LA BELLE CAMARGO, 1710-1770</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XIX.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">“THE HOUSE OF VESTRIS”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XX.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">JEAN GEORGES NOVERRE</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXI.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">GUIMARD THE GRAND</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXII.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">DESPRÉAUX, POET, “MAÎTRE,” AND “HUSBAND OF GUIMARD”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_195">195</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXIII.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">A CENTURY’S CLOSE</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="3"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="3"><span class="fs80"><em>BOOK III. THE MODERN ERA</em></span></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="3"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXIV.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXV.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">CARLO BLASIS, A LEADER OF THE MODERN SCHOOL</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_213">213</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXVI.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">THE “PAS DE QUATRE”: I. MARIE TAGLIONI. (“SYLPHIDE”)</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXVII.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">THE “PAS DE QUATRE” II. CARLOTTA GRISI. (“GISELLE”)</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_235">235</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXVIII.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">THE “PAS DE QUATRE”: III. FANNY CERITO. (“ONDINE”)</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_240">240</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXIX.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">THE “PAS DE QUATRE”: IV. LUCILE GRAHN. (“EOLINE”)</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_244">244</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXX.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">THE DECLINE AND REVIVAL</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_249">249</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXXI.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">THE ALHAMBRA 1854 TO 1903</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_252">252</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXXII.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">THE ALHAMBRA 1904 TO 1913</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_269">269</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXXIII.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">THE EMPIRE THEATRE 1884 TO 1906</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_276">276</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXXIV.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">THE EMPIRE THEATRE 1907 TO 1914</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_294">294</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt">XXXV.<span class="pad2"> </span></td> -<td class="tdl">FINALE, THE RUSSIANS AND—THE FUTURE</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_309">309</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt"></td> -<td class="tdl">INDEX</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_327">327</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> -</div> - -<table class="autotable fs90" summary=""> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">ADOLF BOLM IN “CARNIVAL”</td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdrb fs80"><a href="#i002b"><em>Frontispiece</em></a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a photograph</em></td> - -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">AN EGYPTIAN MALE DANCER</td> -<td class="tdr fs80"><em>Facing page</em></td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i030a-t">30</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a Theban fresco</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">EGYPTIAN DANCING GIRLS</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i030a-m">30</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a mural painting in the British Museum</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">A GREEK FUNERAL DANCE</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i030a-b">30</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a coloured plaque in the Louvre</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">STAGE EFFECT IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i056a">56</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>A scene from, the “Ballet Comique de la Royne,” by Baltasar de Beaujoyeux, 1581</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">STAGE EFFECT IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i088a">88</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a coloured engraving of a scene from “Circe,” 1694</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE DUCHESSE DU MAINE</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i114a">114</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"></td> -<td class="tdr"> </td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE DEPARTURE OF THE ITALIAN COMEDIANS, 1697</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i128a-t">128</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From an engraving by L. Jacob of Watteau’s picture</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">PIERROT AND ARLEQUIN, IN THE EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i128a-b">128</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From Riccoboni’s “Histoire du Théâtre Italien”</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">L’AMOUR AU THÉÂTRE ITALIEN</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i132a-t">132</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From the Julienne engravings from Watteau, British Museum</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">L’AMOUR AU THÉÂTRE FRANÇAIS</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i132a-b">132</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From the Julienne engravings from Watteau, British Museum</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">LE CONCERT</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i136a-t">136</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From the painting by Watteau, Wallace Collection</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">LA LEÇON DE MUSIQUE</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i136a-b">136</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From the painting by Watteau, Wallace Collection</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">LES PLAISIRS DU BAL</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i138a">138</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From the Julienne engravings from Watteau, British Museum</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MLLE. DESMARES EN HABIT DE PÈLERINE</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i140a-l">140</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From the Julienne engravings from Watteau, British Museum</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">L’EMBARQUEMENT POUR L’ILE DE CYTHÈRE</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i140a-r">140</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a photograph by E. Alinari of Watteau’s painting in the Louvre</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MARIE SALLÉ</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i150a">150</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From an engraving by Petit, after a picture by Fenouil</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span>M. BALLON AND MLLE. <a id="tn12a"></a><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber’s Note—“PRÉVOT” changed to “PRÉVÔT”.">PRÉVÔT</ins></td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i160a-t">160</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From an old print</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CAMARGO</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i160a-b">160</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From the painting by Lancret in the Wallace Collection</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">GAETAN VESTRIS</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i166a">166</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From an old print</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">JEAN GEORGES NOVERRE</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i174a">174</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From an old engraving</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MADELEINE GUIMARD</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i192a">192</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From the painting by Fragonard</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">FANNY ELSSLER</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i210a-l">210</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From an old engraving</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CARLOTTA GRISI</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i210a-r">210</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a coloured lithograph</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CARLO BLASIS</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i218a">218</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a lithograph</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MARIE TAGLIONI</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i228a-l">228</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a lithograph dated 1833</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE PAS DE QUATRE OF 1845</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i228a-r">228</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"></td> -<td class="tdr"> </td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">FANNY CERITO AND ST. <a id="tn12b"></a><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber’s Note—“LÉON” changed to “LEON”.">LEON</ins></td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i242a-l">242</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"></td> -<td class="tdr"> </td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">LUCILLE GRAHN AND PERROT</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i242a-r">242</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"></td> -<td class="tdr"> </td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MLLE. PALLADINO IN “NINA” AT THE ALHAMBRA</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i266a-l">266</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a photograph</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MLLE. BRITTA</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i266a-r">266</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a photograph</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MME. GUERRERO</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i274a-l">274</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a photograph</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MLLE. LEONORA</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i274a-r">274</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a photograph</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MLLE. ADELINE GÉNÉE</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i292a">292</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a photograph</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MME. LYDIA KYASHT</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i304a-l">304</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a photograph</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MISS PHYLLIS BEDELLS</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i304a-r">304</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a photograph</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MISS ISADORA DUNCAN</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i314a">314</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a photograph</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MME. KARSAVINA AND M. ADOLF BOLM IN “L’OISEAU DE FEU”</td> -<td class="tdc">”</td> -<td class="tdrb"><a href="#i322a">322</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl pad4"><em>From a photograph</em></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak pb10" id="BOOK_I_THE_FIRST_ERA">BOOK I: THE FIRST ERA</h2> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span> - -<p class="pfs180 p3">THE ART OF BALLET</p> - -<h3 class="nobreak center" id="OVERTURE">OVERTURE<br /><br /> -ON THE ART OF BALLET</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1">T<span class="allsmcap">here</span> may be some who could not agree that Ballet -<em>is</em> an “art,” or even that it has, or ever had, any -special charm or historic interest. The charm—as in the case -of any other art—will probably always remain rather a matter -of individual opinion; the historic interest is merely a matter -of fact.</p> - -<p>No man can hope for agreement with his fellows in all -things. The world were flat if it could be so. He may hector, -and not convince; he may cajole and not convert; he may -tell the simple truth in simple speech and still be misunderstood. -So many of his partners in the dance of life speak in -different tongues; or, speaking the same, use words and -phrases more familiar to them than to himself.</p> - -<p>In going to a foreign land we change our currency; but it -is hardly to be accounted spurious because it is not as ours. -There may be something to be said for the variety; and, also, -there may be some common basis of value which can be -accepted readily by both. A world-currency has not yet -arrived. In opinion it is much the same.</p> - -<p>But the sense of “fair play” is so admirable, and so truly -British a characteristic, that one may usually rely on it for a -considerate hearing. Possible dissentients may be the more<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span> -inclined to grant this if they are informed at the outset that -this book has no specially persuasive purpose, and that I am -content that it should be mainly accounted a record of fact.</p> - -<p>One of the facts which it chronicles is that Ballet, whether -an “art” or not, has existed, in some form or another, for -about two thousand years. An interest which can show so -long a record may yet not be of such surpassing importance, -let us say, as Statecraft or Religion; but one which has thus -long and widely appealed to the æsthetic sense of mankind -can hardly be considered worthless. It were a vast and -complex matter to decide the relative values of the various -“arts,” and, certainly this book is no endeavour to pronounce -thereon, nor to persuade any that Ballet is the greatest, -though it is unquestionably one of the oldest of the arts. -But it will suffice to offer the opinion that, whether it has -reached its highest level or not as yet Ballet <em>is</em> an art in itself; -one that in the past has had so many judicious and sympathetic -exponents, and has so long a record of existence, that there is -really some justification for the expenditure of casual leisure -by any who cares to play the chronicler or to read such -chronicle.</p> - -<p>This much said, before setting out to travel the road of the -past, let us for a moment reconsider another fact, namely, -that we have in London two theatres where for about a -quarter of a century Ballet <em>was</em> the main attraction. The -fact is unique in the annals of the British stage.</p> - -<p>Ballets have been produced elsewhere occasionally. We -have seen operas, pantomimes, burlesques, of which they -formed a part. At earlier periods—as in the ’forties of last -century—they have also been seen as separate items in the -programme of an operatic season; and there has been a -quite remarkable revival of interest during the past few years. -But in all the history of the stage there was never before a -time when it could be said that for such a period not one<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span> -but two theatrical houses in London <em>continuously</em> offered -this kind of entertainment as their chief attraction.</p> - -<p>It has to be remembered that this sustained existence of -Ballet in England has been, as in the case of all “legitimate -drama,” without State aid such as it has received in Milan, -Rome, Naples, Paris, Vienna, Petrograd, Copenhagen, and elsewhere -on the Continent, where the physical advantages of -dancing and the artistic value of Ballet are fully appreciated. -The arts must flourish haphazard here! We have no national -conservatoire in which this art of Ballet is taught as it is -abroad. Consequently it has been less generally understood; -and, being so, has had to exist in face of considerable prejudice.</p> - -<p>Some critics profess to despise it because it ignores the -spoken word. Some have decried it because of the presence -of dancing. Some will not admit that it is worthy to be called -an art at all, and there are possibly still some primly primitive -people who pretend to view with moral pain the existence of -any such entertainment. They may patronise a theatre or -tolerate an actor or actress—but a Ballet or a Ballet-Dancer!</p> - -<p>The misunderstanding of the aims and possibilities of the -Art of Ballet, as seen at its best, is to be regretted.</p> - -<p>Not for such critics are the music of moving lines, the modulating -harmonies of colour, the subtleties of mimic expression, -nor all the wealth of historic associations and romantic charm -which a knowledge of its past recalls.</p> - -<p>Austere critics would do well, when deprecating Ballet, to -remember that many others have found it, as Colley Cibber -regretfully admitted it was found in his time: “a pleasing -and rational entertainment.”</p> - -<p>That it is “pleasing” many know from witnessing some of -the best of modern examples. As to whether it can be considered -“rational” depends so much on the kind of meaning -that may be given to that word. All rational people speak in -prose; constantly to speak in verse might be considered quite<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span> -irrational. But are we to banish poetry from the world -because it is not the common form of speech?</p> - -<p>Some people might find it quite irrational to sit in a theatre -and laugh or weep at the imaginary joys or woes of imaginary -characters impersonated by people who are not seriously -concerned therewith, and with whom, personally, we are not -at all concerned.</p> - -<p>It might be well considered irrational to be moved by any -“concord of sweet sounds,” at least in the shape of “opera”; -or to be enspelled by the charm of a statue or a painting, or -by the wizardry of any form of art; for once it is questioned -whether it be “rational,” there need be no end to dispute; -and one remembers how poor Tolstoy fared in essaying to -decide: “What is Art?”</p> - -<p>That of Ballet surely is no less rational than Poetry, than -Drama, than Music, Sculpture, Painting—all of which exist -by <em>their</em> conventions, all of which in principle it employs; to -all of which it is akin. It is not less an art; and when looking -at a modern ballet we can hardly fail to consider the long -train of reasoned thought and of artistic tradition that lie -beyond the entertainment that we see to-day.</p> - -<p>What is it that we see? An orchestra of dancers who are -also mimes, who represent—one should rather say, realise—the -imaginative creations of an author, or a number of authors -working harmoniously together, in terms of rhythmic movement -and dramatic expression, with the aid also of colour and -music and sound.</p> - -<p>Every one of these dancers has had to undergo a special and -arduous training, the traditions of which reach back through -centuries till lost in time’s obscurity.</p> - -<p>Each has an allotted place at any given moment in the -general scheme. Every grouping and dispersal of a group—like -the formation and modulation of chords in music—is part -of an ordered plan.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span></p> - -<p>Every step of every dancer, every gesture, every phrase of -music, is composed or selected to express particular ideas or -series of ideas; every colour and each change of tone in the -whole symphony of hues has been appraised. Not a thing -that happens is haphazard.</p> - -<p>It is probably by reason of the number of people that must -be employed, and the labour entailed before a successful -result can be achieved, and on account of the difficulties and -risks attendant on its production, that we have had so few -theatres devoted to an art so thoroughly appreciated abroad, -not only as one of ancient institution, but as one that still -offers wide scope for the creative genius of poet, artist and -musician, apart from the interpretative abilities of dancer and -of mime.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I<br /><br /> -A DISTINCTION, AND SOME DIFFERENCES</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">The</span> chief elements of Ballet as seen to-day are—dancing, -miming, music and scenic effect, including of course in -this last the costumes and colour-schemes, as well as the -actual “scenery” and lighting.</p> - -<p>It is in the proper harmonising of these elements that the -true art of Ballet-composition, or, as it is called, “choreography,” -consists. Each has its individual history, and all -have been combined in varying proportions at various periods. -But it is only in the past hundred and fifty years or so that -they have been harmoniously blended in the increasing richness -of their development to give us this separate, protean and -beautiful art—the Ballet of the Theatre.</p> - -<p>These four elements are the material of which Ballet -is composed, and the result may be judged by their -balance.</p> - -<p>We are to think not of the worst examples that have been, -but of the best, and of those that yet might be.</p> - -<p>Most of the older writers on dancing speak of almost all -concerted dances as ballets and refer to the “ballets” of the -Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans. The Abbé Menestrier, -however, writing in the seventeenth century, wisely observed -the distinction between dances that are <em>only</em> “dances,” and -those that approximate to “ballet.”</p> - -<p>It should be borne in mind that it is possible to dance and -not represent an idea save that of dancing, as when a child<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span> -dances for joy, <em>not in order to represent the joy of another</em>. That -is the province of the Mime. It is equally possible to mimic -without dancing.</p> - -<p>The best ballet-dancer is one who has intelligence and -training to do both, whose dancing and mimicry are interpretative.</p> - -<p>Speaking of certain Egyptian and Greek figure-dances and -the approach of some of them to the Ballet as he knew it towards -the end of the seventeenth century, Menestrier wrote: -“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">J’appelle ces Danses Ballets parce qu’elles n’etoient pas de -simples Danses comme les autres, mais des Representations -ingenieuses, des mouvements du Ciel et des Planétes, et des -<a id="tn22"></a><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber’s Note—“evolutions du labyrinth” changed to “evolutions du labyrinthe”.">evolutions du labyrinthe</ins> -dont Thésée sortit</i>.” That is a distinction -to be remembered by any who may look on the Art of Ballet -as simply—dancing.</p> - -<p>It is necessary to-day to make another distinction, that -between “ballet,” and “the ballet of the theatre.” In a -sense the Hindus, the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, -indeed all peoples in past ages have had ballets; that is, -dances which were “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">representations ingenieuses</i>,” which represented -an idea or told a story.</p> - -<p>There have been entertainments, too, of which dancing -formed a considerable part—such as our English “masques,” -which, contemporaneously, were often spoken of as “ballets.”</p> - -<p>But though they may for convenience have been so called, -they were never more than partly akin with the ballet of -the theatre as we see it to-day. They never exhibited that -balance of subordinated and <em>developed</em> arts which the best -examples of later times have shown; and were not seen in -the public theatre, as a form of dramatic entertainment apart -from others.</p> - -<p>One has only to consider for an instant what were the -musical and scenic resources of the Greek and Roman stage, -and compare them with the resources of modern orchestration<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span> -and scenic effect to realise the difference between antique -“ballet” and that of to-day.</p> - -<p>Setting aside this difference, which arises from the development -of the several elements through the centuries, one may -find many an ancient definition of “ballet” that appears apt -enough to-day, for the difference is not so much one of principle -as this of resources.</p> - -<p>Athenæus, a second-century Greek critic, declared: -“Ballet is an imitation of things said and sung,” and Lucian, -that—“It is by the gesture, movements and cadences that -this imitation or representation is made up, as the song is -made up by the inflections of the voice.” This is a happy -illustration. Inflections might well be described as “gestures” -<em>of the voice</em>.</p> - -<p>Menestrier (who, besides writing an exceedingly entertaining -history of Ballet, also wrote extensively on Heraldry, and was -author of several solid historical works as well as numerous -poems and <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">libretti</i>) has said: “Ballet is an imitation like the -other arts, and that much has in common with them. The -difference is, that while the other arts only imitate certain -things, as painting, which expresses the shape, colour, arrangement -and disposition of things, Ballet expresses the <em>movement</em> -which Painting and Sculpture could not express, and by these -movements can represent the nature of things, and those -characteristics of the soul which only can find expression by -such movements. This imitation is achieved by the movements -of the body, which are the interpreters of the passions -and of the inmost feelings. And even as the body has various -parts composing a whole and making a beautiful harmony, -one uses instruments and their accord, to regulate those movements -which express the effect of the passions of the soul.”</p> - -<p>These definitions have decided value, but hardly quite -meet the case of modern Ballet.</p> - -<p>Noverre, Blasis, Gardel, and other of the older <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maîtres de ballet</i><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span>, -have told us in several charming books, essays, letters, -dialogues and <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">libretti</i>, much as to what Ballet can and should -be, but yet leave something to seek in the matter of brief yet -comprehensive definition.</p> - -<p>It is with some hesitancy, therefore, that I venture, before -talking of its history, to suggest as a simple definition that: -“a ballet is <em>a series of solo and concerted dances with mimetic -actions, accompanied by music and scenic accessories, telling a -story</em>.”</p> - -<p>It is by reason of this definition that I propose to pass -somewhat lightly over the early dawn of Ballet, or rather of -its earliest elements, the dance and miming; and that I -propose to deal more fully with the period <em>after</em> the advent of -Louis Quatorze—in France and in England—which saw the -development of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Ballet du Théâtre</i>.</p> - -<p>There have, of course, been modern ballets that did not -tell a story. But the true Ballet of the theatre should.</p> - -<p>Such have been the best of those of Noverre, of Blasis, of -Perrot, Nuittier, Théophile Gautier, and of later composers of -ballet like Taglioni, Manzotti, Coppi, Mme. Lanner, Wilhelm, -Curti, Fokine, and, indeed, all the best ballets of later -years; and such will the best always be.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II<br /><br /> -EGYPT</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">The</span> origin of the drama is hardly to be reckoned among -the historic mysteries. By serious triflers debate might -be held as to what should be considered the first dramatic -representation and when it actually took place.</p> - -<p>Some five centuries before the Christian era the first plays -of which scholarship has taken note were performed at Athens, -those of Thespis, forerunner of the first great dramatists of the -world—Æschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.</p> - -<p>For convenience the origin of Western drama may be dated -from Thespis because it seems first to have assumed then a -definite form. That is not its actual origin any more than -the origin of any human being is to be dated from its birth. -As a possibility it may be said to have existed always. Even -Chronology has its limitations, and preceding any given event -there must have existed principles or tendencies.</p> - -<p>When it is said, therefore, that the origin of the Drama is -not an historic mystery it is because we are not very much in -the dark as to when it began to assume a somewhat definite -form; and, moreover, we can be fairly clear as to what must -have preceded it. There seems rather more than a probability -that the Drama derived its existence from the Poet, in his -capacity as a Narrator.</p> - -<p>For some hundreds of years the Drama has been chiefly a -representation of character and events, whether real or -fictitious. In its earliest forms it was mainly descriptive. It<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span> -would seem to be the natural order of things that from mere -description there should arise in time—possibly from a half-conscious -feeling of the need of <em>emphasis</em>, of a desire to <em>impress</em> -the hearers—the attempt to <em>illustrate</em> or to <em>represent</em> the scenes -or actions described. The mere repetition of any story seems -to tend towards that. Have we not observed that no “fish” -story is ever quite complete—if not convincing—without histrionic -illustrations?</p> - -<p>Though in India and China, with their more ancient -civilisation, the chronologic origin of the Drama might be -more remotely placed, it is probable that in the Homeric bard -and the Homeric audience, should be sought the true beginning -of the Western theatre; while, all the world over, the evolution -of the dramatic form has probably been much the same—namely, -a gradual transition from poetic <em>narration</em> to imitative -representation. Thus at the back of the Drama is probably -the Poet. Beside the Poet, too, is often the Priest.</p> - -<p>Greek tragedy is usually said to have had a purely “religious” -origin, and certainly it was from early times employed -for the purposes of, or in the service of, Religion; but it -would, one feels, be rather truer to presume its actual origin to -be purely secular, and to be found in the Poet making his appeal -to an ordinary audience, in a word, to the People, while -sometimes under the patronage of priestly and ruling classes.</p> - -<p>When, however, we come to consider the origin of the Dance—first -and most important of the “four elements” of Ballet—we -are forced to the conclusion that, even though we are on -more uncertain ground, it must, nevertheless, be far older than -the Drama. Why this should be so, even though we have no -approximate date to go upon as in the case of the Thespian -theatre, is not difficult to see.</p> - -<p>The Drama evolved from, and has always depended on, the -faculty of speech, and on the growth of a language. A copious -vocabulary and flexibility of verbal expression are not<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span> -exactly characteristics of the primitive races; and, without -both, the Drama, as we have known it for some centuries, -could not have existed.</p> - -<p>But the Dance (with mimicry, which has always followed -close upon its heels) has no need of words, and is itself a kind -of speech, in which the whole body is used as a means of -expression.</p> - -<p>We are none of us old enough to remember, and there is -consequently no need to be dogmatic and assert that the -Dance actually <em>did</em> precede speech; but it is far from improbable -that it could have done; and while one shudders to -think of the ardent <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danse tourbillon</i> our Mother Earth must -have danced from the moment of her birth, it is perhaps more -amusing—and yet not wholly frivolous—to contemplate a -possible origin of the Dance in the sport some Simian ancestors -may have found in rhythmically swaying on the flexile -branches of some primeval tree, before they had acquired a -vocabulary sufficiently copious for the analysis of their -sensations.</p> - -<p>Seriously, however, and just because it has a rhythmic basis, -dancing in some form is among the earliest instincts of mankind, -even as it is of children. In all climes, at all periods, -men and women have danced; and its origin is lost in the -mists of prehistoric years. Non-civilised races still existent -may offer evidence as to stages in its evolution; but even -among the more primitive races, dancing seems to have -some definiteness of form, marking a heritage of long -practice.</p> - -<p>From some earliest, uncouth leapings and gestures of savage -or half savage tribes (the effect of mere exuberant physical -energy) may have grown the idea of thus expressing joy and -thankfulness; for joy, not sorrow, one feels must surely have -been always the first inspirer of the Dance; and possibly a -victory over an enemy, or gratitude for a full harvest may have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span> -come to be first the inspiration, and then the excuse for -repeating such manifestations.</p> - -<p>Repetition of an act tends to create a habit, and what may -be at first apparently a spontaneous experiment grows by -repetition into a cult, with set form and ritual.</p> - -<p>The ritual of the Dance seems to be as ancient as the stars, -in representing the movements of which, it is supposed by -some to have had its origin in Egypt over two thousand years -ago. Nowhere is it found without form. All must be done in -a certain way, according to the traditions of the locality in -which the dance is seen, or according to some wider tradition. -Always it has a ritual of its own, but also with religious ritual -the origin of the Dance—as also of the Drama—appears in -some mysterious manner to be upbound.</p> - -<p>Of all the records that we have of dancing, the earliest -are, apparently, those of Egypt. Its origin is not there; it -must be older; but we know at least that the Egyptians were -among the first people with a civilisation that encouraged -dancing.</p> - -<p>One of the finest among modern historians of the art, -divides dancing, for convenience in tracing its evolution, into -“sacred” and “profane”; that is, the Dance forming, as so -often it did in ancient times, part of a religious ceremonial, -and that which in any other of its forms was merely a pleasure -of the people. For our purpose in tracing the growth of Ballet, -however, it would seem advisable to divide the Dance yet -further, into “sacred,” “secular,” and “theatrical.”</p> - -<p>The Egyptians had no Ballet of the theatre, because they -had no theatre. They had dances which seem to have been -“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">representations ingenieuses</i>,” and to that extent, as mimetic -dances, partook of the nature of Ballet; but they were not -organised as theatrical spectacles for private or public entertainment.</p> - -<p>The Greeks had no Ballet of the theatre because, though<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span> -they had the theatre, they, like the Egyptians, had merely -mimetic dances, not Ballet.</p> - -<p>But if Egypt had no popular theatre in which dancing was -seen, it appears to have existed, nevertheless, in three distinct -forms—as a pleasure of “the man in the street”—just as we -see children dance to a barrel-organ in the London streets -to-day; again, as an entertainment for the wealthy, just as a -popular singer, dancer or other entertainer of to-day is engaged -for an “at home” or dinner-party; and, finally, as an element -of the elaborate and somewhat theatrical Egyptian religious -ceremonial.</p> - -<p>Monuments from Thebes and Beni Hassan show pictures of -Egyptian dancers performing steps very similar to some -we can see to-day. They appear to be performing them -for the pleasure of onlookers as well as their own. This -acquiring of an audience has, after all, been always of first -importance, and without it the Drama could hardly have come -into existence.</p> - -<p>Most people are interested in seeing others do something -they are unable to do themselves, and when they can see it -well done, in a manner, that is, suggesting a difficult feat -accomplished with ease, they will even pay for the exhibition. -That is the popular (with managers the extremely popular) -side of the theatrical arts, of which dancing is one. When -there arises the desire to see the exhibition repeated frequently, -then must follow the special place with special facilities and -accessories for the performance, and the theatre, or something -like it, thus comes into existence as an institution sustained by -popular support. There is first the thing done for pleasure—which -is art; then the exploitation of it for profit—which is -commerce; that is the brief epitaph of any art as a fruit of -civilisation.</p> - -<p>The Egyptians did not reach the “theatre” stage. But -dancing, essentially a popular art, received encouragement as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span> -an element in religious festivals and as an entertainment of -the wealthy classes.</p> - -<p>Considerable difference of opinion exists as to the “religious” -dances of Egypt. Enthusiastic historians of dancing seem -rather too prone to expand the little store of fact we possess, -and some go to the length of speaking of the religious and -popular “ballets” of the Egyptians. But it is certain that -they had no regular theatrical spectacles in which dancing -was of prime importance; and their popular dances, to any -such extent as they could be described as “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">representations -ingenieuses</i>,” were primitive in comparison with any of later -times.</p> - -<p>Solo-dances and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas de deux</i> were general enough, but the -dancing of massed groups, and the dramatic representation -of a story, appear to have been unknown, or have passed unrecorded -if they were known. The nearest approach to them, -though not of course performed as a theatrical spectacle, -would seem to have been an “astronomical dance,” which -was done by or under the direction of the priests of Apis, and -is said to have been—appropriately enough!—a representation -of the movements of the stars. It is probable that it was -employed mainly as a means of education.</p> - -<p>Holy Church in mediæval times took advantage of the -popular craving for theatrical shows, and sought by the aid -of “mystery plays,” and “moralities” to extend the knowledge -of religious truths. It may be conjectured that the -Egyptian hierarchy similarly had some such end in view, and -that the priestly caste sought to utilise the popular taste for -dancing as a means of influence, and that the actual performance -of the dance served to fix more lastingly in the minds of -novices the religious and astronomical truths it embodied.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i030a-t" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_030a-t.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">An Egyptian Male Dancer<br /> -(<em>From a Theban Fresco</em>).</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i030a-m" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_030a-m.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Egyptian Dancing Girls<br /> -(<em>From a mural painting in the British Museum</em>).</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i030a-b" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_030a-b.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">A Greek Funeral Dance<br /> -(<em>From a coloured plaque in the Louvre</em>).</div> -</div> - - -<p>In addition to the star-dance, the Egyptians are said to have -had a “funeral” dance, but it is doubtful if this, the -“Maneros”—of which Herodotus speaks—was a solemn<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span> -dance. The fact is, however, that information both as to the -religious and ceremonial uses of dancing among the Egyptians -is very scant, and what little record we have of their dancing -is mainly on its popular side and is to be gleaned from monuments.</p> - -<p>One of the frescoes in the British Museum shows two girls -performing, apparently before a select audience of women, -one of whom is seen to be applauding, or perhaps marking the -time with syncopated clapping, as negroes do to-day.</p> - -<p>Another representation of dancing is on a fresco from Thebes -showing three figures, the centre of whom is apparently performing -an <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrechat</i>, as seen to-day, the step in which the -dancer crosses feet in mid-air; while a fourth acts as orchestra -with a couple of the curious curved maces which were beaten -together to mark the rhythm in sonorous fashion.</p> - -<p>Other Egyptian monuments also show dancers, one from -Beni Hassan depicting several couples, apparently boys, -performing a dance that obviously had certain set steps, and -suggests that it was used mainly as a rhythmic athletic exercise, -as were many of the Greek dances. And yet another -monument shows men apparently in the act of performing a -pirouette. About them all there is the air of decision, a -suggestion of trained performance that in itself, remembering -that these monuments are some four thousand years old, and -depict steps similar to some performed to-day, is testimony to -the antiquity of the art of dancing.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III<br /><br /> -GREECE</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">There</span> is no lack of testimony, pictorial and literary, -to the ancient Greek love of the Dance.</p> - -<p>Among the various arts of war and peace that Vulcan -engraved upon that wondrous shield which he fashioned at -the entreaty of sad Thetis for her son Achilles, the Dance -was not forgotten; and the Homeric singer must have been -a lover of the art to limn as clear a picture as is given in -the eighteenth book of the Iliad.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“There, too, the skilful artist’s hand had wrought</div> - <div class="verse0">With curious workmanship, a mazy dance,</div> - <div class="verse0">Like that which Dædalus in Knossos erst</div> - <div class="verse0">At fair-haired Ariadne’s bidding framed.</div> - <div class="verse0">There, laying each on other’s wrists their hand,</div> - <div class="verse0">Bright youths and many-suitored maidens danced.”</div> - </div> - -<hr class="r20" /> - - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Now whirled they round with nimble practised feet,</div> - <div class="verse0">Easy, as when a potter, seated, turns</div> - <div class="verse0">A wheel, new-fashioned by his skilful hand</div> - <div class="verse0">And spins it round, to prove if true it run:</div> - <div class="verse0">Now featly moved in well-beseeming ranks.</div> - <div class="verse0">A numerous crowd, around, the lovely dance</div> - <div class="verse0">Surveyed, delighted; while an honoured Bard</div> - <div class="verse0">Sang, as he struck the lyre, and to the strain</div> - <div class="verse0">Two tumblers, in the midst, were whirling round.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The “two tumblers” is an interesting detail, but it does -not necessarily refer to the sort of acrobatic “tumbling”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span> -we are familiar with to-day. There have always been two -phases of the Dance which can best be understood by noting -the distinction marked by the use of two words in French—at -least by their use among the masters and writers of the -seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—namely, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danser</i> and -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">sauter</i>. The former means to dance, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">terre-à-terre</i>,” that -is, always with the feet, or one foot at least, on or -close to the ground; <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">sauter</i>, means invariably to leap -into the air, or even to perform steps while both feet are in -the air.</p> - -<p>We usually speak of “a somersault,” a “double somersault,” -and so forth. The word is a corruption from the old -French <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">soubresault</i>, from the Latin <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">supra</i>, over, and <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">saltus</i>, -leap.</p> - -<p>Early historians of the Dance frequently speak of -“saltation,” without any reference to the “somersault” -as we know it, but to what we should call simply -dancing.</p> - -<p>The Homeric picture must have been repeated innumerable -times since it was first limned, whenever and wherever -there has been a gathering of men and maids on a village -green, dancing in a circle, with a couple of high-leaping lads -in the centre inciting all to quicken the rhythm of the whirling -dance. Many an Elizabethan village must have realised -such a scene; and for all the artifice of the stage, with its -paint and footlights, does it not hold something of the -antique tradition in the picture often seen, of a circle of -dancing girls enclosing two wildly turning “stars”? Is it -impossibly un-Hellenic to presume that the “Two tumblers, -in the midst, were whirling round” in <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pirouettes</i>? At least -it may be considered—a presumption!</p> - -<p>Far later in Hellenic days we have a gracious picture of -the Dance in Theocritus’ eighteenth Idyll, “The Bridal of -Helen,” which reads delightfully in Calverley’s translation:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Whilom in Lacedæmon tripped many a maiden fair</div> - <div class="verse0">To gold-pressed Menelaus’ halls with hyacinths in her hair,</div> - <div class="verse0">Twelve to the painted chamber, the queenliest in the land,</div> - <div class="verse0">The clustered loveliness of Greece came dancing hand-in-hand.</div> - <div class="verse0">With woven steps they beat the ground in unison and sang</div> - <div class="verse0">The bridal hymn of triumph till all the Palace rang.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The Greek dance, it should be noted, was almost invariably -accompanied by singing; and the poet probably was often -indebted to the dance for the rhythm of his verse. The -bridal dance was of very ancient institution. Indeed, there -were few occasions which were not celebrated with dancing, -and the Greeks even followed the Egyptian custom of having -“dancers” at their funerals! It is not to be thought, -however, that the steps were exactly gay; nor need there -have been anything incongruous, for we can be sure the -instinctive taste of the people would not have admitted -such a thing, and, moreover, a dance and a dancer as they -saw it, were rather different from the vision we have recalled -by such words.</p> - -<p>To the ancient Greeks the Dance was a cult, an element -in the religious and physical well-being of the individual -and the State: and the dance that was taught to the child -became an important and lasting factor in the physical -growth and culture of the man.</p> - -<p>We who, most of us, are only too apt to look on dancing -as a mere trivial pastime, may wonder that it <em>was</em> so seriously -considered by the Greeks, and that it should have so earnestly -engaged the attentions of such philosophers as Plato and -Lucian. But perhaps that is only because we have not -considered it sufficiently ourselves and have associated it -too closely with theatrical display.</p> - -<p>In any form in which it is at its best the theatre is one -of the noblest and most influential institutions of civilisation; -as dancing, at its best, is one of the finest, because most<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span> -comprehensive, of the theatrical arts. But there is a vast -difference between the dance which was a means of physical -and mental development, pursued amid the health-giving -surroundings of sunshine and fresh air, and, let us say, some -such degradation of art as some examples of the “classic” -dance we have seen of recent years, performed in the glare -of footlights, amid the smoke-laden atmosphere of a music-hall.</p> - -<p>The contrast is an obvious one, but the thing to consider -is that we in England have allowed an art which held an -important place in Greek national life, and which should -be of the greatest educational value to ourselves, to become -mainly a spectacle of the theatre, where more often than -not it is seen at its best, not necessarily because it is the -result of the best system, <em>but because it is the fruit of the greatest -practice</em>.</p> - -<p>It is obviously impossible to deal very fully with the -Hellenic dance in the space of a chapter in a volume which -is not intended to trace the evolution of the Dance but of -Ballet. An entire book were needed to treat the subject -adequately—and we have not such a book in English, as yet. -But Emmanuel’s masterly technical review of Hellenic -dancing in his volume <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">La Danse Grecque</cite>, is invaluable, and -is testimony to the sound and catholic scholarship which in -France scorns no subject as “trivial” merely because those -ignorant of its history dismiss it as such; and which finds -sympathetic students in a country where all the arts are -treated with a respect that is at least as great as that offered -to commercialism.</p> - -<p>The Greeks are said to have derived their earlier dances -from Egypt. This may be questionable, because it is equally -likely that there was a traditional, indigenous dance in -Greece. But it was <em>through</em> the Greeks, certainly, that -dancing first assumed that variety and perfection of form<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span> -and style which all the arts seemed destined to attain under -their quickening, purifying, and inspiring influence; and -it was the Greeks, too, who first began to develop the art of -mimicry.</p> - -<p>First, as already suggested, there would probably have -been some occasion for joy, tending to express itself by -dancing; and a victory over an enemy, or gratitude for a -full harvest (the more exalted when the harvest was of the -grape!) would have been such occasions. Later must have -come the idea of <em>representing</em> the victory celebrated, or the -imagined characteristics of the being or beings who were -supposed to be the cause of the earth’s fruition, and who, -if propitiated by this tumultuous acknowledgment of gratitude, -perhaps might renew their favours.</p> - -<p>Thus, in time, out of the ritual of the Dance would have -grown the ritual of representation—Mimicry, miming, or -“acting,” as we call it; and little by little, from the wild -exuberance of recurring poetic festivals, such as those in -honour of Dionysus, would have grown the ordered sense of -Drama, the <em>representation</em> of thanksgiving, of feelings, events -and things by Mimicry, the actor’s art; either allied with, -or separate from, dancing.</p> - -<p>The Greeks, improving on the Egyptians, invented and -developed the idea of the Theatre. But though the Greeks -in their Drama <em>utilised</em> the arts of dancing and mimicry, it -would seem that they were quite subordinated to the literary -and dramatic art of the all-inspiring Poet, and that words, -with a meaning behind them, words representing, as far as -words can, thoughts, passions, emotions, actions, things, -were the essential medium of Greek Drama, <em>not</em> the art of -the Dancer or the Mime.</p> - -<p>It should be noted that the Greek <i lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">orcheisthai</i> (ὀρχεῖσθαι), -to dance, implied more than mere steps with the feet. It -included much that goes to make a really good ballet-dancer<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span> -of to-day—interpretative dancing and mimetic gesture. -The Greeks in fact had some of the material, if they did not -have as we know it—the Ballet.</p> - -<p>The earliest dramatic poets, Thespis, Phrynichus, were -called “dancers” because in addition to providing the -drama as poets, their function was to train their choruses -in the dances which, accompanied by singing, were introduced -in the play.</p> - -<p>One of the most celebrated of the actors in the plays of -Æschylus, Telestes, was said not merely to indicate feelings -but to “describe” events with his hands; and this, which -was really miming, was considered as part of dancing, -which Aristotle defined as “the representation of actions, -characters and passions by means of postures and rhythmic -movements.”</p> - -<p>Plutarch analyses dancing as “Motions, Postures and -Indications,” a “posture” being the attitude of the dancer -at the moment of arrested movement, and an “indication,” -the gesture which indicated an external object referred to -in a poet’s lines, such as the sky; or such as an orator would -use when raising his hand heavenward invoking the gods.</p> - -<p>The chief dances used in the Greek drama were the -<i>Emmeleia</i>, a stately measure; <i>Hyporchemata</i>, lively dances; -the <i>Kordax</i>, a very coarse and rough comic dance; and -finally the <i>Sikinnis</i>, which was attached especially to satyric -comedies and parodied as a rule the measure of the <i>Emmeleia</i>.</p> - -<p>These were all a part, though a subordinate part, of the -classic drama, and, according to some authorities, had their -foundation in the rhythm of the poet’s verse as it was sung -by the chorus or declaimed by the chief actors.</p> - -<p>But apart from these there were mimetic dances. One, -in which we may perhaps even see a hint of the origin of -dancing itself, is found in Longus’ novel, <cite>Daphnis and Chloe</cite>, -in which Dryas performs a vintage-dance, “pretending to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span> -gather grapes, to carry them in panniers, to tread them in -a vat and pour the flowing juice into jars, and then to drink -of the wine thus newly made”; and all done so cleverly -that the spectators were deceived for the time and thought -they really saw the grapes, the vats, and the wine the actor -made pretence of drinking. This, probably an incident -drawn from life, was indeed a “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">representation ingenieuse</i>,” -and even suggests yet another of the many possibilities as -to the origin of the Dance, namely—that dancing itself may -have originated from the treading of grapes.</p> - -<p>The famous Pyrrhic dance was of course mimetic and -represented a series of war-like incidents, all of which had -an educational purpose, as by their means the youthful -soldier was taught how to advance and retreat, how to aim -a blow or hurl a javelin and to dodge them; and how to -leap and vault, in event of meeting ditches and walls. Apart -from military dances in which physical culture and grace -were the chief aims, there were many dances of a purely -festival character taken part in by young men and girls, and -by girls alone.</p> - -<p>The close association between religion and the Dance -in ancient Hellenic days is seen in the number of festivals -in honour of the gods, at which special dances were performed, -apart from those which formed part of the classic -drama and others which were merely by way of joyous -pastime. Certain dances were performed annually in honour -of Jupiter; others, such as the <cite>Procharysteriæ</cite>, were in honour -of Minerva; then there was the <cite>Pæonian</cite> dance in honour -of Apollo; the <cite>Ionic</cite>, and the <cite>Kalabis</cite> and the famous -Dance of Innocence, instituted by Lycurgus, and executed -to the glory of Diana, by young Lacedæmonian girls before -the altar of the goddess. The Delian dance, special to the -isle of Delos, was much the same in character and closed -with the offering of floral garlands on the altar of Aphrodite.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span> -One of the most solemn incidents of the Eleusinian mysteries -was the mystical dance-drama representing the search of -Ceres for her daughter Proserpine—practically a “ballet,” -in the older acceptance of the word.</p> - -<p>The secular dance of the Greeks was essentially an individualistic -form. Men and women only rarely danced together, -and when they did, the joining of hands, or anything like -chain-dancing was exceptional. One of these exceptions -was the <cite>Hormos</cite>, or Collar-dance as it was called, which -Lucian describes as being danced by youths and maidens -advancing one by one in the form of a collar, made up of the -alternating jewels of feminine grace and manly strength, -the dance being led by a youth. Most of the Greek dances -had a leader, and the favour in which the art was held is -shown by the fact that they termed their Chief Magistrate -<i lang="el" xml:lang="el">Pro-orchestris</i>, or Leader of the Dance. As a rule, chain-dances -were performed by one or the other sex.</p> - -<p>In another sense also the Hellenic dance was individualistic. -We are accustomed to see entire groups, eight, sixteen, or -even thirty-two or more dancers all performing the same step -simultaneously. It is one of the conventions of Ballet, like -the chorus in “musical comedy.” But the Greeks had not -that convention.</p> - -<p>Although their dance was based on strict rhythm and was -governed by rigid rules, they governed the dance of the -individual, not of groups. He, or she, was adjudged a good -dancer by the grace of line displayed and rhythmic balance -of movement, and many a vase painting exhibits groups of -dancers who, though dancing in the mass, are each doing -different steps; and equally the gestures and mimetic -expression of each differed.</p> - -<p>The system unquestionably had its advantages, for while -the rhythm of the song or poetic verse which accompanied -the performers was the common basis of the dance for all,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span> -the individuality of expression undoubtedly gave a vitality -to the group which accounts for the vividness and charm -of their representation on many an antique vase.</p> - -<p>Numerous indeed were the various forms of the Hellenic -dance, sacred, dramatic, secular—Meursius catalogues some -two hundred—but further description would detain us too -long <em>en route</em> towards the culmination of all these earlier -types of mimetic and other dances in the Ballet of to-day, -and we have next to trace the growth of Latin Mime and -Pantomime.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV<br /><br /> -MIME AND PANTOMIME: ROME, HIPPODROME—OBSCURITY</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">If</span> to Greece modern Ballet owes much for the encouragement -of the Dance, to Rome it is even more indebted -for the development of the art of Pantomime.</p> - -<p>By many the word Pantomime is associated solely with -that time-honoured entertainment which children, home -for the Christmas holidays, are supposed to be too <em>blasé</em> -to care for, but which they go to by way of obliging parents -who feel it their duty to take them.</p> - -<p>The Christmas pantomime has long been one of our -cherished institutions, though, like the British Constitution, -it has undergone many changes. It is still given at Christmas. -That much of tradition remains. But most of its -original features have all but disappeared. Time was, two -hundred years ago, when it was mainly “Harlequinade,” -and Harlequin and his gay comrades of Italian comedy -were the heroes of the play. Then classical plots and allusions, -with an elaboration of scenic effect and “machines,” -brought about a gradual change. In the early nineteenth -century a “topical” and “patriotic” element had crept in; -but the Harlequinade, although shortened, and, shall we say, -<em>broadened</em>, still remained.</p> - -<p>Then a craze for “transformation” scenes set in because -the extreme gorgeousness of the tinsel productions of -Kemble and Macready—the archæological and historic -“accuracy” of which was always emphasised!—forced the -pantomime producers in self-defence to go one better.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span></p> - -<p>And then came Grimaldi to give a new life to the whimsies -of that Clown whose prototype dates back to ancient Rome; -and for half a century or more the Christmas pantomime -continued much the same—a familiar nursery-story played -out to the accompaniment of fairy-like and glittering scenic -accessories, concluding with a rough-and-tumble Harlequinade, -until in recent years the introduction of the Music-hall -performer gave us the entertainment we have to-day.</p> - -<p>Not thus, however, was the antique “pantomime,” which, -evolving from the more ancient and spoken “Mimes,” became, -because it took all nature for its province—pan-mimicry, -or pantomime; the stage representation, without -the spoken word, of all that eye could see or mind of man -conceive.</p> - -<p>Now, it is a far step from narrative to impersonation—marking -an advance in the technique of acting; and it -was some time before the Greek Drama had achieved this. -But it was not so much the impressive and noble side of -the Greek Drama that taught the actors, not merely to -<em>declaim</em> situations but to <em>act</em> them; it must have been the -popular, the comic side; and it was probably the Doric -farce, and later the early Latin comedy derived therefrom, -that really brought to perfection under the Roman Empire -the art of <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Miming</cite> apart from the art of Dancing.</p> - -<p>The comic is so much nearer to life as we see it every day -than the tragic; and it was this ability to see the more -familiar comic side of life, and the desire to travesty the -serious—whether in Greece or Rome—that first gave flexibility -and variety to the art of miming, or “acting,” as we -call it nowadays.</p> - -<p>It is because of this nearness to the life of the time, because -of the travesty of contemporary types and public -affairs, that the Latin actors made their wide appeal.</p> - -<p>From public encouragement would come the increasing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span> -endeavour of popular actors to outshine each other in -technical <a id="tn43"></a><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber’s Note—“tours de forces” changed to “tours de force”."><i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tours de force</i></ins>; -and from playing the familiar -types of Latin Comedy, such as Maccus, with his double -hump, prototype of our Punch; Pappus, forerunner of Pantaloon, -and other characters (some from the early <cite>Mimi</cite>, some -from the <cite>Atellanæ</cite> and <cite>Togatæ</cite> of tradition), the Latin Actors -of the first and second centuries <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> ultimately aspired to -the wordless representation of the gods and heroes of myth -and legend.</p> - -<p>According to one authority, “the Latin Pantomime grew -out of the custom at this period—the first century of the -Christian era—of having lyrical solos, such as interludes to -flute accompaniment, between the acts of the Latin comedies.” -According to that admirable historian of the stage, Mr. -Charles Hastings, “this new mode (Pantomime) was a kind -of mime, in which poses and gestures constituted the fundamental -portion of the play. Words occupied a secondary -place, and <em>eventually disappeared altogether</em>. Only the music -was preserved, and in order that the audience might understand -the gestures of the actors, little books were distributed -in Greek text, intelligible only to the learned and to the upper -classes. Later on the mask—rejected by the mime—was -adopted, and a chorus was employed to <em>accompany the -comedian with their voices, and to explain the multiple gestures -by which the actors created the different characters in turn. -Moreover, there was a company of mute players.</em> The libretti -left almost unlimited liberty of detail. Sometimes the music -broke off to enable the actor to finish his <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">fioritura</i> and variations. -Sometimes, on the other hand, the comedian paused, -or left the stage, while the story was taken up by the recitative -and the instruments.”</p> - -<p>All this reads much like a description of a modern “mimodrame,” -such as “L’Enfant Prodigue,” or “Sumurun.” -Again it reads not unlike a description of a modern ballet,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span> -for with these do we not often have printed synopses distributed, -though <em>not</em> in Greek text? But we have to remember -that the music was primitive, the scenic effect, -though often remarkable, was different from that of our -modern stage, with its greater mechanical resources; and, -finally, that all this was an innovation of the Roman stage, -for we are talking of the period that saw the dawn of the -Christian era.</p> - -<p>Among the more famous of the Latin pantomimists were -Pylades, who was the inventor of tragic pantomimes; and -Bathyllus, who was the composer of livelier episodes. For -some time they joined forces and had a theatre of their own, -where they staged comedies and tragedies composed by -themselves without words or any other aid in telling the -story of the play than dancing, pantomime and music.</p> - -<p>The innovation struck the popular fancy, and all Rome -flocked to support the new venture. The two actors were -received at the Emperor’s Court, and became the spoilt -darlings of the Roman “smart” set. The inevitable happened. -They began to intrigue at Court, and were made the centre -of intrigue; they became as jealous of each other as rival -opera singers, and in time a financially happy partnership -was dissolved, and there were two theatres devoted to pantomimes -instead of one.</p> - -<p>But as this form of drama was a novelty, and pleased -the “connoisseurs,” who were numerous and increasing in -numbers, both theatres were equally successful, perhaps the -more so in that the public is always specially interested in -ventures that appear to be in rivalry. The taste for existing -stage-productions slackened in favour of those offered by -Pylades and Bathyllus. Their “ballets” whether tragic, -comic or satiric were looked on as the very perfection of -tragedy, comedy or satire.</p> - -<p>It was no longer a matter of declamatory style to enjoy<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span> -or to criticise, it was a matter of steps, movements, gestures, -attitudes, figures or positions that were discussed by wise -connoisseurs of “the new thing,” who in Rome, as elsewhere -to-day, had much to say on what they presumed to understand -because—it was new! And such, it is said, was the -genius of the “producers” of this novel form of entertainment; -the effect was so natural, the stage-pictures were so -convincing, the pathos was so moving or the gaiety so free -and infectious, that the audiences forgot they had ears while -using enchanted eyes; and expressive gestures took the -place of vocal inflections, of the power of words and the magic -of poetic verse.</p> - -<p>Pylades before long found a rival star arise in the person -of Hylas, whose greatest performance was said to be in -<cite>Œdipus</cite>. If Pylades and Bathyllus had quarrelled, there was -evidently no love lost between Pylades and Hylas.</p> - -<p>Hylas on one occasion was giving a representation of -Agamemnon and, at a particular line referring to that historic -personage as “the great,” he rose up on tip-toe. “That,” -said Pylades scornfully, “is being <em>tall</em>, not ‘great’”; a -criticism not only just, but giving an excellent insight into -the methods and ideas of the famous Latin pantomimist.</p> - -<p>It is somewhat uncertain whether it was the Court intrigues -of Bathyllus or of Hylas or of both which ultimately secured -from the Emperor the sentence of banishment for Pylades, -or whether it was the daring, not to say impudence of the -actor in representing well-known people, or whether again -it may not have been the increasing danger of the constant -brawls which were taking place daily in the streets of Rome -between the rival factions—the Pyladians and the Bathyllians.</p> - -<p>But whatsoever the reason, the probability is that the -perpetual strife between the parties supporting the adored -actors (worse than ever was that between the Piccinists and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span> -Gluckists of the eighteenth century), with the constant blood-shed -it involved, was made the excuse for the convenient -removal of one of the principal factors in the disorder, and -that the influence of Bathyllus, possibly backed up by that -of Hylas, was able to secure the removal of the tragic actor.</p> - -<p>Pylades, however, had his revenge, for such was the -uproar in Rome on his banishment that the Emperor was -practically forced to recall him, and he returned in triumph.</p> - -<p>It is time, however, to leave the affairs of popular actors -of the ancient world, since it is less the details of their -personal history we need to consider than their importance -as the virtual inventors of the second element of Ballet, -the art of the mime, or, to use for a moment the more comprehensive -word—pantomime. Thus we can see that it is -largely due to the perfecting by the Italians of that art -which seems to have been even more natural to them than -to the Greeks—miming, that we have the Ballet of to-day.</p> - -<p>From the dawn of the Christian era, comedy gave place -to a perfect craze, first for the mime, and then for its offspring, -pure pantomime. But, finally, the mimetic art as a -standing entertainment of the Roman public, came to suffer -neglect in favour of circuses; then, together with the -circuses, it was opposed by the Churches. There were -spasmodic revivals in the fourth and fifth centuries, but -from the fifth century mime and pantomime practically -ceased to exist in Constantinople, to which the seat of the -Roman Empire had by that time been removed; and the -arts both of the dancer and the mime fell upon a period of -obscurity, though they went into retirement with all the -reluctance of a modern “star.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V<br /><br /> -CHURCH THUNDER AND CHURCH COMPLAISANCE</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">It</span> is a truism of history that opposition towards the -amusements of a people only increases the desire for -them, and that the undue pressure of a law, or of a too -rigid majority, only stimulates the invention of evasions. -In dramatic history there is ample proof of this.</p> - -<p>In England during the seventeenth century the force -of Puritan opinion and of law did not crush the Drama, -but led to unseemly licence.</p> - -<p>When, in the early eighteenth century, Paris was enlivened -by the spectacle of the majestic Royal Opera, -endeavouring by legal thunder to suppress the lively vaudeville -performances of the too popular Paris Fairs, and even -going to the length of obtaining decrees forbidding the -Fair theatres to perform musical plays in which words were -sung, were the managers of the little theatres downhearted?</p> - -<p>No! they merely evaded the law and made a mockery of -pompous interference by having the music of their songs -played, while the meaning was acted in dumb-show, and—the -actual words, printed very large, were displayed -on a screen let down to the stage from above! Their -audiences, catching the spirit of the thing, enjoyed the -wit of the evasion and supported the performances all -the more.</p> - -<p>There are many people who can only relish that which -they have been told is wrong.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span></p> - -<p>Much the same spirit was abroad about sixteen hundred -years ago, when the growing power of the Christian Church -began to be a calculable factor in “practical politics,” -and the embarrassment of successive Roman emperors in -trying to rule an unwieldy and decaying Empire was -increased by the moral warfare between the more -rigid sects of the new Church and the pleasures of the -people.</p> - -<p>It should, however, be said in justice to the early Churchmen -that many of the pleasures of the people had become -entirely scandalous, and detrimental to the manhood of the -Empire, at least as seen in the Empire’s capital. Over such -let us draw a veil!</p> - -<p>While, in these “democratic” days, it may be doubted -if there <em>are</em> any of the English-speaking race who “dearly -love a lord” (though there is really no reason why they -should not!), there were certainly some thousands of the -Byzantine populace in the third and fourth centuries to -whom a successful circus-rider or gladiator, actor or dancer, -was of far more interest than any peer of their period.</p> - -<p>The histrionic favourites lacked, of course, the advantages -of picture-postcard fame, and had to be content with immortality -in verse. But as for the now hackneyed “stage -romance” of the marriage of a youthful scion of a noble -house with some resplendent star of the theatrical firmament, -did not a Byzantine Emperor, Justinian, marry Theodora, -once a popular dancer at the Hippodrome!</p> - -<p>Yet he it was who made one of the more effective moves -to suppress some of his people’s excessive opportunities for -amusement, by abolishing the laws under which the expense -of the performances in the Hippodrome, and some of the -less important theatres had been met by the Imperial -treasury. This, however, was mainly due to his beautiful -wife, who had seen all the vilest side of theatrical life in a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span> -time when the older dramatic culture had given place to -banal and vulgar entertainments involving a horrible servitude -of those engaged in providing them.</p> - -<p>Before this, however, the Church’s thunder had been -launched at the grosser theatrical spectacles, and the Theatre -had retaliated by mocking the adherents of the then new -religion. Where fulmination failed, control by influence -was essayed. But for all the attacks of the more advanced -and severer leaders of the early Church, there must have -been something of confusion for at least the first five centuries -of the Christian era. Indeed, in the endeavour of the Church -to transmute the popular love of theatrical spectacles into -something higher, and to awaken the public interest in the -service of the Church, what with the introduction of choral -song, with strophe and antistrophe, and of solemn processionals, -even it is said of ceremonial dances performed by -the choir—such as the Easter dances still seen in Spain -to-day—the Church itself must have come at times to seem -perilously sympathetic towards the very things it was professing -to condemn.</p> - -<p>Did not Gregory Nazianzen implore Julian, before he -became “the Apostate,” to be more discreet, saying in -effect: “If you must dance, and if you must take part in -these fêtes, for which you seem to have such a passion, then -dance, if you must; but <em>why</em> revive the dissolute dances of -the daughter of Herodias, and of the pagans? Dance rather -as King David did before the Ark; dance to the glory of -God. Such exercises of peace and of piety are worthy of an -Emperor and a Christian.”</p> - -<p>In short, wise cleric as he was, he found no fault with the -healthy exercise of the dance itself, but only with such -dance and other Byzantine entertainment as had tended, -or might tend, to become merely an exhibition of depraved -taste.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span></p> - -<p>Indeed, how could he have inveighed against the dance -as an expression of clean rejoicing when it had been recorded: -“And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, -took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out -after her with timbrels <em>and with dances</em>”?<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> Had not the -servants of Achish said: “Is not this David the king of -the land? did not they <em>sing one to another of him in dances</em>, -saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten -thousands?”<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> Had it not, too, been written: “And -David danced before the Lord with all his might.”<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - -<p>No, the Church thunder had been directed against the -licence by which the arts of dancing and miming had been -corrupted, and against, not wholesome athleticism and -healthy sport, but the hysterical brutalities and “professionalism” -of the arena.</p> - -<p>And if further proof were required of ecclesiastical interest -in and practice of the thing it only attacked when seen in -degraded form, it is to be found in the fact that in -744, the Pope Zacharias promulgated a Bull suppressing -all so-called “religious dances,” or “baladoires” as he -called them, which were showing signs of becoming -“degenerate.”</p> - -<p>These were dances which were performed in, or within -the precincts of cathedrals and churches at certain festivals -such as Easter, Midsummer and Christmas; and of which -the old English bonfire dances of St. John’s Eve, were (and -the modern carnival, and the Eastertide ceremonial seen -in Seville to-day, <em>are</em>) probably survivals, though, to be sure, -they should be accounted originally as survivals of earlier -pagan dances in honour of the sun, and of the harvest, -and not as originating with the Christian Church.</p> - -<p>It may seem a far cry from the date of Pope Zacharias’ -edict of 744, to 1462, when the first of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballets ambulatoires</i> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span>is recorded, but it must not be supposed that dancing, if -not miming, is entirely lacking in history during those seven -hundred odd years. Any history of dancing would aid us in -at least partly bridging such a gap; but it will be convenient -in a chapter dealing more especially with early -ecclesiastical influence on the evolution of Ballet, to -deal now with a form of entertainment or of religious -festival which was essentially a creation of the earlier -Church.</p> - -<p>The famous procession of the Fête Dieu which King -René d’Anjou, Count of Provence, established at Aix in -1462, was, as an old historian tells us, an “ambulatory” -ballet, “composed of a number of allegorical scenes, called -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entremets</i>.” This word <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entremets</i>, which was later replaced by -“interludes,” designated a miming spectacle in which men and -animals represented the action. Sometimes jugglers and -mountebanks showed their tricks and danced to the sound of -their instruments. These entertainments were called <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entremets</i> -because they were instituted to occupy the guests agreeably -at a great feast, during the intervals between the courses. -“The entre-actes of our first tragedies,” the writer adds, -“were arranged in this manner, as one sees in the works -of Baif, the interludes in the tragedy of <cite>Sophonisbie</cite>. More -than five hundred mountebanks, Merry Andrews, comedians -and buffoons, exhibited their tricks and prowess at the full -Court which was held at Rimini to arm the knights and -nobles of the house of Malatesta and others.”</p> - -<p>As the fêtes and tournaments, given on these occasions, -were accompanied by acts of devotion, the festivals of the -Church often displayed also something of the gallant pomp -of the tournaments.</p> - -<p>These <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballets ambulatoires</i>, however, with all their richer -pageantry, were yet to be outshone by the two secular -entertainments to which we must devote our next chapter—the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span> -banquet-dance of Bergonzio di Botta, of 1489, and the -still more famous “Ballet Comique de la Reine,” of 1581, -the last of which, there can be little doubt, had important -effect in the development if not creation of our English -masque, which, in turn, had an immense influence on the -evolution of modern Ballet.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI<br /><br /> -THE BANQUET-BALL OF BERGONZIO DI BOTTA, -1489, AND THE FAMOUS “BALLET COMIQUE DE -LA REINE,” 1581</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">A superb</span> and ingenious festivity was that arranged by -Bergonzio di Botta, a gentleman of Tortona, in honour -of the wedding of Galeazzo, Duke of Milan, with Isabella -of Aragon.</p> - -<p>The good Bergonzio was a lover of all the best things of -life, but especially of dining and of dancing. That historic -<em>gourmet</em>, Brillat Savarin, commends him for his taste in -the former matter, as may we for the bright idea of combining -a dinner with a dance, one of somewhat nobler plan -than any modern example!</p> - -<p>The dinner was of many courses and each was introduced -by the servers and waiters with a dance in character, the -whole constituting a sort of dinner-ballet. In the centre -of a stately salon, which was surrounded by a gallery -where various musicians were distributed, there was a large -table.</p> - -<p>As the Duke and his lady entered the salon by one door, -from another approached Jason and the Argonauts who, -stepping proudly forth to the sound of martial music -and by dance and gestures expressing their admiration of -so handsome a bride and bridegroom, covered the table with -the Golden Fleece which they were carrying.</p> - -<p>This group then gave place to Mercury who, in recitative,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span> -described the cunning which he had used in stealing from -Apollo, who guarded the flocks of Admetus, a fat calf, with -which he came to pay homage to the newly married pair. -While he placed it on the table three “quadrilles” who -followed him executed a graceful <em>entrée</em>.</p> - -<p>Diana and her nymphs then succeeded Mercury. The -Goddess was followed by a kind of litter on which was a -hart. This, she explained, was Actæon, who, although -no longer alive, was happy in that he was to be offered to so -amiable and fair a nymph as Isabella of Aragon. At this -moment a melodious symphony attracted the attention of -the guests. It announced the singer of Thrace, who was -seen playing on his lyre while chanting the praises of the -young duchess.</p> - -<p>“I mourned,” he sang, “on Mount Apennine the death -of tender Eurydice. Now, hearing of the union of two lovers -worthy to live for one another, I have felt, for the first time -since my sorrow, an impulse of joy. My songs have changed -with the feelings of my heart. A flock of birds has flown -to hear my song. I offer them to the fairest princess on -earth, since the charming Eurydice is no more.”</p> - -<p>A sudden clamour interrupted his song as Atalanta and -Theseus, heading a nimble and brilliant troupe, represented -by lively dances the glories of the chase. The mimic hunt -was terminated by the death of the wild boar of Calydon, -which was offered to the young Duke, with triumphal -“ballets.”</p> - -<p>A magnificent spectacle then succeeded this picturesque -entrance. On one side was Iris, seated on a car drawn by -peacocks and followed by several nymphs, covered in light -gauze and carrying dishes of superb birds. The youthful -Hebe appeared on the other side, carrying the nectar which -she poured for the gods. She was accompanied by Arcadian -shepherds, laden with all kinds of food and by Vertumnus and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span> -Pomona who offered all manner of fruits. At the same time -the shade of that famous <em>gourmet</em> Apicius rose from the -earth, presenting to this superb feast all the delicacies he -had invented and which had given him the reputation of -the most voluptuous among ancient Romans. This spectacle -disappeared and then there was a wondrous ballet of all the -gods of the sea and rivers of Lombardy; who carried the -most exquisite fish and served them while executing dances -of different characters.</p> - -<p>This extraordinary repast was followed by a yet more -singular spectacle opened by Orpheus, who headed a procession -of Hymen and a troop of Loves, followed by the -Graces who surrounded Conjugal Faith, whom they presented -to the Princess, while offering, themselves, to -serve her.</p> - -<p>At this moment, Semiramis, Helen, Medea and Cleopatra -interrupted a recitative by Conjugal Faith to sing of the -delights of Passion. Then a Vestal, indignant that the -recital of pure and true marriages should be sullied by such -guilty songs, ordered the notorious queens to withdraw. -At her voice, the Loves, who accompanied her, joined in a -lively dance, pursuing the wicked queens with lighted -torches and setting fire to the gauze veils of their headdress! -Lucretia, Penelope, Thomiris, Porcia and Sulpicia -replaced them and presented to the young Princess that -palm for chastity which they had merited during their -lives. Their “modest and noble” dance, however, was interrupted -by Bacchus, with a troop of revellers who came to -celebrate so illustrious a bridal, and the festival terminated -in a manner as gay as it was ingenious.</p> - -<p>The fête achieved a prodigious fame throughout Italy. -It was the talk of every city and a full description of its -glories was published, while crowds of “society hostesses” -of the period endeavoured to emulate the ingenuity<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span> -of its originators, and the vogue of the dinner-ballet -“arrived.”</p> - -<p>One effect of its fame was that for a century it set the -fashion for the Royal and Ducal Courts throughout Europe. -Every Court had its “ballets,” in which lords and ladies of -highest degree took part; and the movement was greatly -fostered by Catherine de Medici, who sought to divert the -attention of her son, Henry III, from political affairs towards -the more congenial ways of social amusement, of which -Court-ballets formed considerable part.</p> - -<p>The culmination of these sumptuous entertainments came, -however, in 1581, when in celebration of the betrothal of -the Duc de Joyeuse and Marguerite of Lorraine, sister of -the Queen of France, a spectacle was arranged, the splendour -of which had never been seen in the world before. This was -Beaujoyeux’s famous “Ballet Comique de la Royne”—or <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">de la -Reine</i> in modern spelling—which set all cultured Europe -aglow with praise of its designer. A special account of it, -with many charming engravings, was printed by order of -the King to send to foreign Courts. So much did it set a -fashion that the elaborate masked balls and the numerous -Court-masques and entertainments which followed in the -reigns of Henry VIII, Elizabeth and James were directly -inspired by the success of Beaujoyeux’s ballet, even as they -in turn influenced the subsequent productions of Louis -XIV in France.</p> - -<p>The author and designer was an Italian, by name Baltasarini, -famous as a violinist. He was introduced by the -Duc de Brissac to the notice of Catherine de Medici, who -appointed him a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">valet de chambre</i>, and subsequently he -became official organiser of the Court fêtes, ballets and -concerts, assuming the name of Baltasar de Beaujoyeux.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp51" id="i056a" style="max-width: 21.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_056a.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Stage Effect in the 16th Century<br /> -(<em>A Scene from the “Ballet Comique de la Royne,” by Baltasar de -Beaujoyeux</em>, 1581).</div> -</div> - - -<p>The account of the ballet was sumptuously published. -The title-page read as follows:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span></p> - - -<p class="pfs90">BALET COMIQUE</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse8">De la Royne, faict</div> - <div class="verse8">aux nopces de mon</div> - <div class="verse8">sieur le Duc de Ioyeuse &</div> - <div class="verse8">madamoyselle de Vau</div> - <div class="verse8">demont sa sœur.</div> - <div class="center">par</div> - <div class="center">Baltasar de Beavioyevlx</div> - <div class="center">valet de chambre du</div> - <div class="center">Roy et de la Royne sa mère.</div> - <div class="center">à Paris</div> - <div class="center">par</div> - <div class="center">Adrian le Roy, Robert Ballard, et Mamert Patisson</div> - <div class="center">Imprimeurs du Roy.</div> - <div class="center">MDLXXXII</div> - <div class="center">Avec Privilege.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>After a courtly dedication “Au Roy de France, et de -Pologne,” full of praise for his prowess in arms and his taste -in art, full of graceful compliment by classic implications, -he follows with an address:</p> - - -<p class="pfs100">AU LECTEUR.</p> - -<div class="blockquoty"> - -<p>Povravtant, amy Lecteur, que le tiltre et inscription de -ce livre est sans example, et que lon n’a point veu par cy -deuant aucun Balet auoir esté imprimé, ny ce mot de Comique -y estre adapté: ie vous prieray ne trouver ny l’un ny l’autre -estrange. Car quant au Balet, encores que ci soit vne inuention -moderne, ou pour le moins, repétée si long de l’antiquité, -que l’on la puisse nommer telle: n’estant à la verité que des -meslanges geometriques de plusieurs personnes dansans -ensemble sous vne diuerse harmonie de plusieurs instruments: -ie vous confesse que simplement representé par -l’impression, cela eust eu beaucoup de nouveauté, et peu -de beauté, de reciter vne simple Comedie: aussi cela n’eust -pas esté ny bien excellent, ny digne d’vne si grande Royne,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span> -qui vouloit faire quelque chose de bien magnifique et triomphant. -Sur ce ie me suis advisé qu’il ne seroit point indecent -de mesler l’un et l’autre ensemblement, et diversifier la -musique de poesie, et entrelacer la poesie de musique et le -plus souvent les côfrondre toutes deux ensemble: ansi que -l’antiquité ne recitoit point ses vers sans musique, et Orphée -ne sonnoit jamais sans vers, i’ay toutes fois donné le premier -tiltre et honneur à la danse, et le second à la substâce, que -i’ay inscrite Comique, plus pour la belle, tranquille et heureuse -conclusion, ou elle se termine, que pour la qualité des personnages, -qui sont presque tous dieux et déesses, ou autres -personnes heroiques. Ainsi i’ay animé et fait parler le Balet, -et chanter et resonner la Comedie: et y adjoustant plusieurs -rares et riches représentations et ornements, ie puis dise -avoir contenté en un corps bien proportionné, l’œil, l’oreille, -et l’entendement. Vous priant que la nouveauté, ou intitulation -ne vous en face mal juger; car estant l’invention -principalement. Composée de ces deux parties, ie ne pouvois -tout attribuer au Balet, sans faite tout à la Comedie, distinctement -representée par ses scènes et actes: ny à la -Comedie sans prejudicier au Balet, qui honore, esgaye -et rempli d’harmonieux recits le beau sens de la Comedie. -Ce que m’estant bien advis vous avoir deu abondamment -instruire de mon intention, ie vous prie aussi ne vous -effaroucher de ce nom et prendre le tout en aussi bonne -par, comme i’ay desire vous satisfaire pour mon -regard.</p> -</div> - -<p>Although the quaint spelling of the old French may offer -a passing difficulty to some readers, I have felt it advisable -to give the address as it stands, for it presents several -points of extraordinary interest.</p> - -<p>First and foremost is the fact that it claims Beaujoyeux’s -ballet to be the first ever printed!</p> - -<p>His description of a ballet as “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">meslanges geometriques de -plusieurs personnes dansans ensemble</i>” is extremely interesting. -Pylades the Latin dancer-mime declared that no man<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span> -could become a perfect mime who did not understand music, -painting, sculpture <em>and</em> geometry! And in recent years a -well-known Italian <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître</i> with whom I was discussing Ballet -remarked, as he held up a case of drawing instruments, -“Here is the whole art of choreography,” or ballet-composition. -This may seem a somewhat exaggerated assertion, but it -is a fact that without some knowledge of geometry it would -be difficult for a composer of Ballet to tell the effect that -would be produced by lines and groups of dancers in the -sight of a huge audience all looking at the stage from different -angles.</p> - -<p>Beaujoyeux’s claim to appeal to and satisfy “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">l’œil, -l’oreille, et l’entendement</i>” is also interesting, and quite in -accord with modern ideas of the Ballet.</p> - -<p>The entertainment itself must have been a remarkable -affair. It began with a fine water display by a fountain with -twelve sides, on each of which were two naiads, with musical -instruments, for the “concert,” which accompanied the -singers. Above the fountain-basin, which was full of fish, -rose another on pillars, where twelve niches made seats for -so many nymphs. In the middle, dolphins carried a crown -and formed a throne for the Queen. Two other basins rose -again above, formed of other dolphins grouped, which -spouted great jets of water, and the whole was topped by a -golden ball five feet in diameter.</p> - -<p>It was from this “machine,” drawn by sea-horses and -accompanied by twelve tritons and as many sirens with -their instruments, that there descended the Queen, the -Princesse de Lorraine, the Duchesses de Mercueil, de Guise, -de Nevers, d’Aumale and de Joyeuse, Marechal de Raiz, -and de l’Archant and the Demoiselles de Pons, de Bourdeille -and de Cypierre—who had all been seated in golden cars, -and who were dressed in silver cloth and crêpe encrusted -with gold bullion and precious stones. Thus they made the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span> -first entrance, arranging themselves in twelve different figures. -At the first entrance they were six abreast and three in -front in a triangle, of which the Queen formed the first point.</p> - -<p>After this impressive opening the ballet meandered -through the story of Circe, with musical interludes, songs -and dances, and elaborate allegory. But as the first act -began at ten in the evening and the last did not finish till -after five in the morning, it will be seen that the production -was as lengthy as it was magnificent. Some idea of the -splendour of the fête, indeed, may be gathered from the fact -that it cost something over three and a half million francs. -The conclusion was graceful. The Queen and the Princesses, -who had represented naiads and nereids, presented gold -medals to the princes and seigneurs who, in the guise of -tritons, had danced with them—presumably as a reward -for their patience! This presentation of gifts became quite -a custom at these courtly ballets, and doubtless the modern -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">cotillon</i> is a survival.</p> - -<p>The “Ballet Comique” set a fashion throughout Europe, -and various Courts vied with each other in similar entertainments. -The English Court had, of course, already had its -ceremonial balls, masked balls and “masques,” but their -splendour had been nothing to this, and the subsequent -fêtes at the Courts of Elizabeth and James were directly -influenced by the example of the French in this direction, -as we shall see when we come to deal with the English masque -as a form of Ballet.</p> - -<p>Let us first, however, consider the dances of the period, -for which we have an excellent authority in the work of -Thoinot Arbeau.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII<br /><br /> -THOINOT ARBEAU’S “ORCHÉSOGRAPHIE,” 1588</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">“In</span> Spring,” we know, “the young man’s fancy lightly -turns to thoughts of love.” In the winter of life it -would seem that an old man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts -of the dances that his time-stiffened limbs can no more -achieve with their earlier agility and grace, and he takes to—writing -about them. For it is strange but true that some -of the most entertaining volumes on the subject are those -written on the history of the dance by “grave and reverend -seigneurs”; who, one would imagine, had long foregone -all thought of youthful pastimes and turned their minds to -solemner affairs. Three such, at least, I can recall—Thoinot -Arbeau, Bonnet, and Baron.</p> - -<p>Over three centuries ago—nay, nearly four, we come -upon a somewhat sage and elderly gentleman, Thoinot -Arbeau, whose book with its strange title, <cite>Orchésographie</cite>, -was published in 1588.</p> - -<p>Was it shyness, or sheer fraud that made him write it -under a false name, a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">nom de théâtre</i> it would almost seem. -For Thoinot Arbeau was <em>not</em> his name, but a sort of anagram -on his real one, which was Jehan Tabourot. Moreover, he -was sixty-seven when he wrote it, and was a Canon of the -Church! He was born at Dijon in 1519, and was the son of -one Estienne Tabourot, a King’s Counsellor! Think of it—born -four hundred years ago, yet he speaks to our time, -telling us, albeit in somewhat stiff and difficult French, of -the dances that were in vogue in <em>his</em> dancing days.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span></p> - -<p>As to the strange title of his work, its meaning will of -course be apparent to all who know anything of the history -of the subject, for they will remember that the Greek word -for the dance was <i>Orcheisthai</i> (the <em>Orchestra</em> being the floor-space -where the dancers performed); and so Orchéso<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">graphie</i> -is merely a treatise on the writing of dances; that -is, the setting of them down in such form that subsequent -readers could study the dances therefrom.</p> - -<p>The recording of the actual steps of dances has always -been a problem, and other leading masters in France (such -as Beauchamps, Pécourt, Feuillet) and in England (such as -Weaver) had several more or less successful shots during the -seventeenth and eighteenth centuries at inventing a sort of -dance-shorthand.</p> - -<p>The very first author to attempt such a thing with any -real success was apparently our friend Arbeau; for earlier -works, such as that of Caroso, are very poor. Into the full -details of his system, however, I do not propose to enter -now, for the matter is somewhat technical. The interest -of Arbeau’s work, however, is by no means mainly technical.</p> - -<p>The book, which was published at Lengres in 1588, is -written in the form of a dialogue “by which everyone can -easily learn and practise the honest exercise of the dances,” -to give the quaint phraseology of the original, the two -speakers being Arbeau the author, and Capriol, a youth -who some few years earlier had left Lengres to go to Paris -and Orleans and now, on his return, has sought out Arbeau -to learn from him all that he can of dancing. Thoinot at -first does not recognise him because, as he says, “You have -grown so, and I believe that you have also enlarged your -spirit by virtue and knowledge.” He asks the young man’s -opinion of the study of Law, remarking that he was also -once a law-student.</p> - -<p>Capriol expresses his admiration for the law as a necessary<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span> -institution, but complains that his neglect of the polite -arts, while in the company of the Orleans law-students, has -made him dull and wooden. He says that his knowledge -of fencing and tennis makes him an acceptable companion -with other youths, but he fails as a dancer to please the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">demoiselles</i>, a point on which, it seems to him, depends the -whole reputation of a young man who contemplates marriage. -Then follows some sound advice, with curious details, from -Arbeau, on the advantages of dancing as a matrimonial agent, -and he acclaims the art as one necessary to social welfare.</p> - -<p>Capriol agrees and expresses his disgust that the dance -should have been so subject to bitter attacks, of which he -quotes historic instances. Arbeau neatly responds that, -“For one who has blamed, an infinity have esteemed and -praised the art,” also following with quoted examples, saying, -indeed, that “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Le S. prophete royal dauid dāça au deuāt de -l’arche de Dieu</i>,” or, in other words, that “the holy prophet, -King David, danced before the Ark of God.”</p> - -<p>In the course of their conversation, Arbeau makes learned -references to the derivation of the word “Dance,” mentioning -others then in use that were allied to it, such as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">saulter</i> -(from the Latin <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">saltare</i>), <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">caroler</i> (hence our “carols,” or songs -which, originally, accompanied certain religious dances), -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">baler</i>, and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">trepiner</i>, Capriol remembers that the ancients had -three kinds of dances: the sedate <i>Emmeleia</i>, the gay <i>Kordax</i>, -and the mixed <i>Sikinnis</i>, the first of which Arbeau likens -(quite unhistorically) to the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pavanes</i> and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">basse-dance</i> of his -own period; the second, to the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">gaillardes</i>, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">voltas</i>, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">corantos</i>, -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">gavottes</i> (note that—a reference to the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">gavotte</i> in 1588!) and -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">branles</i> (or, as Elizabethan Englishmen called them, -“brawls”); while the third, he declares, must have been -similar to the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">branles doubles</i> and to “the dance which we -call <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bouffons</i> or <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">matachins</i>.”</p> - -<p>Then, very wisely, he points out that most objections to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span> -dancing have been provoked not by decent but by—objectionable -dancing! And as Capriol hastily assures his austere -but kindly teacher that he wants none of <em>that</em> sort, but that -he is anxious to teach his twelve-year-old sister what Arbeau -is good enough to teach him, the old man proceeds on most -polite and methodical lines.</p> - -<p>Arbeau, truly remarking that rhythm is the basis of the -dance, as it was always of all military marching and evolutions, -then goes on to give a wonderful disquisition on that -glorious instrument, the drum, and a masterly analysis of -its rhythmic possibilities, both as an inspirer of soldiers on -the march and as a stimulus to the dance.</p> - -<p>The old man’s enthusiasm for an instrument that has -never really received its due homage is truly fine, and he -gives no less than seventy-six examples of drum-beat on -a common-time basis. He follows this with an exposition of -fife-playing (with musical examples); his earnest plea for -this study of drum (<em>tambour</em>) and fife being only preparatory -to a study of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">basse-dances</i>, which were properly accompanied -by both instruments.</p> - -<p>As several of these dances of three centuries agone have been -revived in our time, it is of interest to consider them in some -detail, more especially as they formed the choregraphic -basis of all the ballets subsequently for some two centuries. -Arbeau informs us that most of what he calls the “recreative” -dances (or as we might say “social,” as opposed to -the more ceremonial affairs necessitating an orchestra) were -performed in his forebears’ time to the music of the flute -and little drum.</p> - -<p>Capriol asks: “Tell me, what are these dances and how -are they done?”</p> - -<p>To which Arbeau replies that they danced, in his father’s -days, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pavanes</i>, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">basse-dances</i>, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">branles</i> and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">courantes</i>, which -have been in use some forty or fifty years.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span></p> - -<p>Capriol asks: “How did our fathers dance the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">basse-dance</i>?”</p> - -<p>Arbeau replied that they had two sorts, the one common -and regular, the other irregular, the former being danced to -“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chansons régulieres</i>,” and the latter to “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chansons irrégulieres</i>,” -and proceeds to explain that, for the former songs, -there were sixteen bars which were repeated, making thirty-two -to commence with; then a middle part of sixteen bars; -and a close of sixteen, repeated; making eighty bars in all. -If the air of the song was longer than this, the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">basse-dance</i> -played on it was termed “irregular.” He then explains that -the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">basse-dance</i> proper was in three parts, the term being -really only applied to the first; the second being called -“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">retour de la basse-dance</i>,” and the third and last being -termed “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tordion</i>.”</p> - -<p>Then comes the following:</p> - -<p class="pfs90">“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Memoire des mouvements pour la basse-dance.</i></p> - -<p class="fs90 pad40pc noindent">R b ss d r d r b ss ddd r d<br /> -r b ss d r b c.”</p> - -<p>Not unnaturally Capriol, who is for ever asking quite -intelligent questions, wants a translation of this cryptic-looking -array of letters. It is better understood when one -hears that “R” stands for <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">reverence</i>, “b” for a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">branle</i>, -“ss” for <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">deux simples</i>, “d” for a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">double</i> (or three “ddd” -for three “doubles”); the small “r” stands for a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">réprise</i>, -and “c” for <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">congé</i>; all of which are terms understood by -dancers of to-day.</p> - -<p>He gives very careful directions not only for performing -the “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">reverence</i>,” the “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">simple</i>,” the “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">double</i>,” the “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">réprise</i>,” -and the “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">congé</i>,” but for performing the various movements -of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">basse-dance</i>, the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">retour</i>, and the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tordion</i>; as, for instance, -when he remarks that “You begin the dance of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tordion</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span> -which is in triple time, just like the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">basse-dance</i>: but it is -(to give his own words) <em>plus legiere and concitée</em>.”</p> - -<p>He describes the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Pavane</i> as “easy” to dance, and gives -details of its performance, together with the music of that -famous and lovely example, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Belle qui tiens ma vie captive</i>,” -the words being given in full, for four voices and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tambour</i> -accompaniment.</p> - -<p>The <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Gaillarde</i>, he says, is so-called “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">parce qu’il fault estre -gaillard and dispos pour la dancer</i>,” and with much detail as -to its performance explains that while danced somewhat like -the tordion the latter is done “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">plus doulcement and avec -actions and gestes moings violents</i>.”</p> - -<p>He gives nearly a dozen musical examples for the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">gaillarde</i>, -one called “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">La traditors my fa morire</i>”; another “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Anthoinette</i>”; -another, with the charming title “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Baisons nous -belle</i>”; another, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Si j’ayme ou non</i>.”</p> - -<p>Capriol, by the way, remarks <em>apropos</em> after the second-named, -that “At Orleans when we give <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Aubades</i> we always -play on our lutes and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">guiternes</i> a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">gaillarde</i> called ‘<cite>La Romanesque</cite>,’” -but that it seemed so hackneyed and trivial that he -and his companions took to “<cite>Anthoinette</cite>” as being livelier -and having a better rhythm.</p> - -<p>The <cite>Gaillarde</cite> was in triple time, and was made up of five -steps (or four steps and a leap) and one “position”; the -term <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">cinq pas</i> also being alternatively applied to it, hence -the Shakespearean “cinque-pace” and “sink-a-pace.”</p> - -<p>The <cite>Volte</cite>, from which is derived the modern valse, was -described by Arbeau as “a species of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">gaillarde</i> familiar to -the Provençals,” danced, like the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tordion</i>, in triple time, and -consisting of two steps and a leap. The <cite>Volte</cite>, or <cite>Volta</cite>, as -it was as often called, was popular in England, as was the -<cite>Gaillarde</cite>, and references to it are found in Shakespeare -(<cite>Troilus and Cressida</cite>) and in the one really great work on -the Dance in English literature, namely, Sir John Davies’<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span> -richly imaginative and finely musical poem, <em>Orchestra, or a -Poeme on Daunciny</em>, which was published in 1596, only -eight years after Arbeau’s <cite>Orchésographie</cite>.</p> - -<p>The <cite>Courante</cite>, Arbeau describes as very different from the -<cite>Volte</cite>. It is also (in contrast to the <cite>Pavanes</cite> and <cite>Basse-dances</cite>) -a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danse sautée</i>, but in twelve time, with running steps, requiring -from time to time not the quick, light leaping of a -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">volte</i>, but the sort of slow soaring for which Vestris was -famous in the eighteenth century and Volinin and Bohn can -perform so superbly to-day.</p> - -<p>Arbeau says that in his youth the dance was given as a -kind of “ballet,” by three young men and three girls, with -grace and dignity and he bewails its subsequent decadence. -The old English term was “current traverse.” In Sir John -Davies’ <cite>Orchestra</cite> one finds the following reference:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“What shall I name those currant travases</div> - <div class="verse0">That on a triple <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dactyl</i> foot do run</div> - <div class="verse0">Close by the ground in sliding passages?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">In Shakespeare’s <cite>Henry the Fifth</cite>, too, is the following:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseqq">“<em>Bourbon</em>: They bid us to the English dancing-schools</div> - <div class="verse7">And teach <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">lavoltas</i> high and swift <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">corantos</i>;”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">and Sir Toby Belch, it will be recalled, asks: “Why dost -thou go to church in a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">galliard</i> and come home in a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">coranto</i>? -My very walk should be a jig ... sink-a-pace.”</p> - -<p>There seems, however, considerable ground for question -as to what the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">courante</i>, or <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">coranto</i>, really was, whether a -slow or quick dance. Arbeau’s directions are, for once, not -quite clear. He speaks of it being a more graceful affair in -his younger days; and he was an old man at the time his -<cite>Orchésographie</cite> was published. In England it certainly seems -to have become a fairly lively dance, of which the main -feature was its “running” steps.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span></p> - -<p>In France that characteristic seems to have been the -same though the <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">tempo</i> may have been slower. Certainly -it became slower there, for the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">courante</i> under Louis Quatorze -was considered a dull dance, disappearing in favour of newer -types requiring a more developed and quicker technique.</p> - -<p>However, dances alter in character, like everything else, -in the course of time. The <em>waltz</em> or <em>valse</em> has considerably -altered since it was first introduced into London drawing-rooms—and -considered shocking!—in the first decade of -the nineteenth century; and even to-day there is considerable -difference between the <em>valse</em> as danced by Swiss or -German peasants, and as seen in the London ball-room. It is -probable that the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">courante</i> of Arbeau’s day was as varied in -performance as the tango of our later time.</p> - -<p>Let us return, however, to his description of other dances -of the period. The <cite>Allemande</cite>, he explains, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">est une dance -plaine de mediocre gravité, familiere aux Allemâds, et croy -qu’elle soit de noz plus anciennes car nous sommes desendus -des Allemandes</i>.” But his authority for the latter statement -he does <em>not</em> give! It was danced by two or more people, in -twelve time, and later was a very popular dance with Louis -the Thirteenth.</p> - -<p>A lengthy description follows of the <cite>Branle</cite>, which is also -sometimes spelt <cite>Bransle</cite>, and from which comes our English -word Brawl, the meaning of which has sadly degenerated -from its original significance.</p> - -<p>Saying that, “since you know how to dance the <cite>Pavane</cite> -and the <cite>Basse-dance</cite>, it will be easy for you to dance the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">branles</i>,” he then proceeds to give account of over a score, -including two which seem later to have assumed a right to be -considered as separate dances, namely, the <cite>Triory de Bretagne</cite> -(or simply, the Triory) and the <cite>Branle de la Haye</cite>, sometimes -called merely the Haye, Hay, or Hey, which was an interlacing -chain-dance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span></p> - -<p>Among the examples he gives is a <cite>Branle d’Escosse</cite>, of which -he says: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Les branles <a id="tn69a"></a><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber’s Note—“d’Escosse estoiet” changed to “d’Escosse estoient”.">d’Escosse estoient</ins> -en vogue y a environ -vingt ans</i>,” and it is much like the customary Scotch reel. -The <cite>Branles des Lavandières</cite>, he explains, is so-called because -the dancers make a noise by clapping their hands to represent -that made by the washerwomen who wash their clothes on -the banks of the Seine. Another, the <cite>Branle du Chandelier</cite>, -was danced with lighted candles.</p> - -<p>A description of the <cite>Gavotte</cite> follows, and it is interesting -to note that this dance which is still seen on the stage sometimes -to-day, was an established favourite as far back as -1588. Then comes an account of the “Morisque” dance, -the origin of which Arbeau places in the Saturnalia of the -ancient world, not without reason, one fancies; and then -he gives account of the <cite>Canaries</cite>, which, he says, <em>some</em> say -takes its name from the Canary Isles, while others derive it -“from a ballet composed for a masquerade in which the -dancers were dressed as kings and queens of Mauretania, or -even as savages therefrom, with headdress of varied plumage.” -The last chapter is devoted to the dance of Bouffons, a dance -with sword and buckler supposedly derived from ancient -Rome and a never-failing source of delight to French playgoers -and opera-lovers of the sixteenth and seventeenth -centuries.</p> - -<p>Before the “Dialogue” actually closes, young Capriol -politely thanks Monsieur Arbeau for the trouble he has taken -to teach him dancing, and Arbeau responds by promising -a second volume (alas! never written) dealing with the -ballets of the masquerades “made” at Lengres. He urges -him meanwhile to practise “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">les dances honnestement</i>,” and -so become a worthy comrade of the planets “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">qui dancent -naturellement</i>”: and he closes his discourse very prettily -with the words, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><a id="tn69b"></a><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber’s Note—“Je prie Deu” changed to “Je prie Dieu”.">Je prie Dieu</ins> -vous en donne la grace</i>.”</p> - -<p>We have lingered somewhat over this old manual of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span> -dancing, but there are some half-dozen points in the history -of ballet that it is of vital importance to emphasise, and -Arbeau’s book is one of them.</p> - -<p>Dancing itself of course had continued to exist through -all time. But from the decadence of Rome until fairly late -in the fifteenth century, ballet had only a precarious sporadic -existence; and the production of Beaujoyeux’s volume -of the <cite>Ballet Comique de la Royne</cite> in 1582, and Arbeau’s -<cite>Orchésographie</cite> in 1588, made a turning-point in the -history of ballet—the <em>point where a popular amusement -was once again taken up by men of intellect and given a -new form and a new spirit</em>. Beaujoyeux created an interest -in ballet, Arbeau assisted an advance in the technique of -one of the chief elements of the art, namely, dancing; and -there can be little doubt that both men were largely instrumental -in forwarding that movement towards popular delight -in the theatrical masque and ballet which were to become an -outstanding feature of the next two centuries, the seventeenth -and the eighteenth.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII<br /><br /> -SCENIC EFFECT: THE ENGLISH MASQUE AS BALLET</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">In</span> considering di Botta’s elaborate feast, and Beaujoyeux’s -“ballet,” one is struck by their similarity -to the English “disguisings” and masques, which, first -introduced to the Court of Henry the Eighth in 1512 as a -novelty from Italy, only began to assume definite literary -form about a century later. That century contributed -towards the development of scenic effect.</p> - -<p>In studying Arbeau’s manual of contemporary dance -and music, one is struck by another thing: he is dealing -with a social amusement of the upper classes. The dances -he describes were mainly the proper accomplishment of the -well born, or were such of lower origin as might with adaptation -become worthy of performance by more courtly dancers. -It is certain he does not describe all the types of dance known -to his period. The old Provençal “<cite>Rigaudon</cite>” which was -later to come into such favour owing to Camargo, is not -referred to by Arbeau; nor the languorous “<cite>Sarabande</cite>,” -which was probably of Moorish origin derived through Spain—or -possibly earlier through Augustan Rome; the lively -“<cite>Chaconne</cite>” is another omission; the “<cite>Tresca</cite>” yet another. -These, and perhaps others, must have existed in Arbeau’s -time and long before; but would be among the traditional -amusements of the people, and were not yet elected to the -company of courtly dances.</p> - -<p>It is needful to linger over these points here, for they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span> -account for much that we find in the subsequent development -of theatrical ballets in the seventeenth and eighteenth -centuries.</p> - -<p>Speaking of Beaujoyeux’s “<cite>Ballet Comique</cite>,” Castil Blaze, -the scholarly historian of the Paris opera, remarks that it -“became the model on which were composed a number of -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballets</i>, sung and danced, a kind of piece which held the -place of Opera among the French and English for about a -century.” That century was, roughly, from about 1500 to -1600. And he adds: “The English gave them the name of -<em>masque</em>.”</p> - -<p>In the few years after Henry VIII came to be crowned -the young monarch spent considerable time and spared no -expense in entertaining himself and his Queen with “disguisings,” -“revels” and masqued balls.</p> - -<p>On Twelfth Night, 1511, before the banquet in the Hall -at Richmond, so records the contemporary chronicler, -Edward Hall, there “was a pageant devised like a mountain, -glistering by night as though it had been all of gold and set -with stones; on the top of which mountain was a tree of -gold, the branches and boughs frysed with gold, spreading -on every side over the mountain with roses and pomegranates; -the which mountain was with (de) vices brought -up towards the King, and out of the same came a lady -apparelled in cloth of gold, and the children of honour, called -the henchmen, which were freshly disguised and danced a -Morris before the King, and that done re-entered the mountain: -and then was the wassail brought in and so brake up -Christmas.”</p> - -<p>The next year the King himself took part in a similar -pageant; and in the next, <em>i.e.</em> in 1513, so Hall tells us, “the -King with eleven others were disguised after the manner of -Italy, called a Mask, a <em>thing not seen before in England</em>. -They were apparelled in garments long and broad, wrought<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span> -with gold, with visors and caps of gold; and after the -banquet these masquers came in with six gentlemen -disguised in silk, bearing staff-torches, and desired the ladies -to dance.”</p> - -<p>A little later came the introduction of singing, and dialogue -as well as dancing, some allegorical story forming the basis -of the masque. In Beaujoyeux’s “ballet” of 1582, we have -all this. Up to then in England the masque made no great -advance beyond those of Henry VIII’s early years. In -Beaujoyeux’s “ballet,” however, we have all that <em>had</em> been, -and more. We have dancing, singing, dialogue, elaborate -scenic effect, all in illustration of a mythic and allegorical -story; and achieving a definiteness and grandeur of form -hitherto unequalled, as well as publicity which made it -famous throughout Europe. In some ways it was as much -masque as “ballet,” and as much opera as masque. Actually -it did stimulate the development of the Masque in England; -and Opera in France.</p> - -<p>At the English Courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth, the -masque developed in the direction of scenic elaboration and -splendour (with <em>music</em>) that made up for its literary shortcomings, -at least in its earlier period.</p> - -<p>At the French Courts of Henry IV and Louis XIII, what -were known as Opera-ballets (later to be separated as opera -and ballet) developed a musical richness (<em>with</em> scenic effect) -that made up for similar literary shortcomings. Yet again -came another form in the <cite>Comedie Ballet</cite> of Molière.</p> - -<p>With the accession of James I of England came the real -efflorescence of the English masque, which under the hands -of Ben Jonson was to become a fairly balanced harmony of -the three arts—the poet’s, the musician’s, and the painter-designer’s.</p> - -<p>It must of course be understood that in both the masque -and ballet there was dancing; but at the period with which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span> -we are now dealing, namely the last decade of the sixteenth -and first few decades of the seventeenth centuries, the -technique of that art was—for stage purposes—comparatively -so primitive as to make it almost a negligible quantity. -There was dancing of course—that of “henchmen” and -men and boys who performed a Morris, or <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bouffon-dances</i>; -and that of courtier, Court-lady, or even, it might be, a Royal -personage, who would take part in the stately <cite>Pavane</cite> or -<cite>Almain</cite>, now and then unbending sufficiently to dance a -<cite>Trenchmore</cite> (once Queen Elizabeth’s favourite) or <cite>Canary</cite>.</p> - -<p>But it was all either an intrusion, alien to the general -purport of the production, or else vastly overshadowed by -the chief design, which was to present, with the aid of “disguisings” -and elaborate “machines,” a sort of living picture -or series of living pictures, expressing some mythological, -allegorical episodes or complimentary idea.</p> - -<p>The chief aim was splendid pageantry; something mainly -to please the eye; and secondarily to charm the ear; without -making too great claims upon the intellect.</p> - -<p>Among the leading English masque writers during the -period we are considering were George Gascoigne, Campion, -Samuel Daniel, Dekker, Chapman, William Browne, Beaumont -and Fletcher and Jonson.</p> - -<p>In France, at the Court of Henri Quatre, and under the -direction of his famous minister, the great and grave Sully—who -himself took part in them—some eighty ballets were -given between 1589 and 1610, apart from state balls and -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bals masqués</i>.</p> - -<p>In England among the more notable masques produced -during about the same period were the following:—</p> - -<div class="blockquotx"> - -<p class="negin2">1585. The Masque of “Lovely London,” performed -before the Lord Mayor.</p> - -<p class="negin2">1589. A Masque planned by order of Queen Elizabeth -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span>in honour of the wedding of King James VI of -Scotland and Anne of Denmark.</p> - -<p class="negin2">1594. A Masque before Queen Elizabeth at Whitehall.</p> - -<p class="negin2">1604. A Masque by Samuel Daniel, “The Twelve Goddesses,” -arranged by Queen Anne, Consort of -James I, in honour of the Spanish Ambassador, -at Hampton Court.</p> - -<p class="negin2">1605. “The Masque of Blackness,” by Ben Jonson (his -first real masque) given on Twelfth Night at -Whitehall.</p> - -<p class="negin2">1606. Ben Jonson’s “Masque of Hymen,” for the marriage -of Robert Devereux, third Earl of Essex, -with the Earl of Suffolk’s younger daughter, -Frances Howard.</p> - -<p class="negin2">1608. Ben Jonson’s “Masque of Beauty”—a sequel to -the “Masque of Blackness” at the request of the -Queen Consort, who, with the Ladies of the Court, -took part in the performance. This was followed -in the same year by his “Hue and Cry after -Cupid,” given at Court on Shrove Tuesday, in -celebration of Lord Viscount Haddington’s marriage.</p> - -<p class="negin2">1609. Ben Jonson’s “Masque of Queens” at Whitehall -on Twelfth Night.</p></div> - -<p>All these were elaborate productions; those of Jonson -being indeed beautiful. Their literary value has long been -realised, and one sees in them some of his finest work. The -introductory descriptions and the stage-directions are singularly -minute and careful, and, in their way, are quite as well -worth study as the beauties of his strong and noble verse.</p> - -<p>He writes of scenes and costumes as if he loved them: as -when, in “The Masque of Blackness,” he describes the -Moon, “triumphant in a silver throne.... Her garments<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span> -white and silver, the dressing of her head antique, and -crowned with a luminary or sphere of light; which, striking -on the clouds, and brightened with silver, reflected, as -natural clouds do, the splendour of the moon. The heaven -about her was vaulted with blue silk, and set with stars of -silver, which had in them their several lights burning.”</p> - -<p>And again: “The attire of the masquers was alike in all, -without difference: the colours azure and silver; but returned -on the top with a scroll and antique dressings of -feathers, and jewels interlaced with ropes of pearl. And for -the front, ear, neck, and wrists the ornament was of the most -choice and Orient pearl: best setting off from the Black.”</p> - -<p>For the scenery and mechanical effects or “machines” -as they were called—there was Inigo Jones, the travelled -artist-architect who had seen many a masking in Italy; -for the music there was Alfonso Ferrabosco, son of the -Italian composer, appointed music-master at the Court of -James I; and for <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Maître de danse</i>, there were Thomas Giles -and Hieronimus Herne.</p> - -<p>It was a noble company who took part in the performances. -In “The Masque of Blackness,” though there were only -three speaking parts, Oceanus, Niger and Æthiopia—the -impersonators of which are not recorded—there was no less -a personage than Queen Anne herself, Consort of King -James, who appeared as Euphoris, supported by the Countess -of Bedford (Aglaia), Lady Herbert (Diaphane), the -Countess of Derby (Eucampse), Lady Rich (Ocyte), Countess -of Suffolk (Kathare) and other fair ladies of title.</p> - -<p>The “Masque of Beauty,” a superb spectacle given at the -Court some three years later by express command of Her -Majesty, had for speaking parts only three, namely those of -Boreas—“<em>in a robe of russet and white mixed, full and bagged; -his hair and beard rough and horrid; his wings grey, and -full of snow and icicles; his mantle borne from him with wires<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span> -and in several puffs</em>”; Januarius—“<em>in a throne of silver; -his robe of ash colour, long, fringed with silver; a white mantle; -his wings white and his buskins</em>”; and Vulturnus—“<em>in a -blue coloured robe and mantle, puft as the former, but somewhat -sweeter; his face black, and on his head a red sun, showing he -came from the East</em>.”</p> - -<p>Following the entrance of Vulturnus, bringing—in reference -to the former “Masque of Blackness”—the good news -of his discovery of a lost isle whereon the black but lovely -daughters of Niger had been languishing in obscurity, there -came a fine pageant.</p> - -<p>“Here,” as Jonson’s stage directions describe it, “a -curtain was drawn in which the night was painted, and the -scene was discovered which (because the former was marine, -and these, yet of necessity, to come from the sea) I devised -should be an island floating on a calm water. In the midst -thereof was a Seat of State, called the Throne of Beauty, -erected; divided into eight squares, and distinguished by so -many Ionic pilasters. In these squares, the sixteen masquers -were placed by couples; behind them in the centre of the -throne was a tralucent pillar, shining with several coloured -lights, that reflected on their backs. From the top of which -pillar went several arches to the pilasters, in front, little -Cupids in flying posture, waving of wreaths and lights, bore -up the cornice; over which were eight figures, representing -the elements of Beauty, which advanced upon the Ionic, and, -being females, had the Corinthian order.”</p> - -<p>They were: Splendour, Serenitas, Germinatio, Lætitia, -Temperies, Venustas, Dignitas, and Perfectio. Minute -description is given of their garments, but is too lengthy -for inclusion here. The stage directions then proceed:</p> - -<div class="blockquoty"> - -<p>“On the top of all the throne (as being made out of all -these) stood <span class="smcap">Harmonia</span>, a personage whose dressing had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span> -something of all the others, and had her robe painted full of -figures. Her head was compassed with a crown of gold, -having in it seven jewels equally set. In her hand a lyra, -whereon she rested.</p> - -<p>“This was the ornament of the throne. The ascent to -which, consisting of six steps, was covered with a multitude -of Cupids (chosen out of the best and most ingenious youth -in the kingdom, noble and others) that were torch-bearers; -and all armed with bows, quivers, wings, and other ensigns -of love. On the sides of the throne were curious and elegant -arbours appointed; and behind, in the back part of the isle, -a grove of grown trees laden with golden fruit, which other -little Cupids plucked, and threw at each other, whilst on the -ground, leverets picked up the bruised apples and left them -half eaten. The ground-plat of the whole was a subtle indented -maze; and in the two foremost angles were two -fountains that ran continually, the one Hebe’s and the other -Hedone’s; in the arbours were placed the musicians, who -represented the shades of the old poets, and were attired in -a priest-like habit of crimson and purple, with laurel garlands.</p> - -<p>“The colours of the masques were varied; the one half -in orange tawny and silver; the other in sea-green and -silver. The bodies of short skirts on white and gold to both.</p> - -<p>“The habit and dressing for the fashion was most curious, -and so exceeding in riches, as the throne whereon they lay -seemed to be a mine of light, struck from their jewels and -their garments.</p> - -<p>“This throne, as the whole island moved forward on the -water, had a circular motion of its own, imitating that which -we call <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">motum mundi</i>, from the east to the west, or the right -to the left side.... The steps whereon the Cupids sat had -a motion contrary, with analogy <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ad motum planetarum</i>, from -the west to the east; both which turned with their several<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span> -lights. And with these three varied motions, at once, the -whole scene shot itself to the land.”</p> -</div> - -<p>After a chorus with echoing refrain, “Vulturnus the wind -spake to the river Thamesis, that lay along between the -shores, leaning upon his urn, that flowed with water, and -crowned with flowers; with a blue cloth of silver robe about -him; and was personated by Master Thomas Giles, who -made the dances.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="versea">“<em>Vul.</em> Rise, Aged Thames, and by the hand</div> - <div class="verse0">Receive the nymphs, within the land,</div> - <div class="verse0">And in those curious squares and rounds</div> - <div class="verse0">Wherewith thou flow’st betwixt the grounds</div> - <div class="verse0">Of fruitful Kent and Essex fair</div> - <div class="verse0">That lends the garlands for thy hair;</div> - <div class="verse0">Instruct their silver feet to tread,</div> - <div class="verse0">Whilst we, again, to sea are fled.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquoty"> - -<p>“With which the Winds departed; and the river received -them into the land, by couples and fours, their Cupids coming -before them.</p> - -<p>“These dancing forth a most curious dance, full of excellent -device and change, ended it in the figure of a diamond, and -so, standing still, were by the musicians with a second <span class="smcap">Song</span>, -sung by a loud tenor, celebrated.</p> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“So Beauty on the waters stood,</div> - <div class="verse0">When Love had severed earth from flood!</div> - <div class="verse0">So when he parted air from fire,</div> - <div class="verse0">He did with concord all inspire!</div> - <div class="verse0">And then a motion he them taught,</div> - <div class="verse0">The elder than himself was thought.</div> - <div class="verse0">Which thought was, yet, the child of earth,</div> - <div class="verse0">For Love is elder than his birth.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquoty"> - -<p>“<em>The song ended; they danced forth their second dance, more -subtle and full of change than the former; and so exquisitely -performed, as the king’s majesty (incited first by his own liking -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span>to that which all others there present wished) required them both -again after some time of dancing with the lords. Which time, -to give them respite, was intermitted with a song.</em></p> - -<p>“This song was followed by others.</p> - -<p>“<em>After which songs they danced galliards and corantos; and -with those excellent graces, that the music appointed to celebrate -them, showed it could be silent no longer; but, by the first -tenor, admired them thus</em>:</p> -</div> - - -<p class="pfs90">“SONG.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Had those that dwelt in error foul,</div> - <div class="verse0">And held that women have no soul,</div> - <div class="verse0">But seen these move; they would have then</div> - <div class="verse0">Said, women were the souls of men;</div> - <div class="verse4">So they do move each heart and eye</div> - <div class="verse4">With the world’s soul, true harmony.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquoty"> - -<p>“<em>Here they danced a third most elegant and curious dance, -and not to be described again by any art but that of their own -footing, which ending in the figure that was to produce the fourth</em>, -<span class="smcap">January</span> <em>from his state saluted them thus</em>:</p> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="versea">“<em>Janu.</em> Your Grace is great, as is your Beauty, dames;</div> - <div class="verse0">Enough my feasts have proved your thankful flames</div> - <div class="verse0">Now use your seat; that seat which was, before,</div> - <div class="verse0">Though straying, uncertain, floating to each shore,</div> - <div class="verse0">And to whose having every clime laid claim,</div> - <div class="verse0">Each land and nation urgéd as the aim</div> - <div class="verse0">Of their ambition, Beauty’s perfect throne,</div> - <div class="verse0">Now made peculiar to this place alone;</div> - <div class="verse0">And that by impulsion of your destinies,</div> - <div class="verse0">And his attractive beams that lights these skies;</div> - <div class="verse0">Who, though with ocean compassed, never wets</div> - <div class="verse0">His hair therein, nor wears a beam that sets.</div> - <div class="verse4">Long may his light adorn these happy rites,</div> - <div class="verse0">As I renew them; and your gracious sights</div> - <div class="verse0">Enjoy that happiness, even to envy, as when</div> - <div class="verse0">Beauty, at large, brake forth and conquered men!</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquoty"> - -<p>“<em>At which they danced their last dance into their throne again.</em>”</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span></p> - -<p>These quotations, though necessarily brief, illustrate the -characteristic elements in the construction of the masque—dancing, -music, song, spoken verse and <em>elaborate scenic -effect</em>.</p> - -<p>The reference to Thomas Giles, “who made the dances,” -to the dances themselves, “<em>galliards and corantos</em>,” and that -charming admission as to “a third most elegant and curious -dance” not to be described again “by any art but that of -their own footing”; the reference to the arbours in which -“were placed the musicians, who represented the shades of -the old poets, and were attired in a priest-like habit of crimson -and purple, with laurel garlands”; the song of the “first -tenor”—“Had those that dwelt ...” and January’s speech -apostrophising women’s beauty; above all the loving descriptions -of the scenery and mechanical effects, must all be of -uncommon interest to those who know anything of the history -of the French ballet, because it is so closely paralleled in the -descriptions given some seventy years later by the Abbé -Menestrier of the entertainments at the Court of Louis XIV. -The English “masques” of the early seventeenth were, in -effect, the French “ballets” of the early eighteenth century. -To return, however, to the English Court of James I.</p> - -<p>The Queen and Ladies of her Court once again took part -in the entertainment of His Majesty as representatives of the -various types of Beauty introduced in the course of the -masque, and yet again were they found in the noble “Masque -of Queens,” celebrated from the House of Fame, by the Queen -of Great Britain with her Ladies, at Whitehall, February 2nd, -1609, which was dedicated to the young Prince Henry, as -to the origin of which Ben gives the following interesting -note: “It increasing,” he says, “to the third time of my -being used in these services to Her Majesty’s personal presentations, -with the ladies whom she pleaseth to honour; it was -my first and special regard, to see to the dignity of their<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span> -persons. For which reason I chose the argument to be <em>A -celebration of honourable and true Fame bred out of Virtue</em>.”</p> - -<p>All of which in a sense foreshadowed the various symbolic -ballets later at the Court of France, such as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">La Verité, ennemie -des apparences</i>, which we shall come to consider in due course. -The thing to realise now is that these masques of Ben Jonson -and of other men of his period were the finest flowering of a -form of entertainment which had been struggling for definite -shape throughout the previous century, indeed from the days -of di Botta’s fête in 1489, and had received its most recent -and most effective stimulus from France in the production of -Beaujoyeux’s wondrous symbolic and mythologic “ballet” -some twenty odd years before Ben Jonson’s first “masque” -was produced. The English masque—partly dramatic -“interlude” with song, music and dance introduced, was in -effect a ballet, and was a direct influence in the formation of -the “opera-ballets” which were subsequently to be the -delight of the French Court for a century or more.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX<br /><br /> -BALLET ON THE MOVE</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">If</span> the masque was a kind of ballet that did not move -from its appointed place within sight of the Royal and -Courtly audience, by whom it was commanded as a spectacle -for private entertainment, there was a “ballet” which did, -and became, like the “carrousels” and “triumphs,” a very -public spectacle, namely the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballet-ambulatoire</i>, or peripatetic -“ballet,” said to have originated among the Portuguese, and -much encouraged by the Church.</p> - -<p>The Beatification of Ignatius Loyola in 1609 is an instance -of peripatetic “ballet” famous in the history of the dance.</p> - -<p>Interesting account of it is given by the invaluable Menestrier, -who writes:</p> - -<p>“As the Jesuits had a war-like character, they chose the -Siege of Troy for the subject of their ballet. The first act -took place before the church of Notre Dame de Lorette. It -was there they stood the wooden horse. Full of Jesuits, the -machine began to move, while numerous dancers acted the -most remarkable feats of arms of Achilles, Ajax, Hector and -Æneas. The monstrous horse and its retinue advanced, -preceded by a brilliant orchestra. They arrived at the Place -St. Roch, where the Jesuits had their church. The city of -Troy, or at least a part of its towers and ramparts, constructed -of wood, occupied a third of this place. A piece of wall was -broken down, to give entrance to the horse, the Greeks -descended from the machine and the Trojans attacked them<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span> -with guns. The enemy defended with the same arms, and -the two sides fought—while dancing! Eighteen great -staves filled with fireworks caused the burning and the ruin -of Troy!”</p> - -<p>One might be puzzled to know how the author of such -a drama would introduce Saint Ignatius Loyola on the -scene. The maker of the “book,” however, had no qualms, -and, leaving the Greeks and Trojans buried beneath the ruins -of Ilium, on the following day, he led the spectators to the -seashore. “Four brigantines,” the chronicler proceeds, -“richly decorated and fenced, painted and gilded, covered -with dancers and ‘choirs of music,’ present themselves at the -Port. They bring four ambassadors, who, in the name of the -four quarters of the globe, come to swear homage and fidelity, -to offer presents to the newly beatified, to thank him for his -benefits and to beg his protection for the future. All the -artillery of the Forts and of the vessels salute the brigantines -on their entrance. The ambassadors then mount the cars in -waiting and advance towards the College of the reverend -fathers, with an escort of three hundred Jesuits on horseback, -dressed as Greeks! Four troops of inhabitants of the -four quarters of the world, dressed in national costumes, -dance round the cars. The realms, the provinces, represented -by their <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">genii loci</i>, march before their ambassador. -The troop from America is the first, and among the dancers -are many children disguised as monkeys and parrots, and -twelve dwarfs, mounted on little nags. The car of Asia is -drawn by two elephants. Six superb horses form the team -of the others.” The diversity, the richness of the costumes -was not the least ornament of this singular ballet, for it is -said that several of the actors had on their garments precious -stones of great value.</p> - -<p>It is the Portuguese who claim to have invented the true -ambulatory ballets, which—designed in imitation of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span> -Thyrennian “pomp” described by Appius Alexander—were -danced in the streets of a town proceeding from place to -place, with movable stages and properties. The performances -were given on saints’ days and with the greatest solemnity.</p> - -<p>In the year 1610 Pope Paul V. canonised Cardinal St. Charles -Borromée, who, under the pontificate of Pius IV., his uncle, -was patron of the kingdom of Portugal, and that grateful -nation wished to honour him publicly.</p> - -<p>In order that it should be done with the greater solemnity, -they put his image on board a ship, as if he were coming -back once more to assume the protection of the kingdom of -Portugal.</p> - -<p>“A richly decorated vessel with flying sails of divers -colours and silk cordage of magnificent hues, carried the -image of the saint under a canopy of gold brocade. On its -appearance in the roads all the vessels in port, superbly -arrayed, advanced to meet it, and rendering military honours, -brought it back with great pomp, and a salute from the guns -of Lisbon and all the vessels in Port. The reliquaries of the -patron Saints of Portugal, carried by the nobles of state and -followed by the religious, civil and military bodies, received -the new Saint on disembarcation.”</p> - -<p>As soon as the image was landed, it was received by all -the monks and the whole of the ecclesiastical body, who -went to meet it in procession with four large chariots containing -different tableaux. The first car represented Fame, -the second the town of Milan, the third Portugal, and the -fourth the Church. Besides the chariots, each company of -monks and each Brotherhood carried its own particular -Saint on rich litters, called by the Portuguese “andarillas.” -The image of St. Charles was ornamented with precious -stones to the value of twenty-six to twenty-seven thousand -crowns; several others to the value of sixty, seventy and -eighty thousand crowns, and the jewels that were displayed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span> -at this fête were estimated at more than four -millions.</p> - -<p>Between each chariot were troops of dancers, who represented, -in dancing, the more notable of the acts of the Saints. -Octavio Accoromboni, Bishop of Fossombrone, who obtained -these honours for St. Charles, was at this time in the town -of Lisbon, where he had gone to collect certain monies that -Portugal was giving to the Pope. He has left us a description -of this fête, in which he remarks that “the Italians -and more especially the Romans, should not be surprised to -read that dances and ballets formed a part of so sacred a -ceremony, because in Portugal processions and fêtes would -not seem elevated nor serious enough unless accompanied -by these manifestations of joy.”</p> - -<p>In order to prepare for these fêtes, dances, ballets and -processions, the Lisbon folk had decorated, several days -beforehand, big masts erected at the doors of the churches -where the service was to be held, and at different places on -the roads where the processions and performances would -pass. “These masts were of pine, gilded and decked with -crowns, streamers and banners of different colours, similar -to the masts put up in France at the doors of the magistrates’ -houses on the first of May in several towns of the -kingdom, a custom which has given to these masts the name -of ‘Maypole.’ The Spaniards call them ‘Mayos,’ or ‘<i lang="es" xml:lang="es">Arboles -de Enamorados</i>’ (Lovers’ trees) because young men plant -them on the first of May at the door of their mistresses’ -houses.” The procession passed through triumphant arches, and -the streets were hung with tapestries and strewn with flowers.</p> - -<p>Three masts were planted at the places of the actual -performance, one at the spot at the port where the procession -was to start after the landing of the image of St. -Charles, another in the middle of the route, and the third -at the door of the church where the procession was to end,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span> -and where the image of the saint was to be placed. These -masts marked the places for the performances, for it was -there the procession stopped, and the dancers made their -chief entrances in the “ballet.” Needless to say immense -sums were spent on the fête.</p> - -<p>These are but two instances of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballet-ambulatoire</i>. -More might be given, but these will suffice to afford some idea -of a type of spectacle which the older historians speak of as -a “ballet,” but which is of special interest to us by reason -of the contrast it forms to the masque, which was the reverse -of “ambulatory,” and from the fact that though in direct -contrast on another score, namely, that it was not a private -but a public spectacle, it was under the “immediate patronage” -of the Church!</p> - -<p>Neither the masque nor the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballet-ambulatoire</i>, was yet -a theatrical entertainment; but it is curious, is it not, -to note that they had a certain kinship with theatrical -tradition, for these magnificent peripatetic “ballets” of the -ecclesiastics had had a primitive forerunner in the performance -of Thespis with his travelling car in Grecian towns and -villages some six centuries before the Christian era! Even -as, later, we in fourteenth-century England had our Mystery -and Miracle plays travelling from “station” to “station” -in similar fashion, and our “mummers” or mimers; while, -on the other hand, the masque itself, as a private entertainment -of the English Court, with its stage, and “machines,” -scenery, dancing, music and song, not to mention its Royal -and Courtly audience, was forerunner of similar entertainments -which a century later were to become the features -of the Courts of Louis XIV and XV, and from that to develop -under Royal Patronage into the Ballet of the Theatre.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X<br /><br /> -COURT BALLETS ABROAD: 1609-1650</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">While</span> the English Court was enjoying its masques, -during the reigns of Henry VIII, Elizabeth and -James, and the French were labouring forth their heroic -ballets under Henri Quatre—more than eighty having been -given from 1589 to 1610, without counting insignificant -balls and masquerades—Italy was similarly keeping up in -the movement which her example had originally inspired.</p> - -<p>It was the custom there to celebrate the birthday of the -Princess by an annual public fête. As one old historian -records, the more usual spectacles of these celebrations -were in the form of “Carrousels, Tournois, des Comedies, -des Actions en Musique, des Festins, des Feux d’Artifice, -des Mascarades quand ces Fêtes se trouvent au temps du -Carnaval, des Presens, des Illuminations, des Chasses, des -Courses sur la Neige et sur la Glace suivant la saison, des -Promenades et des Jeux sur les Eaux.”</p> - -<p>The Court of Savoy was particularly devoted to such entertainments.</p> - -<p>In 1609 there was a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballet d’armes</i>, entitled, “<cite>Il Sol nascente -nell’ oscurità dell Tile</cite>,” danced by the “Serene” Princes of -Savoy, the occasion being the anniversary of the birth of -their Royal father, the Duke Charles Emannuel.</p> - -<p>Again, in 1611, the Prince of Piedmont gave a fête in -honour to his father’s birthday, representing “The Taking -of the Isle of Cyprus.”</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i088a" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_088a.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Stage Effect in the 17th Century<br /> -(<em>From a coloured engraving of a scene from “Circe</em>,” 1694).</div> -</div> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span></p> - -<p>In the year 1615 was produced a mounted ballet at this -same Court (Savoy) for the arrival of the Prince d’Urbin. -This was an attack and a combat to music against three -hundred men on foot, who formed different companies of -various shapes, lunated, oval, square and triangular. They -had drilled their horses so well that they were never out of -step with the rhythm of the music. There were numerous -cars drawn by lions, stags, elephants, rhinoceroses, etc., -and as they represented the triumph of Love over War, the -Four Quarters of the World followed the cars of the victors -mounted in as many chariots. The Car of Europe was -drawn by horses, that of Africa by elephants, that of Asia by -camels, that of America by “unicorns”! The cars of this -festival had engraved work on them by Callot.</p> - -<p>In 1618, “The Elements,” a grand ballet and tourney -was represented by the Duke of Savoy and his son, the -Prince of Piedmont, on the former’s birthday.</p> - -<p>“The Temples of Peace and War on Mount Parnassus,” -a ballet and tourney “avec un Festin à la Chinoise,” formed -the entertainment of the following year.</p> - -<p>“The Judgment of Flora on the Dispute of the Nymphs -over the Crown of Flowers presented to Mme. Royale on -her Birthday,” is the long and stately title of a fête given at -Turin in 1620.</p> - -<p>“The Tribute of the Divinities of the Sky, Air, Sea and -Infernal regions,” was a grand ballet and tourney of 1621. -“The Ballet of the Seven Kings of China” was another.</p> - -<p>“The Joy of Heaven and Earth,” a fête in honour of the -Duke’s birthday in 1624, was followed by “Bacchus triomphant -des Indes, avec une Action en Musique et une Chasse -Pastorale,” in the same year. This was a fête in honour of -the Duke Charles Emmanuel’s birthday, and was performed -by the pages of the Prince Cardinal Maurice of Savoy, at -Rome on January 22nd, 1624.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span></p> - -<p>“Mount Parnassus and the Muses,” “The Quarrel of -the Defenders and the Enemies of the Muses,” took place -in February, 1624. “Cadmus, victorieux du Serpent,” and -“Prometheus” were notable ballets in 1627.</p> - -<p>One of the most remarkable, and, according to contemporaries, -beautiful mounted ballets ever composed was that -of “Æolus, King of the Winds,” which Alfonso Ruggieri -Sansoverino presented at the wedding of the Prince of -Tuscany in the year 1628 in the St. Croix Square, in Florence. -On one of the sides of this square was a large reef with a cave -hollowed out of its rock and closed by a great door secured -with padlocks.</p> - -<p>Don Anthony de Medici, who took the part of master of -the combat, having reconnoitred the course, Æolus, King -of the Winds, entered, accompanied by twelve watermen -to whom he “had taught the use of sails and the nature of -the winds.” Twelve Tritons walked before him blowing -their trumpets. Eight Sirens replied on other instruments, -accompanied by Hoar-frost. Eight pages represented the -many effects of the Winds, causing cold, hot, damp, dry, -clear, dull, serene or cloudy weather.</p> - -<p>The two sponsors walked behind their pages. The chariot -of the Ocean followed, drawn by two big whales. It represented -a rock covered with seaweed, coral and different kinds -of shells. Nymphs of the sea, rivers and springs were seated -on this rock, and gave a musical concert with wind instruments -presided over by Dolopea, wife of Æolus. Æolus, -having passed in his chariot and arrived in front of -the Prince’s box, saluted the bride, and after offering her -his kingdom and all his troops, took a lance in his hand; -then, suddenly departing, went and thrust against the door -of the Cave of the Winds. The padlocks broke, and the door -being opened, thirty-two mounted men and a hundred and -twenty-eight on foot were set at liberty. The men, rushing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span> -like the winds they represented, ran to the other side of the -square. Here Æolus stopped them and gave them orders -to arrange themselves into a triangular figure. He led -them in this order to salute the Princess for whom the fête -was arranged. After having taken their places, they began to -manœuvre their horses in a ring on the right; they went -in single file to make a chain, and sixteen of them having -broken it, they formed a smaller one, from which eight -more detached themselves, making a still smaller one. The -first horsemen, curveting, manœuvred their horses to perform -voltes and half-voltes, joining again without a halt, and, -forming twos, fours and eights, “they mingled capers at the -galop, with caracolling in figures, performing a marvellous -labyrinth with their intertwinings and evolutions.”</p> - -<p>In the year 1628, the students of the College at Rheims -danced a ballet in joyful commemoration of the taking of -La Rochelle, the design of which, after ancient Roman -models, was “The Conquest of the Car of Glory by the great -Theander.”</p> - -<p>Unlike modern musical comedy, or “revue,” there purported -to be a plot. The Giants of the Black Tower, trusting -in the might of their magic, published a challenge “full of -empty pride,” by which they summoned all Knights-errant -to the conquest of the Car of Glory.</p> - -<p>Lindamor, wishing to chastise the insolence of these fiends, -arranges with three of his friends to go and fight them. The -Black Tower is full of sorceries, and there was no means of -opening it, except by the sounding of an enchanted horn -which the Giants had fastened to the Gate. Lindamor sounds -it; the Giants issue forth upon him and his comrades, and -the contest being unequal, Lindamor is compelled to withdraw -and to leave his comrades in the hands of the Giants, -who load them with chains, and fasten them to the Castle -Gate to serve as a trophy to their vanity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span></p> - -<p>Some country shepherds who had seen the adventure -of Lindamor and the Giants, persuade Caspis to take a -part in favour of these unhappy knights. This shepherd, -who was above the power of all magic, presents himself -before the captives, and first of all breaks their chains and -sets them at liberty. Lindamor, well pleased at the courtesy -of Caspis, discusses with him the means of avenging himself -on the Giants of the Black Tower. He learns from this -shepherd that the sword of Cloridan is necessary for this -enterprise, and that, in order to get it, it is necessary to put -to sleep the Dragon to whom the Giants have given the -charge of it. The shepherd offers, himself, to do this and -succeeds. But to get the sword of Cloridan something more -was wanted than to put the Dragon to sleep. The shepherd -evokes the shade of Cloridan to find out from him what must -be done to make use of this sword successfully.</p> - -<p>The shade when called forth, informs him that Theander -alone is capable of using it. The rumour of this oracular -response having got abroad, Vulcan with his Cyclops prepares -arms for Theander, who being preceded by Renown -and followed by Lindamor, reaches the place where the sword -of Cloridan is guarded, seizes the sword, after having -chained the Dragon, presents himself with it at the gate -of the Black Tower, causes the gate to open at the sound -of the horn, defeats the Giants, draws from the Tower -the Car of Glory, harnesses the Giants to it and triumphs -finally over the arms and the enchantments of his -enemies.</p> - -<p>The story, which smacks of some mediæval romance of -Chivalry, was really allegorical of the capture of La Rochelle. -The late king was Theander; the shepherd Caspis was the -Cardinal Richelieu, his prime minister; Lindamor, the -King, Henry III, who, being as yet only Duc d’Anjou, -had attempted this siege in vain. The sword of Cloridan<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span> -was that of Clovis; the Black Tower was La Rochelle; -and the magic charms were Heresy and Rebellion.</p> - -<p>Again, in the year 1628, a ballet of “The Court of the -Sun,” by an Abbé Scotto, was danced at the Court of Savoy. -Night played the overture, and at her command spirits and -goblins made a “pleasing” entrance, coming on from different -directions. Night, however, warning them to be careful -that Day did not surprise them, they retired into their -caves, when the Morning Star introduced visions of the -Morning, bright Dreams issuing from the ivory gate. The -Star of Venus rose from the sea to announce the arrival -of the loveliest Aurora ever seen, and ordered the Zephyrs -to rise and to strew flowers, the Dew to sprinkle perfumed -water and the sweetest and most healthful influences.</p> - -<p>Aurora followed them, and having descended from Heaven, -suddenly caused the Palace of the Sun (in Ionic architecture) -to appear; the seven Planets and the twelve Hours were -seen in niches, from which they emerged to dance; the -Muses in other niches performed concerted movements, -Time, the Year, the Seasons, the Months and the Weeks -providing the music in the boxes of this palace.</p> - -<p>From the last examples, it is seen that philosophic, poetical -and classic allegories were often used as the basis of ballets. -The philosophic were “those in which causes and effects, -peculiar qualities and the origin of things, were expressed -in a suitable story by the devices of the ballet.” Several -ballets of this kind were seen at the theatre of the College -of Clermont, principally, those of “Curiosity,” “Dreams,” -“Comets,” “Illusion,” “The Empire of the Sun,” “Fashion.” -In that of “Curiosity” it was desired to show that the good -or bad use made of it contributes to the perfecting or spoiling -of the mind. Curiosity was represented by four characters, -each forming a part of the ballet. The first of these was -Useless Curiosity, which occupies itself only with trifles; the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span> -second, Dangerous Curiosity, which seeks forbidden and -harmful things, and it was shown that these are the two -kinds of curiosity to be avoided!</p> - -<p>Among Useless Curiosities, was seen Idleness, with a troop -of loiterers who ran about hunting for gossip and false -rumours, merely to pass the time and “to find out what -was going on in the world”; others who consulted -almanacks to discover what the weather would be; and also -sleepers, who, awakening, entertained each other with their -dreams, from which they foretold what was about to happen! -Mistakes, New Opinions, Alchemy, Sorcery, Magic and -Superstition were some of the “characters” in the scene -showing Dangerous Curiosity.</p> - -<p>The third and fourth parts showed Useful and Necessary -Curiosity, respectively. Useful Curiosity was represented -by travellers whose desire to learn all about the -manners and customs of different nations drove them -into foreign countries; also “by physicians who work to -gain experience.” In Necessary Curiosity was introduced -the art of navigation, instanced by sailors, who, under the -guidance of Tiphys, helmsman of the <i>Argo</i>, set out “to -discover new worlds”; another example of “necessary -curiosity” being the fire brought from Heaven by Prometheus -for people eager to discover its use. The poetical -allegories were not less ingenious than the philosophic, -although “they did not pretend,” as one old chronicler -informs us, “to so much precision.”</p> - -<p>In the same year at the Savoy Court, “<cite>Alcée</cite>,” a ballet -of fishermen, with <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">intermezzi</i> and some superb presents -brought to Mme. Royale for her birthday by the Prince of -Piedmont and his Cavaliers, was a grand water entertainment -in which appeared, to quote an old historian, “<a id="tn94"></a><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber’s Note—“La Vaisseau” changed to “Le Vaisseau”.">Le Vaisseau</ins> -de la Felicité accompagné de toutes les Deitez (sic) avec les -Concerts de Musique, des quatres Elemens avec leur machines;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span> -de la Representation en Music (sic), d’Arion, du Temps avec -les années heureuses, des quatres parties du monde avec des -Entrées de Ballets, des quatres Saisons avec le tribut de -toutes leurs douceurs pour le Festin.” This was given by the -Duke in honour of Mme. Royale on her birthday, and it -was declared that a fête “plus complette, plus magnifique -et plus agréable” had never been seen.</p> - -<p>“Eternity” was the title of a ballet given in 1629; “Le -Temps Eternel” following next year; “La Felicité Publique” -the next; and in 1632, “La Chasse Theatrale, representée en -Ballet,” by the Cardinal of Savoy at his country mansion -was given in honour of his brother, the Duke’s birthday.</p> - -<p>Among the “moral” ballets, there is hardly one more -pleasing than that composed to commemorate the birthday -of the Cardinal of Savoy in 1634. The subject of this ballet -was “Truth, the Enemy of Appearance, as proved by Time”—<cite>La -Verita Nemica della Apparenza sollevata dal Tempo</cite>.</p> - -<p>This ballet opened with a chorus of False Rumours and -Suspicions, followed by Appearance and Lies! They were -curiously represented by characters dressed as cocks and -hens, who sang a dialogue half in Italian and half in French, -mingled with the cluckings of cocks and hens. The chorus -by the latter ran as follows:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Su gli albori matutini</div> - <div class="verse0">Cot, cot, cot, cot, cot cantando</div> - <div class="verse0">Col cucurrii s’inchini</div> - <div class="verse0">E bisbigli mormorando</div> - <div class="verse0">Fra i sospetti, e fra i Rumori</div> - <div class="verse0">Cu, cu, cu, cu, cu, cu, cu,</div> - <div class="verse0">Salutiam del novo sol gli almi splendori.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The cocks replied:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Faisant la guerre au silence</div> - <div class="verse0">Cot, cot, cot, avec nos chants,</div> - <div class="verse0">Cette douce violence</div> - <div class="verse0">Ravit les Cieux et les Champs.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span></p> - <div class="verse0">Et notre inconstant hospice</div> - <div class="verse0">Cot, cot, cot, cot, cot, coné</div> - <div class="verse0">Couvre d’apparence un subtil artifice.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>After this quaint song, the scene opened, and a large -Cloud was seen, accompanied by the Winds. “Appearance” -also made her entrance at this moment. She had wings -and a long peacock’s tail and her dress was hung with a -number of mirrors. She was brooding over some eggs, from -which hatched out—Pernicious Lies, Deceits and Frauds, -White-Lies, Flatteries, Intrigues, Mockeries, Ridiculous Lies -and Idle Tales! An eternal crew!</p> - -<p>The Deceits were dressed in dark colours with serpents -concealed among flowers; the Frauds, clothed in hunters’ -nets, struck bladders as they danced; the Flatteries were -dressed as monkeys, Intrigues as lobster-catchers with -lanterns in their hands and on their heads; Ridiculous Lies -were represented by beggars who pretended to be cripples -with wooden legs.</p> - -<p>Time, having driven away Appearance with all her Lies, -opened the nest on which she had been sitting and there -appeared a great hour-glass from which Time ordered Truth -to come forth; the latter then calling back all the Hours, -danced with them the finale of the “grand ballet.”</p> - -<p>Surely, the time is ripe for a revival of such a production!</p> - -<p>“Pâris” (1635), “Le Théâtre de la Gloire” (1637) and -“La Bataille des Vents” (1640) were notable productions -at the Court of Savoy; but one of the most interesting -of these seventeenth-century entertainments was that on -February 19th, 1640, when at the same Court was given a -“Ballet of Alchemists” in which, under a charming allegory, -they made fun of those seekers of the philosopher’s stone -who pretend to make gold.</p> - -<p>Hermes Trismegistus, dressed as a philosopher, with the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span> -master’s ring, introduces some of the most celebrated -chemists of different nations: Morieno, an Italian; Bauzan, -a Greek; Körner, a German; Untser, a Swede; Calid, a -Turk; Sandivoge, a Pole; Raymond Lulli and Hortulaus, -Spaniards; Dolcon and Beguin, Frenchmen; Pierre, a -Lorrainer; Rasis, a Jew; and Geber, an Arab.</p> - -<p>The Italian and the Greek brought in a furnace of five -storeys and octagonal in shape. The German and the Swede -brought in the alembics; the Turk and the Pole came with -flowers for distilling, which they carried in baskets; the two -Spaniards brought charcoal; the French came with bellows -to blow up the fire; the Lorrainer carried sieves for sifting; -the Jew and the Arab had in front of them leathern aprons -with various pockets, where they carried alum, vitriol, -sulphur and ingots of metal.</p> - -<p>For the grand ballet they all worked together around -the furnace, whence they drew a thousand pretty novelties -to give to the ladies in the audience—essences, liqueurs, glass -jewellery, mirrors, bracelets, Cyprus powder, paint and other -treasures, very much as presents are given at Cotillons and -big fancy dress balls to-day.</p> - -<p>Yet another delightful production of this period must be -chronicled, namely, the “Ballet of Tobacco,” danced at -Turin, the last day of Carnival, 1650. The scene represented -the Isle of Tobago, “<em>from which tobacco took its name, and -gave happiness to the nations to whom the gods had given this -plant</em>. First entered four High Priests of that country, who -drew forth snuff from certain golden boxes which they -carried, and threw this powder in the air to appease the -Winds and Tempests. Then with long pipes they smoked -around an altar, making of their smoking tobacco a sort of -sacrifice to their favourite Deities. For the second entry two -Indians were twisting into a rope tobacco leaves. Two others -were pounding it in mortars to reduce it to powder, and made<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span> -the third entrance scene. The fourth was of snuff-takers, -who sneezed and presented the snuff to each other, taking -it in pinches with amusing ceremony; while the fifth was -a band of smokers gathered together in an Academy or place -set apart for smoking, wherein Turks, Spaniards, Poles and -other nationalities received the tobacco from the Indians -and proceeded to take it in their different ways.”</p> - -<p>Such, in brief, were some of the continental ballets of -the first half of the seventeenth century, a period, it must be -admitted, not lacking in ingenuity, or resource in means of -entertainment.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI<br /><br /> -THE TURNING POINT: LE ROI SOLEIL AND HIS -ACADEMY OF DANCING, 1651-1675</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">For</span> some two centuries Italy had amused herself with -Ballet as a courtly entertainment; and so, during one, -had England and France.</p> - -<p>Now, in 1651, it was France who was to give the lead to -Europe, for in February of that year Louis-Quatorze, then a -lad of thirteen, appeared in a ballet by Benserade, entitled -“Cassandra,” and this was the first of many in which he -took part until, at the age of thirty, he withdrew from the -stage and gave his farewell performance in the ballet of -“Flora” in 1669. Strange, is it not, to think of a king as a -ballet-dancer? Yet, had not our own King Henry VIII been -among the joyous masquers?</p> - -<p>But Louis XIV was to become more than a mere participant -in Ballet—he was to become the virtual founder of modern -Ballet as seen on the stage; for it was he—universal patron -of the arts—who was to found a Royal Academy of Dance and -Music, to the existence and encouragement of which the -modern development of both arts is largely due.</p> - -<p>All these ballets had been either the principal object or -the supplement of superb fêtes given at Versailles or in the -other royal palaces. Historians have described the fêtes -which Fouquet, the Comptroller of Finances, offered to Louis -XIV. As a sidelight on the Comptroller’s magnificence and -extravagance, the following is of interest.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span></p> - -<p>The king left Fontainebleau one evening in September, -1660, with his entire Court, in order to have supper at the -castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte. The route, five leagues long, -was illuminated with waxen torches; and booths, put up at -intervals, were laden with all kinds of refreshment for the -travellers. The castle, blazing with light, seemed to Louis -like some palace of faerie. A magnificently furnished suite -was set apart for His Majesty, and the Court was put up in the -minister’s house. An immense sideboard, laden with gold and -silver plate, was a feature of the room in which the king was -to have supper, with a fountain playing in the middle. A -splendid banquet was served, and a band placed in a -gallery discoursed sweet music. Numerous other tables -were set out for the Court; and the whole of the king’s -guard, even to the famous livery servants, were entertained -most sumptuously during the two days that the fête -lasted.</p> - -<p>After supper the king took a walk by a lake the shores of -which were decorated with orange trees, lemon trees, and -pomegranates, planted in gilded tubs, the fruit being available -to all who wanted any. Thousands of torches diffused a -brilliant light. A theatre, built in the middle of the lake, -offered yet further entertainment with a representation of -“The Triumph of Venus,” a ballet of a new kind, in which -Tritons and Nereids, having swum about in the waves, -afterwards proceeded to sing eulogies of King Louis. All the -best musicians of Paris had been added to the king’s orchestra, -and they were hidden behind the scenery of the theatre, -and in the neighbouring thickets. On the following day there -was a royal hunt, with tables served at all the meeting-places. -There was fishing in the lake, from which the net -brought in enormous fish; there was a play, then a ball, and -finally fireworks; not to mention the sumptuous and -delicate fare; the exquisite wines and delicious liqueurs<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span> -which were provided on the same scale of unlimited -extravagance.</p> - -<p>On the first day Louis, whilst admiring the gardens and -park from his window, had remarked on its beauty, but said -that the view would be still more lovely if it were not shut -in by a wood of tall trees that he pointed out. Next morning -Fouquet drew the king to the same window and led the conversation -in such a way that Louis might repeat the remark -he had made the evening before.</p> - -<p>“Sire, since that wood has the misfortune to displease you, -it shall fall immediately.”</p> - -<p>Then at a given signal the forest disappeared with a crash -as if by magic, and the royal eye could see to the horizon. -Sawn through during the night and attached to ropes that a -hidden army of peasants pulled all at the same time, the trees -fell at the voice of command.</p> - -<p>All this magnificence and extravagance astonished the -courtiers, but served also to arouse considerable suspicion. -The king’s brother remarked that the name of the castle -should rather be <i>Vol-le-Roi</i> than <i>Vaux-le-Vicomte</i>. This fête, -an act of homage, as imprudent as it was ambitious, hastened -the downfall of its author, and from that very day his doom -was assured.</p> - -<p>Among the many ballets in which Louis XIV himself took -part, the more notable were “Le Triomphe de Bacchus,” -“Le Temps,” “Les Plaisirs,” “L’Amour Malade,” “Alcibiade,” -“La Raillerie,” “L’Impatience,” “Vincennes,” and -“Les Amours Déguisés,” as well as some of the comédie-ballets -of Molière.</p> - -<p>Louis represented only the more exalted characters, such -as Jupiter, Neptune, Apollo; though on occasion, to display -the variety of his talent, he essayed an experiment in <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">genre -bouffonesque</i>. Among the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrées</i> in the “Triomphe de -Bacchus,” for instance, there was one for some <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">filous, traîneurs<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span> d’épée, -sortant du palais de Silène, échauffés par le vin</i>, and the -King playing the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i> of one of the “filous,” sang the following -stanza:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Dans le metier qui nous occupe</div> - <div class="verse0">Nos sentiments sont assez beaux,</div> - <div class="verse0">Car nous prisons plus une jupe</div> - <div class="verse0">Que nous ne ferions vingt manteaux.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The Duc Mercour, the Marquis de Montglas, the Messieurs -Sanguin and Lachesnaye, garbed as attendants on Bacchus, -addressed the following verses to the ladies of the Court, -and the author had carefully indicated that they were to be -spoken to the “demoiselles”:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Il n’est pas mal aisé d’acquérir nos offices,</div> - <div class="verse0">Et pour y parvenir le chemin en est doux;</div> - <div class="verse0">Mais vous ne sauriez mieux <a id="tn102"></a><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber’s Note—“vous addresses” changed to “vous adresser”.">vous adresser</ins> - qu’à nous,</div> - <div class="verse0">Si vous voulez apprendre à devenir nourrices.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Copies of the “book” of the ballet are, I believe, extant; -and the designs for the costumes of the actors are still more -curious.</p> - -<p>The members of His Majesty’s ballet, if they were not expert -ballet dancers, could at least give ample proof of their nobility. -Louis XIV counted marquises and marchionesses, dukes and -duchesses, even princes and princesses and queens among his -subjects, that is, his dancing subjects.</p> - -<p>It was in 1661 that the king founded the Dancing Academy. -A room in the Louvre was assigned to this learned society, -which, however, preferred to gilded ceilings the smoky walls -of an inn having for its sign “L’Epée de Bois.” It was in -this favourite retreat that the members of the new Academy -met together. It was here that the interests of the kingdom -of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rigaudon</i> and the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">minuet</i> were regulated, where elections -were held, and, without breaking up the session, without -even leaving their academic chairs, dinner was served to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span> -members on the table where each had just cast his vote. A -tablecloth covered the green cloth; the bottle followed the -inkhorn; supper replaced the ballot-box; and the assembly -drank long draughts to the health of the new member.</p> - -<p>The letters patent for the foundation of the Dancing -Academy read curiously. In the preamble, for instance, the -king thus expressed himself:</p> - -<p>“Although the art of dancing has always been recognised -as one of the most honourable, and the most necessary for -the training of the body, to give it the first and most natural -foundations for all kinds of exercises and amongst others to -those of arms; and as it is, consequently, one of the most -useful to our nobility and others who have the honour of -approaching us, not only in times of war in our armies, but -also in times of peace, in the performance of our ballets, -nevertheless, during the disorder of the last wars, there have -been introduced into the said art, as in all others, a great -number of abuses likely to bring them to irretrievable ruin.</p> - -<p>“Many ignorant people have tried to disfigure the dance and -to spoil it, as exhibited in the personal appearance of the -majority of people of quality: so that we see few among those -of our Court and suite who would be able to take part in our -ballets, whatever scheme we drew up to attract them thereto. -It being necessary, therefore, to provide for this, and wishing -to re-establish the said art in its perfection, and to increase -it as much as possible, we deemed it opportune to establish -in our good town of Paris a Royal Academy of Dancing, -comprising thirteen of the most experienced men in the said -art, to wit:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="noindent">MM. Galant du Désert, dancing-master to the Queen;<br /> -Prévôt, dancing-master to the King;<br /> -Jean Renaud, dancing-master to His Majesty’s brother;<br /> -Guillaume Raynal, dancing-master to the Dauphin;<br /> -Nicolas de Lorges;<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span>Guillaume Renaud;<br /> -Jean Picquet;<br /> -Florent Galant du Désert;<br /> -Jean de Grigny.”</p> -</div> - -<p>These, let us note, are the names of the patriarchs of the -French dance.</p> - -<p>In 1669 the Abbé Perrin, who was official introducer of -Ambassadors to Gaston, Duc d’Orléans?, having obtained -exclusive rights from the king, went into theatrical management, -taking as his colleagues the Marquis de Sourdeac to -direct the scenic and mechanical effects, and Cambert to -supply the music. A certain Champeron advanced the money, -and on March 28th, 1671, “Pomone,” a pastoral in five acts, -words by Perrin, music by Cambert, dances by Beauchamps, -was produced at the theatre of the Rue Mazarine.</p> - -<p>The whole thing was poor, but this did not prevent the house -being crowded for eight months, so that at the end of this -time Perrin drew out thirty thousand francs as his share: -but the various members of the little syndicate disagreed -when it came to sharing out. Lulli profited by their disputes, -cleared out Perrin and his partners, and started again in a -disused tennis-court known as the <cite>Bel Air</cite>, situated in the -Rue de Vaugirard, near the Luxembourg. He had as colleagues -Quinault for the poetic libretti, and an Italian named Vigarani -for the mechanical effects, one of the cleverest stage managers -in Europe at the time. They produced there in 1672 the -“Fêtes de Bacchus et de l’Amour.” When Molière died in the -following year, the hall of the Palais-Royal, which he had -occupied, was given to Lulli.</p> - -<p>Louis XIV, by letters patent, dated 1672, concerning the -non-forfeiture of nobility of ladies and nobles who were -prepared to figure in the scene at the opera, authorises his -“faithful and well-beloved Jean-Baptiste Lulli to add to the -Royal Academy of Music and Dancing, instituted by these<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span> -presents, a school suitable to educate pupils as much for -dancing as for singing and also to train bands of violins and -other instruments.”</p> - -<p>The Sun-King, in fact, exerted his care to such a point -that he himself superintended and wrote with his own hand -the budget of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">corps de ballet</i> at the Opera.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="noindent">The order is dated January 11th, 1713.<br /> -The male dancers were twelve in number.<br /> -Their united salaries amounted to 8400 francs.<br /> -Two of them had 1000 francs.<br /> -Four, 800 francs.<br /> -Four, 600 francs.<br /> -Two others, 400 francs.<br /> -The ten female dancers earned together 5400 francs.<br /> -The two principals had 900 francs.<br /> -The four seconds had 500 francs.<br /> -The four last 400 francs.</p> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">There were besides:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="noindent">A master of the dancing-room, at 500 francs.<br /> -A composer of ballets, at 1500 francs.<br /> -A designer, at 1200 francs.<br /> -And a master-tailor, at 800 francs.</p> -</div> - -<p>The king busied himself even with the author’s royalties, -and it must be confessed that he showed himself more generous -proportionately towards the authors than towards the -artists. According to a rate fixed by him, a hundred and -twenty francs were paid for a ballet for each of the first ten -performances and sixty francs for each following.</p> - -<p>La Bruyère, author of “Les Caractères,” has spoken of the -virtuosi of the dance who shone in his time, and in criticising -their methods, he sheds light on the difficulties which had -already been surmounted in 1675. “Would the dancer -Cobus please you, who, throwing up his feet in front, turns -once in the air, before regaining the floor?” Again, “Do<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span> -you ignore the fact that he is no longer young?” says La -Bruyère, when speaking to the susceptible ladies of the Court. -It was Beauchamps or Le Basque, dancers at the Opera, -that he meant. The famous Pécourt is also described under -the name of Bathyle. “Where will you find, I do not say -in the order of knights which you look down upon, but among -the players in a farce, a young man, who leaps higher into -the air whilst dancing, or who cuts better capers? As for -him, the crowd is too great, he refuses more women than he -accepts.”</p> - -<p>Pécourt, the adored of the beauties of the time, was the -favoured lover of Ninon de l’Enclos. One day, the Maréchal -de Choiseul, his rival, met, at the house of their common -mistress, the popular dancer, who was dressed in what was -apparently a uniform.</p> - -<p>“Ah,” said he ironically, “since when have you turned -soldier, M. Pécourt? And in what corps are you serving?”</p> - -<p>“Marshal,” was the reply, “I <em>command</em> a <em>corps</em> in which -you have long <em>served</em>.”</p> - -<p>Blondi, Beauchamps’ nephew; Feuillet, Desaix, Ballon, -Baudiery-Laval, and his son Michel-Jean, a good dancer and -an excellent mechanical contriver; Mesdemoiselles Subligny, -Prévôt, Carville, and Le Breton, were also stars of the -period, of some of whom there will be more to say presently.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak pb10" id="BOOK_II_THE_SECOND_ERA">BOOK II: THE SECOND ERA</h2> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII<br /><br /> -SOME EARLY STARS AND BALLETS</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">For</span> some time after the founding of the King’s Dancing -Academy the French Opera stage was ungraced by the -feminine form, though women took part in the performance -at some of the minor theatres, such as the famous Theatres -of the Fair in Paris.</p> - -<p>For the entertainment of the more exalted sections of -Society the more exalted ladies themselves performed; at -Court, however, <em>not</em> on the public stage, where, as in our own -theatre in Elizabethan times, youths played the women’s <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôles</i>.</p> - -<p>Such was the case in the production of a ballet by Lulli and -Desbrosses in 1672, “Les Fêtes de l’amour et de Bacchus,” in -which M. le Duc de Monmouth, M. le Duc de Villeroy, M. le -Marquis de Rassen, and M. Legrand, executed various -dances “supported” by Beauchamps, M. André, Favier and -Lapierre, professional male dancers at the Opera.</p> - -<p>Of these the leader was Beauchamps, director of the Royal -Academy of Dancing, composer of, and superintendent of, -the Court Ballets of Louis XIV in 1661, and made <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître des -ballets</i> to the Academy in 1671. He danced with the king -in the entertainment at Court, and though La Bruyère says -of him, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">qu’il jetait les jambes en avant, et faisait un tour en -l’air avant que de retomber à terre</i>,” showing that even in those -days the public loved “sensation,” he was ordinarily a grave -and dignified executant. He was one of the first experimentalists -in the direction of inventing a system of <a id="tn109"></a><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber’s Note—“Choregraphy” changed to “Choreography”.">Choreography</ins>, -or the writing down of dances in a kind of shorthand, so that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span> -a dance once designed should never be lost, but could be -read and repeated as easily as a piece of music. In this he -was only following on the track of old Arbeau, but his system -was different, and, if not ideal, at least it paved the way to a -better. Beauchamps died in 1705.</p> - -<p>Pécourt, who was “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">premier danseur et maître des ballets de -l’Opéra</i>,” made his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> only in 1672. His style was what is -known as “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">demi-caractère</i>,” and he is said to have had notable -effect on the ladies of his day, his amazing lightness fairly -turning their heads.</p> - -<p>Blondi, a nephew of Beauchamps; Ballon, who became -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître à danser</i> to Louis XV; Baudiery-Laval, a nephew of -Ballon, who succeeded his uncle as dancing-master to the -Royal Family and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître des ballets</i> at Court; Michel-Jean -Baudiery-Laval, son of the last-named, who was not only a -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître à danser</i>, but is said to have been the first stage manager -to have used lycopodium powder, which used to be the chief -means of producing stage lightning; these were some of the -lesser stars of the end of the seventeenth and beginning of -the eighteenth centuries in France, and they were to be followed -by Louis-Pierre Dupré, who came to be known as <cite>Le Grand -Dupré</cite>, and who surpassed all his forerunners by the grace and -the dignity of his dancing, and the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">noblesse</i> of his poses. He -made his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> in 1720, was long the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">premier danseur</i> at the -Opera, and did not retire till 1754.</p> - -<p>To hark back, however, to 1672, when there were only -men to play the women’s parts. The reason for the dearth of -feminine stars was quite simple. The Academy was in its -infancy. There were no properly qualified professional -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuses</i>, and the courtly amateurs were too courtly—and -too much amateurs—to appear to advantage on the stage. -The Academy came to alter all that.</p> - -<p>It revived a genuine interest in dancing as an art worthy -of serious consideration; and Lulli, that inspired monkey of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span> -a dancing-musician, did the rest; for it was his opera-ballet, -“Le Triomphe de L’Amour,” produced on May 16th, 1681, -which brought the presence of women dancers to the boards.</p> - -<p>Various high ladies of the Court, the Dauphine, la Princesse -de Conti, Mlle. de Nantes, and others, formed a useful -background, but the entire feminine <em>personnel</em> of the dancing -school numbered only four—Mlle. Lafontaine, Mlle. Le -Peintre, Mlle. Fernon, and Mlle. Roland, the first-named -being the leader, the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première des premières danseuses</i>, and -accorded the title so often granted to successive <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">premières</i> -since then, of <cite>Reine de la Danse</cite>.</p> - -<p>That admirable historian of French opera, Castil-Blaze, has -given excellent account of the state of affairs towards the end -of the seventeenth century.</p> - -<p>“The lack of good dancers,” he says, “was doubtless an -obstacle in the way of the introduction of grand ballet at the -Royal Academy. ‘Les Fêtes de L’Amour et de Bacchus,’ ‘Le -Triomphe de L’Amour,’ and all productions of the same kind -commonly called at that time Ballets, were really nothing -less than Operas treated in such a way as to give a little more -freedom for the introduction of dances, the singing being -nevertheless still the main object. Pécourt, who made his -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> in ‘Cadmus,’ shared the honours of the dance with -Beauchamps, with Dolivet, a capital mime, and another good -dancer named L’Etang. The company of singers also included -some notable personalities, and though the functions -of singer and dancer were usually kept pretty well apart, -one actress, Mlle. Desmatins, managed, in the opera of -‘Perseus,’ to score a double success as singer and dancer, a very -unusual combination, as it is seldom indeed that a dancer -is good for much as a vocalist. Vigarani, an Italian theatrical -<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">machiniste</i>, of great talent, had charge of the theatres of the -Court; and another Italian, Rivani, and Francis Berein, -fulfilled a similar function with regard to the Opera.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span></p> - -<p>Italian ballets, executed by Italian dancers, were among the -favourite diversions of the French Court towards the end of the -seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth centuries, which -accounts for the frequency with which they appear in the paintings -of Watteau, Lancret, and other artists of the period. That -of “L’Impatience” had been partly translated into the French -in order that Louis XIV might take part in it, and was, like -all the comedy-ballets of the time, a series of detached scenes -quite independent of each other, merely depicting the various -amusing examples of impatience which one usually finds—in -other people!</p> - -<p>The taste, however, for the Italian ballet, by no means -interfered with the development of the native type, which -received not only the support of the nobility, but increasing -support on the professional and technical side, for authors, -musicians, and dancers were beginning to realise that ballet -was a form of art which had long been too neglected, and that -it was worthy of attention.</p> - -<p>“Le Temps de la Paix,” represented at Fontainebleau, was -given by the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">corps de ballet</i> of the newly founded <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Académie -Royale</i>, illustrious dancers and scions of the nobility all taking -their share in the production. The women dancers from the -theatre, who mingled with the princesses and ladies of the -Court, were termed <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">femmes pantomimes</i>, in order to distinguish -them from the titled <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">dilettanti</i>. Among the amateurs -one finds the name of the Princesse de Conti; Duchesse -de Bourbon; such good old names as Mlle. de Blois, -D’Armagnac, de Brienne, D’Uzès, D’Estrées; on the theatrical -side such artists as Hardouin, Thévenard, and the amazing -Mlle. de Maupin—heroine of a hundred wild and questionable -adventures—were among the more illustrious of the singers; -while Ballon, whom we have already named, won applause -for the energy and vivacity of his dance, and Mlle. Subligny -was equally admired for the grace and dignity of hers.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII<br /><br /> -PANTOMIME AT SCEAUX: AND MLLE. PRÉVÔT</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">The</span> mention of Subligny recalls the interesting fact that -during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV of -France there was a considerable importation of French and -Italian actors, singers, dancers, and musicians into England.</p> - -<p>We all know the complaints in <cite>The Spectator</cite> and other -journals of the period against the craze for Italian opera.</p> - -<p>A little earlier than that Cambert, who had been Director -of the King’s Music to the Court of Louis-Quatorze and -organist at the Church of St. Honoré in Paris, and who, after -breaking fresh ground in French opera, was also one of the -first to experiment with Ballet, became attached to the Court -of our own Charles II in 1677. He died in London, whence -he had withdrawn out of jealousy towards his pushing young -rival Lulli.</p> - -<p>Desmarets, Campra, Destouches, Rebel, Bourgeois, Mouret -and Monteclair are also names of French composers of opera -and ballet, from about 1693 to 1716, well known to students -of musical history, perhaps their only successor worthy of -mention being Quinault, until all, from Lulli onwards, were -to be eclipsed by the greater Rameau, who was composer of -nearly a score of notable ballets, and who made his appearance -on the musical horizon in the ’thirties of the eighteenth century.</p> - -<p>To return, however, to the dancers. Nivelon was one of -the more famous French dancers who visited London towards -the end of the seventeenth century, and had considerable<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span> -success; as did another of the early <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuses</i>, Mlle. Subligny, -who came to London with influential introductions to John -Locke, of all people in the world, author of the famous but -soporific <cite>Essay on the Human Understanding</cite>, which, however, -omits any reference to that of the charming dancer.</p> - -<p>It can readily be imagined that the introduction of women -to the French stage made for improvement in many directions -besides access of grace. The little rivalries and successes of -women dancers induced a general spirit of emulation that had -its effect on technique.</p> - -<p>Now, following on the introduction of women dancers -to the stage, we come to another interesting point in the -history of the dance and ballet; for, once again, it was due -to a woman that we had the invention—or rather the revival—for -it had not been seen since the days of Bathyllus and -Pylades in Augustan Rome—of ballet-pantomime, a ballet -acted entirely pantomimically, or in dumb-show.</p> - -<p>It was the happy idea of the learned and extravagant -Duchesse du Maine, whose <cite>Nuits de Sceaux</cite> have been -chronicled by that fascinating bluestocking, Mlle. Delaunay, -who was later to become famous as Madame de Staël.</p> - -<p>Among the endless round of fêtes and entertainments at -Sceaux, at the little theatre in which she took such prominent -part, the ever-restless Duchess never presented her guests -with a greater novelty. Day and night—and especially -night—they had all been requisitioned to invent ingenious -amusements. Sleep had been banished from the exigent -little Court. Dialogues, “proverbs,” “literary lotteries,” -songs and comedies had been turned out without cessation -as from a literary factory. Always it had been “words, -words, words,” and play on words. Now, for the first time -for centuries—as it <em>was</em>, in fact, and must certainly have -<em>seemed</em> to the Duchess’s house-parties!—there was to be -silence on the stage at Sceaux.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp50" id="i114a" style="max-width: 21.1875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_114a.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">The Duchesse du Maine</div> -</div> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span></p> - -<p>Having chosen the last scene of the fourth act of Corneille’s -“Horace,” the Duchess commanded the composer Mouret to -set it to music as if it were to be sung. The words were then -ignored, the music was played by an orchestra, and the two -well-known dancers, M. Ballon and Mlle. Prévôt, of the Royal -Academy, mutely mimed the actions and emotions of the -leading characters, so dramatically and with such intensity -of feeling that, it is said, both they and their audience were -moved at times to tears!</p> - -<p>Françoise Prévôt, or Prévost, was born about 1680, made -her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the age of eighteen, and when Subligny retired -in 1705, took her place as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première danseuse</i>. For some twenty -odd years she was the joy of all frequenters of the Opera, -for her grace and lightness of style. She retired in 1730, and -died eleven years after. Among the more famous of her pupils -were Marie Sallé and Marie-Anne de Cupis de Camargo, of -both of whom there will be more to say in due course. Meanwhile, -among the dances mainly in vogue during Prévôt’s -earlier period were the <cite>Courantes</cite>, <cite>Allemandes</cite>, <cite>Gigues</cite>, <cite>Contredanses</cite>; -and in her later years, <cite>Chaconnes</cite>, <cite>Passacailles</cite>, and -<cite>Passepieds</cite>. For the dancing of the last Prévôt was especially -famed.</p> - -<p>In the preface to his “<cite>Maître à Danser</cite>,” published four -years after the dancer’s retirement, Rameau describes her in -the following terms: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Dans une seule de ses danses sont -renfermées toutes les règles qu’après de longues méditations nous -pouvons donner sur notre art, et elle les met en pratique, -avec tant de grâce, tant de justesse, tant de légèreté, tant de -précision qu’elle peut être regardée comme un prodige dans ce -genre.</i>”</p> - -<p>Again, Noverre, in his <cite>Lettres sur la Danse</cite>, published later, -makes graceful reference to Prévôt in recalling his impressions -of famous dancers whom he had seen in earlier years, and -gives us, too, an interesting criticism of the methods of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span> -composers of ballet in the mid-eighteenth century. “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">La -plupart des compositeurs</i>,” he says, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">suivent les vieilles rubriques -de l’opéra. Ils font des passe-pieds parceque Mdlle. Prévôt les -courait avec elegance; des musettes parceque Mdlle. Sallé et -M. Dumoulin les dansaient avec autant de grace que de volupté; -des tambourins parceque c’était le genre où Mdlle. de Camargo -excellait; des chaconnes et des passacailles parceque le célèbre -Dupré s’était comme fixé à ces mouvements; qu’ils s’ajoustaient à -son goût, à son genre et à la noblesse de sa taille. Mais tous -ces excellents Sujets n’y sont plus; ils ont été remplacés -et au-delà, dans des parties et ne le seront peut être jamais -dans les autres....</i>”</p> - -<p>Though Noverre was writing this about 1760, we have to -remember that he cannot actually have seen Prévôt, since he -was only born 1727, and <em>she</em> retired in 1730. But he records -an interesting tradition in complaining that the greater -number of the composers of his time still followed the older -canon of the opera, and composed <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">passepieds</i> because “Mdlle. -Prévôt <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">les courait</i>”; for it shows that the technique of the -dance had already begun to outgrow that of the composer. -Musicians were following in their forerunner’s tracks; dancers -were advancing on the road of invention. Indeed, we shall -see that this was so when we come to consider the differences -between the styles of Prévôt and her later successors. For -the moment it suffices to record that Prévôt, star of the -French opera from about 1700 to 1730, was famous for her -elegance, for her “grace,” “lightness,” “precision,” as -revealed in the comparatively slow dances of her period, -when the technique was obviously not immature (or Rameau -could not have noted such qualities in her dancing), but -evidently had not yet developed in the direction of speed, -or of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tours de force</i> such as some of the later dancers were to -exhibit. The <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">passepied</i>, of which an old French dancer-poet -wrote:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span></p> - -<p> -“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Le léger passe-pied doit voler terre à terre</i>,”<br /> -</p> - -<p>was a dance in three-four time, a species of minuet, performed, -as the poet records, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">terre à terre</i>,” hence Noverre’s -description:</p> - -<p>“Mdlle. Prévôt les <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">courait</i> avec elegance.”</p> - -<p>A modern versifier has—perhaps presumptuously—put -the following lines into the dancer’s mouth:</p> - - -<p class="pfs90">PRÉVÔT SPEAKS</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Though others by Courante may swear</div> - <div class="verse0">Or some the grave Allemande prefer,</div> - <div class="verse0">Or vow for Gigues alone they care,</div> - <div class="verse0">Or Contredanse’s vulgar stir:</div> - <div class="verse0">For me—who am no villager!—</div> - <div class="verse0">I love not dances rough and free,</div> - <div class="verse0">Nor yet too slow! Without demur</div> - <div class="verse0">The Passepied’s the dance for me.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Hark to its gentle, plaintive air!</div> - <div class="verse0">Was music ever mellower,</div> - <div class="verse0">More full of grace, more sweetly fair?</div> - <div class="verse0">No dancer, sure, could wish to err</div> - <div class="verse0">From the staid rhythms that recur—</div> - <div class="verse0">As softly as a breath may be—</div> - <div class="verse0">With base like a pleased kitten’s purr:</div> - <div class="verse0">The Passepied’s the dance for me!</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“No other music now may share,</div> - <div class="verse0">With this my favour, or could spur</div> - <div class="verse0">My feet new measures now to dare.</div> - <div class="verse0">What of Camargo? As for her—</div> - <div class="verse0">(Of passing fancies harbinger!)</div> - <div class="verse0">Quickness, but naught of grace has she.</div> - <div class="verse0"><em>She</em> dance? That plain, fast foreigner?</div> - <div class="verse0">The Passepied’s the dance for <em>me</em>!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p class="pfs90">ENVOI</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“<em>Lovers of dance, let naught deter</em></div> - <div class="verse0"><em>Your love from graces all can see</em></div> - <div class="verse0"><em>In Passepied! And all aver</em></div> - <div class="verse0"><em>The Passepied’s the dance for me!</em>”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span></p> - -<p class="noindent">Of the jealousy which might have impelled Mlle. Prévôt -to speak thus of her young rival Camargo and her quicker -style there will be more to say presently. It is necessary for a -while to turn aside (even to hark back a little, perhaps, since -in dealing with a period of transition there must be several -threads to trace back and gather up), and to glance at another -phase of theatrical history than that of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première danseuse</i> -and the august Royal Opera, namely, the less exalted—and -more popular—theatre; one which proved often the antechamber -to the greater stage and Royal favour, to wit—the -Italian Comedy and the Theatres of the Fair.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV<br /><br /> -ITALIAN COMEDY AND THE THEATRES OF THE FAIR</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">Humanity</span>, like history, repeats itself in its recurring -moods. Some years ago London playgoers -went rather mad over what was a comparatively new thing -to that period, the production of a delightful play without -words, namely, MM. Carré and Wormser’s “L’Enfant Prodigue,” -acted to perfection by a cast headed by Mlle. Jane -May, as Pierrot, with Mlle. Zanfretta as Pierrette.</p> - -<p>About two thousand years ago the playgoers of ancient -Rome began to go mad about what was <em>then</em> thought to be a -really new thing—pantomime acting without words.</p> - -<p>The two pantomimists, Bathyllus and Pylades, then set a -standard in mimetic representation never achieved before. -The two Roman actors were “dancers,” but it was because -they were panto-mimes of such brilliant quality that they -became famous. Had they been merely dancers they would -hardly have made the impression they did.</p> - -<p>The modern ballet-dancer—as we understand the word—knows, -or should know, that dancing without the ability to -mime is not enough to win the fame of a Taglioni, a Grisi, -Génée or Karsavina, in ballet.</p> - -<p>In opera a voice of the loveliest tone, together with an -acquired technical excellence in the use of it, has not the power -to move the hearers if <em>expression</em> is lacking. <em>It is the art of the -mime which gives expression and significance to the art of the -dancer</em>; and it was as dancer-mimes that Pylades and -Bathyllus moved their audience to something like worship.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span></p> - -<p>It is, of course, a pretence, this doing without words. I -say “pretence” because you cannot do away with words. -You may have a “wordless” play, but behind the dumb-show -there are still the words. It is so in life. Behind all -things is—the Word. Things are only representative of -thoughts; and thoughts are inconceivable without words. -We may not always speak with tongue and voice; but, if -we have the impulse to speak, the instrument matters not, -and we may “speak” with our hands. So doing, a look or -gesture becomes a word, a series of gestures a sentence.</p> - -<p>Now, in ancient Roman days when the ordinary spoken -comedy merged first into a sort of musical comedy, and then, -at the dawn of the Christian era, into unspoken comedy or -pantomime; and when, in addition, all the Greek plays and -stories of the Greek and Latin myths were drawn upon for -pantomime, some of the original characters stayed and others -were incorporated in the general make-up of the purely -wordless play as this form of entertainment grew increasingly -popular; and among the new-comers was probably Mercury, -who became a sort of Harlequin, with gift of invisibility and -magic wand.</p> - -<p>The <em>spoken</em> comedy of ancient Rome becoming superseded, -first by the pantomimes and secondly by the craze for the -circus, finally died down with the fall of the Empire itself, -and did not revive for some hundreds of years, until the -world’s great reawakening, in the Middle Ages, to the wonders -of the classic past. But it is more than probable that this -dumb comedy, or <em>panto-mime</em>, any more than dancing, <em>did -not die</em>.</p> - -<p>In Sicily and Southern Italy more especially it would have -survived; for expressive pantomime was always as much a -means of speech among the Southern Latins as verbal language -itself.</p> - -<p>In the old Latin Comedy the same set of characters were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span> -often made to appear in other guises, and in different comic -situations. Maccus, for instance, though still called so, -would appear at one time as an old maid, at another as a raw -soldier: Pappus would be a doting old husband, or father -whose daughter was abducted: and he was usually outwitted -whatever the situation he was in. These and various other -types, and this custom of making them each a kind of “quick-change” -artist, survived, or at least revived.</p> - -<p>In Italy, as time went by, various local types were added -to the original cast of the pantomime. The old man would -be a Venetian; the Doctor, from Bologna, famous for its -University and—poisons; the Clown would be a peasant-servant -from Bergamo; the braggart soldier, a “Capitan,” -would be from Spain; sometimes they would each speak -in their own particular dialect, and fun would be made -thereof. Throughout the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth -centuries the fame of the Italian comedians spread -throughout the world.</p> - -<p>Troupes found their way to Paris and London, and no -slight traces of their influence are to be found in Shakespeare -and Molière. Pre-Shakespearean comedy in England was -often impromptu and pantomimic; and the actors worked -much as the Italian players had always done.</p> - -<p>In 1611 a well-known Italian comedian, Flaminio Scala, -printed a book of plays performed by his company. <em>There -was no dialogue!</em> They were simply something like what -we know as “plots,” though the French word “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">canevas</i>” -expresses it better. It was merely the outline of the play, -entrances, exits, “business” written on canvas and hung up -in the wings as a reminder to the actors, who “gagged” the -play throughout, each usually introducing his own stock tricks -or business (<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">lazzi</i> was the Italian word) as the play proceeded. -In one of the Flaminio Scala’s plots we find a Pantalon, -a Dottore or Doctor, a Captain (a braggart such as Pistol), a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span> -Pedrolino, later to become better known to us after various -changes of spirit as Pierrot.</p> - -<p>In seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Paris the Italian -players had a sensational success, being honoured by Louis -XIV and his successor; and were regularly introduced into -the lighter operas, were copied by the players in the Paris -Fair Theatres, and were often the subject of the brush of -Watteau and other artists.</p> - -<p>In a little volume I have, <cite>Le Théâtre Italien</cite> (published -1695), by the famous actor, Evariste Gherardi, the author -explains that “the reader must not expect to find in this book -entire comedies, because the Italian plays could not be -printed, for the simple reason that the players learn nothing -by rote, and it suffices for them merely to have seen the -subject of the comedy a moment before stepping on the stage.” -He says that “the charm of the pieces is inseparable from the -action, and their success depends wholly on the actors, who -<em>play from imagination rather than from memory, and compose -their comedy while playing</em>.”</p> - -<p>Among the titles of the plays we find: “Arlequin, Emperor -in the Moon”; “Colombine, Advocate”; “Arlequin -Proteus”; “Arlequin Jason”; “The Cause of Woman”; -“Divorce”; and “Arlequin, Man of Fortune.” In most we -find Arlequin assuming various disguises—“<i>Arlequin en -More</i>,” “<i>Arlequin deguisé en Baron</i>,” “<i>Arlequin deguisé en -Comtesse</i>” being among stage directions, for instance, to -“The Cause of Woman.”</p> - -<p>By the early eighteenth century the leading characters -had become Arlequin, Pantalon, Punchinello, the Doctor, the -Captain, Scaramouche, Scapin, Leandre, and Mezzetin; and -women had become incorporated in the generally enlarged -cast, the chief being Isabelle, Octavie and Colombine.</p> - -<p>Reference has already been made to the Duchesse du Maine, -who in 1708 revived the art of pure pantomime by producing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span> -an act of Corneille’s “Horace,” which was performed entirely -in dumb show by the dancer-mimes, Mdlle. Prévôt and Monsieur -Ballon, to music by Mouret.</p> - -<p>Soon after, Nivelon, and other dancers who were also -mimes, such as Sallé, began to come to London; and in the -early eighteenth century was seen the birth of the first real -English <em>pantomime</em>, which bore some resemblance to that of -ancient Rome, owed something to the Italian comedy and to -the more recent French theatre, with certain new ideas of -its own—especially in the way of costume and elaborate -staging. This was due to the enterprise of John Rich.</p> - -<p>By Rich’s time Arlequin had become the all-important -character of the French comedy-stage, and he followed a -then recent custom (also the ancient Latin custom) of placing -one character in various sets of circumstances. His first -production at the Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theatre in 1717 was -“Harlequin Sorcerer,” which was followed by several others -with Harlequin as the hero. Their form was always much the -same. A serious, classic or fabulous story, such as one from -Ovid, was the basis of the work; while between the serious -scenes, and partly woven into them, ran a lighter story, consisting -mainly of Harlequin’s courtship of Columbine, with -interference from other characters, on whom in turn Harlequin -played tricks with his magic wand. Rich played Harlequin, -and made him dumb, for the simple reason that, though a -clever actor, he could not speak well enough for the stage. -Thus he gave us once again the ancient classic art of pantomime, -which now became the true wordless English Harlequinade; -and he taught his players of the other parts, -Pantaloon, Pierrot, Clown, Columbine, an art of wordless -acting equal to his own. He realised the value of fine mounting, -and his productions were gorgeously staged and almost -invariably successful.</p> - -<p>It would be interesting, of course, to trace with some detail<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span> -the history of Italian comedy and its influence on the French -and English stage; indeed, to go fully into the vexed question -of its origin. Certain modern scholars, such as Miss Winifred -Smith in her extremely able and interesting volume on the -<cite>Commedia dell’ Arte</cite>, issued by the Columbia University of -America, holds the view that it was <em>not</em> derived from the -classic stage at all, but was a spontaneous growth of fifteenth-century -Italy.</p> - -<p>Another view is that there was an unbroken thread of -tradition from Greece, through Sicily and the Greek settlements -in south-eastern Italy, and that when the <cite>Commedia</cite> -attained its great vogue in the sixteenth and seventeenth -centuries, spreading through Italy and thence through -western Europe, the charm and complexity of its texture -was due to the numerous strands that had been gathered -up from various localities in the progress of years.</p> - -<p>Yet another possibility is, that this central idea of pantomime, -or dumb acting, may merely have occurred again and -again through the centuries, as a “new” idea, without direct -impulse from tradition.</p> - -<p>Personally I feel that acting <em>without</em> words implies a greater -technical advance in the art of representation than acting -<em>with</em> them, for it makes the actor more than merely repeater, or -even interpreter, of an author; <em>it makes him partly creator, -or author</em>. It is impossible, however, to go fully now into the -question of the origin of the art of pantomime. Whatsoever -diverse theories students may hold, the fact remains that it -<em>was</em> known in classic days, and that the form of it which we -know under the Italian title of the <cite>Commedia dell’ Arte</cite> -flourished in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and -certainly had its influence on the French and English stage, -literature and art, and also on Ballet.</p> - -<p>The Duchesse du Maine in her pantomime production of -Corneille’s “Horace” was deliberately harking back to a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span> -form of entertainment which she believed had held the -classic stage; and the production was not without effect on -the history of Ballet. The appearance of Italian pantomime -actors in Paris had additional influence.</p> - -<p>Look at some of the pictures of Watteau, Lancret and -Fragonard. You will see there the types of the Italian -Comedy; turn to the scores of the opera-ballets of the early -eighteenth century and you will note that, more often than -not, the Italian players were introduced; just as we to-day, -in our <em>revues</em>, have introduced Russian dancers, or English -players impersonating, or parodying, the Russians—simply -because the Russians have in recent years attained a vogue -similar to that attained by Italian singers in the ’forties of last -century, and to that attained by the Italian comedy troupes -of two centuries ago. These things are introduced into -current dramatic productions just because they have their -vogue, just because they are “topical.” Equally they -influence art and literature.</p> - -<p>Even the French critics seem hardly to have realised the -extent to which French art of the early eighteenth century -was influenced by the contemporary stage. All can see, of -course, that it <em>was</em> influenced, to the extent of introducing -the types of Italian comedy. One has only to glance at -Watteau’s “L’Amour au Théâtre Italien” to see that patent -fact. But the fact also that, except for his earlier landscapes -and camp scenes, several of Watteau’s pictures were, -in all probability, <em>derived from ballets actually seen</em> on the -French stage seem to have been overlooked.</p> - -<p>One of the earlier works attributed to Watteau is a picture -representing the “Departure of the Italian Comedians.” -The engraving of it by L. Jacob in the wonderful Jullienne -collection of engravings from Watteau’s works plainly gives -the date of the incident as 1697. Watteau, however, did not -arrive from Valenciennes to take up his abode in Paris until<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span> -after 1702, when he came to reside and work with Claude -Gillot, the engraver.</p> - -<p>So either this seems a mistake on Jullienne’s part, or the -picture is not by Watteau, but is worked up from sketches -and descriptions by Gillot or some other person who was an -eyewitness of the incident; for it is quite obvious that -Watteau cannot have seen what took place in Paris before -he arrived there, and when he was only thirteen years old, as -he would have been in 1697.</p> - -<p>Let us turn aside for a while from this minor problem and -consider who, exactly, were these Italian comedians. From -the sixteenth century, in 1570 as a fact, when Catherine de -Medici invited a company of Italian players to Paris, there -had been several troupes arriving from time to time, under -Court patronage. One of the earliest of importance came in -1576, and were known as <em>Gli Gelosi</em>, <em>Les Jaloux</em>, that is, -according to one authority, folk jealous of pleasing; though -they may also have been so called from the fact that they -achieved their success first in a comedy of that name, <cite>Gli -Gelosi</cite>, or <cite>Les Jaloux</cite>.</p> - -<p>Nearer the dates which are our concern was Fiorelli’s troupe, -which in 1660 was properly established at the Palais Royal, -where they played alternately with Molière’s company, and received -the title of “<cite>Comédiens du Roi de la troupe Italienne</cite>.”</p> - -<p>In 1684 it was established by order of the Dauphin that -the troupe should always be composed of twelve members, -four women and eight men, made up as follows: two women -for “serious <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôles</i>,” two for comic, two men for lovers, two -for comic parts, two “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pour conduire l’intrigue</i>,” and two to -play fathers and old men generally. These kept the traditional -names respectively of: Isabelle, Eularia; Columbine, -Marinette; Octave, Cinthio; Scaramouche, Arlequin; -Mezzetin, Pascariel; Pantalon, and the Doctor.</p> - -<p>In 1697, however, the Italian comedians, who by now had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span> -begun to develop, from the <cite>Commedia dell’ Arte</cite>, or purely -improvised dumb show play of an earlier period into a more -or less written “literary” comedy, had the audacity to -produce under the title of “La Fausse Prude,” a play, the title -of which seemed to suggest foundation on a novel (published -in Holland) which had attacked the King’s mistress, Madame -de Maintenon. For this they were banished, and were not -recalled to Royal favour until 1716.</p> - -<p>Hence the problem of deciding Watteau’s connection with -the painting of an incident that occurred in 1697, five years -before he <em>can</em> have reached Paris; and also of “placing” -the rest of his avowedly theatrical pictures, when apparently -the Italian comedians were not to be seen, or if seen, <em>not -until 1716</em>; thus giving Watteau only five years before his -death in 1721 to account for the fairly extensive collection of -works dealing expressly with these stage types.</p> - -<p>Speaking of the period shortly after Watteau arrived in -Paris, one critic has declared (though it in no way lessens -the value of his decisions concerning Watteau’s art): “Indeed, -during these early years Watteau could have had no -opportunity of studying the Italian comedy, otherwise than -through the works of his new preceptor and friend”: this -“preceptor and friend” being, of course, Gillot, by whose -enthusiasm for the stage Antoine’s own was unquestionably -awakened.</p> - -<p>The same writer goes on to say: “It can hardly be doubted -that from him—and not, as legend has it, from the stage -itself—Watteau obtained his first peep into the strange -realms of the <cite>Commedia dell’ Arte</cite>.”</p> - -<p>But the plain fact is that there was every opportunity, -despite this earlier banishment of the Royal troupe of Italian -comedians, for Watteau to have obtained not only his first -peep into the realms of the <cite>Commedia dell’ Arte</cite> and to have -been influenced throughout his Paris life, especially by Ballet.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span></p> - -<p>From the time Antoine reached the city in 1702 until his -death in 1721 there were four marked opportunities for stage -influence, namely, the legitimate and royally patronised -French comedians; the Opera, still flushed with Lulli’s magic, -and not despicably illumined by Campra; the Ballet, then -finding wings to soar; and finally, the Theatres of the Fair, -which, with their gay quarrel against authority, with their -reckless parodies and splendid spectacles, have been strangely -neglected by Watteau’s biographers as a contributory influence -on his choice of subject.</p> - -<p>Let us consider first the Theatres of the Fairs. The fairs -themselves, of St. Germain and St. Laurent, were of ancient -institution, and from early times they had their side-shows -of tumblers, rope-dancers, trained animals, such as performing -bears, monkeys, and white mice, as well as balladists and -marionettes, which were the chief attraction by the middle -of the seventeenth century.</p> - -<p>Towards the end of the century each Fair had one or more -troupes of actors, especially Italian, who played improvised -pieces in dumb-show, as well as written farces, vaudevilles -and parodies in Italian, French, and sometimes a mixture of -both languages. These troupes were quite apart from those -which from time to time had been brought from Italy by -special invitation from the French Court.</p> - -<p>It was the Royal Troupe <em>only</em> that was expelled in 1697, -for its performance of “La Fausse Prude”; and it was really -their expulsion which aroused the Theatres of the Fair to a -new and more vigorous life.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp93" id="i128a-t" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_128a-t.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">The Departure of the Italian Comedians, 1697<br /> -(<em>From an engraving by L. Jacob of Watteau’s picture</em>).</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i128a-b" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_128a-b.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Pierrot and Arlequin in the early 18th Century<br /> -(<em>From Riccoboni’s “Histoire du Théâtre Italien”</em>).</div> -</div> - - -<p>The Fair of St. Germain was open from February 3rd to -Easter Sunday; the Fair of St. Laurent began at the end of -June and closed in October, so that for the greater part of the -year both offered opportunities for amusement of a less expensive -and more popular sort than did the aristocratic -Comédie Française and Comédie Italienne; in fact, so popular<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span> -were they that, on suppression of the Comédie Italienne, the -aristocracy themselves patronised the foreign troupes of the -Theatres of the Fair.</p> - -<p>From the dawn of the eighteenth century, however, this -very popularity became a source of worry to the managers of -the troupes at the Fairs, for it involved the jealousy of the -Comédie Française and the still youthful Opera; and the -attempts of grandiose Authority to smother these minor -theatres (which had public sympathy wholly on their side) -and the amazing resource shown by their managers in meeting -each fresh legal thunderbolt by some new and more hilarious -evasion, is a veritable comedy in itself, but must not detain -us now. All we need to consider at the moment is that, -despite attempts to suppress them there <em>were</em> these troupes, -at the Theatres of the Fair, from before 1702, when Watteau -came to Paris, until after 1721, the date of his death.</p> - -<p>There was the troupe of Madame Jeanne Godefroy, widow -of Maurice Von der Beck, from 1694 to 1709; that of -Christopher Selles, from 1701 to 1709; that of Louis Nivelon -(who, by the way, was a theatrical visitor to London), from -1707 to 1771; that of Saint-Edmé from 1711 to 1718; -and, most important of all, that of Constantini, known as -Octave, from 1712 to 1716.</p> - -<p>Thus from the time he arrived in Paris Watteau could, -for a few pence, have seen any of these companies, and -in view of the fact that the first thing any young man up -from the country usually does is to see the “sights” of the -town, and more especially in view of the fact that soon after -his arrival Watteau was in the studio of Gillot—popular -engraver of such popular subjects, and himself a lover of the -stage—what was more probable than that Antoine <em>did</em> include -the Theatres of the Fair among the sights he saw, and so was -influenced to choose, as some of the earlier subjects of his -brush, the Italian players he <em>could</em> see there.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV<br /><br /> -WATTEAU’S DEBT TO THE STAGE</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">The</span> stage has from time to time been indebted to -Watteau for costume and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">décor</i>. But Watteau’s -debt to the stage of his period, to the Opera, to the Italian -Comedy, and to the Theatres of the Fair, has hardly been -considered sufficiently. Here is not the place to bring forward -all the evidence that could be produced. Only an indication -of some of the leading possibilities can be given. But while -the subject has an interest of its own, on the purely critical -side, it is also of interest to students of the ballet, for they -may trace in some of the famous French pictures of the early -eighteenth century the influence of ballet on contemporary -art. Again, history “repeats itself” to-day, for have not -many artists of our own time found inspiration in many of -the productions of the Russian ballet?</p> - -<p>It is interesting first to compare Watteau’s picture of -“L’Amour au Théâtre Italien” with the reproductions given -here from an old volume in my possession, Riccoboni’s <cite>Histoire -du Théâtre Italien</cite>, which was not published until six years after -Watteau’s death, but which may be regarded as a contemporary -work since it describes the stage of his time.</p> - -<p>These prints represent the various types of the Italian -comedy as they were actually costumed, and comparing these -with the figures in Watteau’s group, one sees in their close -resemblance proof that the master was painting from things -seen, from life itself (albeit stage life), not some graceful<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span> -creations of his own imagination, as some of us to-day have -been too apt to think.</p> - -<p>In “L’Amour au Théâtre Italien” we have a faithful -record of costumes actually worn; but the whole attitude of -the group of figures suggests something vastly more than -merely an artist’s study of costume. The figures are alert, -the moment dramatic. Something is happening, or rather has -happened, and there is a suggestion of culmination, as if the -interruption of a song by the entry of a character had called -forth, or was about to call forth, some whimsical comment -from Pierrot, the singer. It seems a captured moment in a -comedy.</p> - -<p>Comparing it with the obviously companion picture, -“L’Amour au Théâtre Français,” one might well be somewhat -puzzled by the title, since in neither is there any apparent -love-scene taking place. The one suggests an interruption -in a comedy, the other—a dance in progress.</p> - -<p>Beneath the engravings of these two by C. N. Cochin in the -Jullienne collection, however, are inscribed a couple of six-line -stanzas, one beneath each, in which the treatment of -love themes in Italian and French comedies respectively is -contrasted.</p> - - -<p class="pfs90 p1">L’AMOUR AU THÉÂTRE FRANÇAIS</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“L’amour badine en France; il se montre un grand jour</div> - <div class="verse0">Il ne prend point de masque, il se parle sans detour;</div> - <div class="verse0">Il vit dans les festins, aux plaisir il s’allie,</div> - <div class="verse0">C’est une liberté que le noeud qui nous lie</div> - <div class="verse0">Nous servons sans constrainte e Bacchus e l’Amour.</div> - <div class="verse0">Et nos tristes voisins nous taxent de folie.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class=" fs90 pad60pc"><span class="smcap">M. Roy.</span>”</p> - -<p class="pfs90 p1">L’AMOUR AU THÉÂTRE ITALIEN</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“La jalouse Italie effrayante les amours,</div> - <div class="verse0">Les fait marcher de nuit, les constraint au mistère</div> - <div class="verse0">Mais une Serenade y supplie aux discours;</div> - <div class="verse0">Un geste, un sel regard conclud on rompt d’Affaire,</div> - -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span> - - <div class="verse0">L’impatient Francois en intrigue préfere,</div> - <div class="verse0">Des chemins moins couverts, les croyée—vous plus courts?</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class=" fs90 pad60pc"><span class="smcap">M. Roy.</span>”</p> - -<p>These stanzas are by Roy, a contemporary poet who was a -librettist for the Opera, two of whose operas were produced -in 1712.</p> - -<p>One thing is certain, that Watteau’s own eyes must have -noted the contrast between the Italian and French comedy -to have painted such pictures. He could not have painted -them without being an observant theatre-goer. What, then, -did he see, and when could he have seen such productions as -might suggest such works? While acknowledging that -positive evidence is still to be sought, I cannot help feeling -that these two pictures, and one or two others, could fairly -safely be placed as work done about 1711-1712.</p> - -<p>In 1709 Antoine, still with Audran at the Luxembourg, -competed for entry, and was admitted with four other -students, for the Academy. Then he left Paris for Valenciennes, -defraying expenses by selling a military picture, -“Départ des Troupes,” to the dealer, Sirois, who urged him -to paint a similar picture, which he did at Valenciennes.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp97" id="i132a-t" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_132a-t.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">L’Amour au Théâtre Italien</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp96" id="i132a-b" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_132a-b.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">L’Amour au Théâtre Français<br /> -(<em>From the Jullienne engravings from Watteau, British Museum</em>).</div> -</div> - - -<p>There is no direct evidence that Watteau painted any -stage-pictures <em>before</em> this period; and it would seem that -his work in the country was mainly on military and naturalistic -subjects. We <em>do</em> know that he was again in Paris at a -date uncertain in 1712, and went to live with a Monsieur -Crozat, by whom he was engaged to paint a series of panels -of The Seasons. It is extremely likely that he would have -returned to Paris refreshed by his country sojourn and with a -new zest for work, <em>and</em> for theatre-going, which was then -beginning to be particularly interesting, a crisis in the Fair -Theatre troubles being over by 1710, and some new<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span> -productions there as well as at the opera being well worth -seeing.</p> - -<p>As I would trace his movements, still admitting that -positive evidence is required, Watteau returned to Paris early -in 1711, took up his quarters for a time with Sirois the dealer, -who would have the disposing of work done at Valenciennes. -One of his first pictures of this period was probably “Gilles -and his Family,” in the Wallace collection, which is supposed -to be a portrait of Sirois dressed as a Pierrot or Gilles (the -names being synonymous at the period) in a costume supplied -by Watteau’s own wardrobe.</p> - -<p>Then would come visits to the Fairs of St. Germain and -St. Laurent, whence he would return reinspired with a love -for the gay, reckless, satiric Italian comedy.</p> - -<p>One has only to compare the Hertford House “Gilles” -with the central figure of Pierrot in the “L’Amour au Théâtre -Italien” to see that one is an earlier work and is the figure -of a man somewhat self-conscious and not quite used to the -clothes he is wearing; the other a maturer work, representing -a vivid impression of a born comedian, momentarily -master of the scene. Doubtless at this time, too, would be -done some, but only some, of the remaining works dealing -with the Italian stage types, such as “Les Jaloux,” “Arlequin -Jaloux,” “Comédiens Italiens,” and “Pierrot Content.” -A little after, I think, would come such works as “Arlequin et -Colombine,” (in the Wallace collection), “Mezzetin,” and -the maturer “Gilles,” in the Louvre.</p> - -<p>In 1712 there were at the Theatres of the Fair in Paris two -famous players of Gilles or Pierrot, namely, Hamoche, who -made his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> in that year with the St. Edmé troupe; and -Belloni, who was also a lemonade-seller, quite a popular -character, notable, as one chronicle tells us, “for the grand -simplicity of his acting and for his naïve and truthful speech.”</p> - -<p>The most famous of the players of Arlequin was Pierre-François<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span> -(otherwise Domenique) Biancolelli, who was also of -the St. Edmé troupe, somewhere between 1710-1712.</p> - -<p>Thus it was not unlikely that Watteau saw these actors, -as he may have seen another, Delaplace, as Scaramouche, and -Desgranges, who came to Paris from Lyons, in 1712, as “the -Doctor”; though the Mezzetin offers a minor problem in -that Angelo Constantini, the most famous impersonator of the -character, after suffering banishment with the Italian comedians -in 1697, went to Poland, where an intrigue with the -Queen resulted in his imprisonment for twenty years, by -which time Watteau was no more. Him, therefore, Watteau -cannot have seen. But the character was a familiar one on the -stage at the time, 1710-1712, and must have been played by -other popular actors, even if not of sufficient note to be -chronicled.</p> - -<p>To turn from the Italian actors to other theatrical -characters which form the subjects of some of Watteau’s -pictures, it is of interest to note that one of the engravings -in the Jullienne collection represents “Poisson en habit de -paysan.” Poisson was a familiar name in the annals of -the French stage, for it was borne by three generations of -Parisian actors, Raymond Poisson, who died in 1690, Paul, -his son, and François, grandson. Watteau’s picture is -presumably that of the second, Paul.</p> - -<p>Another interesting point to note is that a portrait of -Raymond Poisson, painted by Netscher, was engraved by -Edelinck (who was employed by Watteau’s employer—Audran) -and represents the actor in the character of Crispin, -one of his most famous parts (that of a sort of black-dressed -Pierrot, a messenger distinguished by his long boots, worn -by Raymond Poisson to increase his stature), which was -successively played by his son Paul, and grandson François, -and became a traditional type.</p> - -<p>Watteau cannot have seen Raymond, who died twelve<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span> -years before the artist came to Paris, but he may well have -seen Paul, and it is significant that he should have drawn a -figure representing <em>not</em> “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Poisson en habit de Crispin</i>” (whose -costume was now a tradition) but “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en habit de Paysan</i>” as if -it was the very fact that the part was one different from that -especially associated with the Poisson family which made it -of interest to Watteau.</p> - -<p>In connection with the same portrait there is one point -that is particularly noteworthy, namely, <em>that it is exactly -like the central figure in “Le Concert,” or “Les Charmes de la -Vie” in the Wallace collection</em>; and close consideration of -the latter inclines me to the belief that the picture represents—as -certain others not unusually so considered may well do—a -scene from an opera.</p> - -<p>Another of the engravings in the Jullienne collection of -“Mdlle. Desmares en habit de Pelerine.” Mlle. Desmares -was a well-known Danish actress; and “pelerines” appear in -Watteau’s “L’Embarquement pour l’Ile de Cythère.”</p> - -<p>One has only to pass in review a succession of Watteau’s -works, or reproductions thereof, to notice how very -frequently he repeats himself in matters of detail. In a -general way, for instance, it is curious to note how frequently -dancing and music are repeated in the course of his life’s -work. In “L’Amour au Théâtre Français” is a couple -dancing; in the “Bal sous une Colonnade” another; in -“Le Contrat de Mariage” and its variants—another, and very -similar; in “Le Menuet” (at the Hermitage, Petrograd) -another; in “Amusements Champêtres” (Chantilly), and in -the “Fêtes Vénitiennes” (Edinburgh) are more such couples; -while there is, of course, the dainty single figure of the child -in “La Danse,” in the Royal Palace, Potsdam; and the -famous “L’Indifférent,” in the Louvre, also represents a -young man dancing. Dancers and musicians are thus a -constant theme for Watteau’s brush.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span></p> - -<p>There are, however, more distinctive and more curious -repetitions to note than these obvious evidences of a general -taste for music and the dance; the repetitions of figures or -groups in particular positions, and of details in <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mise en scène</i>.</p> - -<p>The well-known “Joueur de Guitare,” in the Musée Condé, -reappears <em>in almost exact facsimile</em> in “La Surprise” (in -Buckingham Palace) and also in the “Fête Galante,” or -“Fête Champêtre,” in the Royal Gallery, Dresden.</p> - -<p>The couple in “La Gamme d’Amour” is simply a detail -from the centre of the “Assemblée dans un Parc,” in the -Royal Gallery at Berlin. The musician in “La Leçon de -Musique” (Wallace collection) is repeated in “Le Concert,” -also in the Wallace collection.</p> - -<p>To turn now to details of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mise en scène</i>, it is curious to note -that the pillars seen in the last-named picture also occur in -the “Bal sous une Colonnade,” in the Dulwich Gallery.</p> - -<p>The reclining statue to the right of the picture, known as -“Les Champs Elysées,” in the Wallace collection, is another, -presumably an earlier version of the “Jupiter and Antiope,” -in the Louvre.</p> - -<p>The statuette and amorini in the “Fête d’Amour” at the -Dresden Royal Gallery are variants of those in the “Embarquement -pour l’Ile de Cythère”; while the terminal statue -of Pan seen in the “Arlequin et Colombine,” in the -Wallace collection, reappears again and again in the Italian -Comedy series.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i136a-t" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_136a-t.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Le Concert<br /> -(<em>From the painting by Watteau, Wallace Collection</em>).</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp96" id="i136a-b" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_136a-b.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">La Leçon de Musique -(<em>From the painting by Watteau, Wallace Collection</em>).</div> -</div> - - -<p>To some, unaware, perhaps, of the influence which the stage -of Watteau’s time was exerting in other directions, these -comparisons may possibly seem unnecessary. But in considering -the extent to which that influence may have expressed -itself in the painter’s work, it is just these details which, taken -in conjunction with the trend of theatrical taste at that time, -are likely to be of importance. There was never an artist -yet—whether in colour, sound, or spoken or written word—who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span> -created a new world out of nothing. The spirit of art -can only find its expression in the manipulation of existing -material. Every work of art must surely be the culmination -of a long series of impulses due to external stimuli the connection -of which, perhaps over a lengthy period, consciousness -has failed to analyse and memory to record.</p> - -<p>Now Watteau’s work as a whole exhibits the frequent -repetition of certain <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">motifs</i>, but they were never of something -he can never have seen in reality. It was not automatic -reiteration of some pictured or imagined type, group or -material object. His earliest impressions of stage-life, it is -true, may well have been those conveyed by the prints or -paintings of his master Gillot. But there was <em>no necessity</em> -for him to subsist for the rest of his life for inspiration on -second-hand impressions.</p> - -<p>When, therefore, we find in works <em>other</em> than those avowedly -theatrical, a repetition of certain details which <em>are</em> found in -those dealings obviously with the theatre, it may be conceded, -perhaps, that the direct influence of stage scenes and -stage effects upon his art was somewhat more extensive than -might be thought merely from a study of those pictures which -are ostensibly studies of dramatic types and subjects; and -for an instance we may take the introduction of a group of -Italian comedians among the bystanders in the “Bal sous -une Colonnade,” already referred to. They need a little -looking for amid so many figures, but when discovered one -might question what Pierrot, Arlequin and their fellows are -doing “dans cette galère.”</p> - -<p>When we come, again, to consider the picture called “Le -Concert” (in the Wallace Collection) and find, in the central -figure, a striking likeness to another picture by Watteau of -“Poisson” in the costume of a peasant: and observe also a -repetition of a scenic detail such as the terrace-columns, -which are similar to those of the Colonnade: further noting<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span> -that the treatment of the distance between these same -columns is strangely suggestive of the flatness of a stage -“back-cloth,” it begins to seem not improbable that we have -here a pretty faithful translation of actual stage scenes.</p> - -<p>In one of these, the “Fêtes Champêtres,” also known as -“Les Fêtes Vénitiennes” (in the National Gallery, Edinburgh), -it is possible that we have a clue.</p> - -<p>Can it be mere coincidence that from 1710—the year after -Watteau had become a student at the Academy—one of the -most popular and most frequently revived ballets at the -Opera was Campra and Danchet’s “Les Fêtes Vénitiennes?”</p> - -<p>True, Watteau must be presumed to have been at Valenciennes -from about the end of 1709 until shortly before -1712, when he took up his abode with Crozat, but the -ballet was revived again <em>in</em> 1712; not to mention a -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pastiche</i> called “Fragments de Lulli,” which included -an <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrée</i> entitled “La Vénitienne,” produced in January, -1711, which, as has already been suggested, was the more -likely time than 1712 for Watteau’s return to town after his -stay at Valenciennes.</p> - -<p>At this time, in any case, there were several productions -at the Opera which may have easily proved an influence in -the thoughts of an impressionable young artist. It was in -1712 that two operas were produced, namely, “Créüse l’Athénienne” -and “Callirhoé,” the libretti of which were by Roy, -whose stanzas form the inscriptions already referred to as -appearing under the engravings of “L’Amour au Théâtre -Français” and “L’Amour au Théâtre Italien.”</p> - -<p>In one of the few of Watteau’s letters quoted by the -Goncourts is one to Gersaint in which Antoine accepts an -invitation to go “avec Antoine de la Roque,” and dine next -day. It is not insignificant that the first opera of which De la -Roque was librettist was produced in April, 1713, and entitled -“Médée et Jason.”</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i138a" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_138a.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Les Plaisirs du Bal<br /> -(<em>From the Jullienne engravings from Watteau, British Museum</em>).</div> -</div> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span></p> - -<p>To return, however, to “Les Fêtes Vénitiennes.” The score -of this ballet, or rather “opera-ballet,” was published by the -great French printer Ballard in 1714, and an examination of -it reveals further possibilities of its having influenced not -only the picture of the same name, but the “Bal sous une -Colonnade,” “Le Concert,” and possibly others of Watteau’s -composition, just as yet others might have been partly -inspired by Monteclair’s ballet “Les Fêtes de l’Eté,” published -in 1716, and Bertin’s “Les Plaisirs de la Campagne,” -published in 1719.</p> - -<p>“Les Fêtes Vénitiennes” was in four acts or <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrées</i>, with -a prologue. The third act was entitled “De l’Opéra,” and -opens with a music-lesson, practically the rehearsal of a duet -between Léontine, the prima-donna, and her music master, -just before the production of a miniature opera; and the -fourth is headed “Du Bal.” The stage directions for this are: -“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Le Théâtre représente un lieu préparé pour un Bal</i>”; and in a -bragging duel between the music-master and the dancing-master -the latter boasts:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Je scais l’art de tracer aux yeux</div> - <div class="verse0">Les sons qui frappent les oreilles,”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">which the other counters by saying that he can raise a storm -musically, which he proceeds to do, giving a musical representation -of the rising wind, of thunder, and so on. This, -however, is by the way. The one thing important is that there -<em>are</em> these two acts devoted to illustrating the charms of music -and the dance, that the opera contains an “air pour les -Arlequins,” an “air des Polichinelles,” an “air Champêtre,” -and closes, as several other ballets of the period also did, -with a sort of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i>, introducing the Italian players, -and a general gathering of all the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">dramatis personæ</i> on the -stage while the dances of this <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement final</i> are in -progress; all of which suggests the “Bal sous une Colonnade” -of Watteau.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span></p> - -<p>Monteclair’s “Les Fêtes de l’Eté” is of special interest in -that it was produced in 1716. In 1717 Watteau, after requests -from the Academy authorities, painted his diploma picture, -the immortal “Embarquement pour Cythère.” It would seem -that Monteclair’s ballet contains the first suggestions which -culminated in that picture.</p> - -<p>It is in three acts, with a prologue, and the stage directions -for this are: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Le Théâtre représente une Campagne dont les -beautés commencent à fletrir: Le Printemps y paroit environné -d’Amants et Amantes qui lui font la cour.</i>” In the -course of the act one of the lovers, expatiating on this charm of -their surroundings, sings: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Et la mère du Dieu des Amants a -quitté Cythère pour ces lieux charmés.</i>”</p> - -<p>The second act has the following stage directions at the -start: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Le Théâtre représente un relais de chasse, on y voit un -char doré, une Meute et une partie de l’equipage des Chasseurs.</i>” -One of the characters introduced is a young man, Lisidor, -who is remarkable for his indifference to feminine charms, -and might well be the origin of Watteau’s exquisite “L’Indifférent.” -Another of the characters, Dorante, is counselled -to imitate him; and in a discussion between Agatine and -Cephise, the former is advised by the latter “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pour s’assurer -de ce qu’on aime, la feinte indifférence est d’un puissant secours</i>.”</p> - -<p>In 1730, by the way, a play was produced at the theatre -of the St. Laurent Fair called “L’Indifférence,” in which the -hero preaches the doctrine of indifference to love! Watteau, -of course, cannot have seen this play, but it is significant that -both in 1716 and 1730, the stage should be found dealing -with what was evidently a current type of character.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp45" id="i140a-l" style="max-width: 19.125em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_140a-l.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Mlle. Desmares en habit de Pèlerine<br /> -(<em>From the Jullienne engravings from Watteau, -British Museum</em>).</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i140a-r" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_140a-r.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">L’Embarquement pour l’Ile de Cythère<br /> -(<em>From a photograph, by E. Alinari, of Watteau’s -painting in the Louvre</em>).</div> -</div> - - -<p>In the third act of Monteclair’s ballet, the opening directions -are: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Le Théâtre représente les Rives de la Seine. On voit le -soleil prêt à se coucher</i>” (which might possibly account for -the soft, warm tone of Watteau’s Embarquement) and one -of the characters comes to warn some lovers with a song:<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span> -“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Tendres amants, la Barque est prête</i>”; and the ballet concludes -with a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dance divertissement</i>, as was usual at the period.</p> - -<p>One cannot dogmatically assert that these operas <em>did</em> -directly inspire the pictures named, but that Watteau caught -his first suggestion of some from such performances as his -own taste and his association with a theatrical and musical -set would have led him to frequent, must seem, at the least, -probable.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI<br /><br /> -<cite>THE SPECTATOR</cite> AND MR. WEAVER</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">Queen Anne</span> had long been dead, but she can -never have been very lively when alive, for her -period was one when political intrigue, theological controversy, -and the War of Spanish Succession were the chief -subjects that occupied everybody’s attention, especially her -own, and—could anything be duller? Moreover, she was of -somewhat portly proportions, had a solemn husband, and—unlike -Queen Elizabeth—was really no dancer.</p> - -<p>With such a queen on the throne, at such a time of stress, -can it be wondered at that theatrical dancing was at a comparatively -low ebb? Why, there were only two theatres, -Drury Lane and Lincoln’s Inn Fields! and they were striving -hard to outdo each other—in dullness.</p> - -<p>Indeed, it was not until practically the close of Queen Anne’s -reign that stage-dancing began to come to its own; for though -the craze for pantomimes (and his importation of French -dancers) started by John Rich in Anne’s last year, were -mainly responsible for this, I cannot help thinking that Steele -and Addison’s ever lively <cite>Spectator</cite>, together with the works -of Mr. John Weaver, had considerable effect in rousing the -attention of playgoers as to the possibilities of dancing on -the stage; for while there are four papers in <cite>The Spectator</cite> in -which dancing as a <em>social</em> accomplishment is discussed, -Steele, in one of them, makes the interesting suggestion that -“It would be a great improvement, as well as embellishment<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span> -to the theatre, if dancing were more regarded, and taught to -all the actors”; and another calls special attention to -<cite>An Essay towards an History of Dancing</cite>, by John Weaver (a -12mo. volume published in 1712), who was also author of a -very interesting <cite>History of Pantomimes</cite>. These literary -efforts cannot have been without their influence on current -taste in things theatrical.</p> - -<p>Before the appearance of <cite>The Spectator</cite>, however, Addison -had made amusing reference to a dancing-master in one of -his papers for <cite>The Tatler</cite>. The date is 1709. He heads it as -written “From my own Apartment, October 31,” and goes -on: “I was this morning awakened by a sudden shake of the -house; and as soon as I had got a little out of my consternation, -I felt another, which was followed by two or three repetitions -of the same convulsion. I got up as fast as possible, girt -on my rapier, and snatched up my hat, when my landlady -came up to me and told me that the gentlewoman of the next -house begged me to step thither, for that a lodger she had -taken in was run mad; and she desired my advice; as indeed -everybody in the whole lane does upon important occasions,” -he slyly adds.</p> - -<p>With much detail and delightful humour Addison goes -on to describe his adventure, at greater length than -can be given here. Suffice it to say that he went in next door -and upstairs, “with my hand upon the hilt of my rapier -and approached this new lodger’s door. I looked in at the -keyhole and there I saw a well-made man look with great -attention at a book and, on a sudden, jump into the air so -high that his head almost touched the ceiling. He came down -safe on his right foot, and again flew up, alighting on his left; -then looked again at his book and, holding out his right leg, -put it into such a quivering motion that I thought he would -have shaken it off.”</p> - -<p>Eventually, of course, he discovers the lodger is a dancing-master,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span> -and on asking to see the book he is studying Addison -“could not make anything of it.” Whereupon the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître</i> -explains that he had been reading a dance or two ... “which -had been written by one who taught at an academy in France,” -adding the interesting comment “that now articulate motions, -as well as sounds, were expressed by proper characters; -and that there is nothing so common as to communicate -a dance by a letter.” Ultimately Addison begs -him to practise in a ground-room, and returns to his -own residence “meditating on the various occupations of -rational creatures.”</p> - -<p>To return, however, to the later publication, <cite>The Spectator</cite>, -in which Addison was also assisted by Steele and other -writers of such varied character as Motteaux (debauchee, -tea-merchant and translator of <cite>Don Quixote</cite>), Ambrose -Philips (whom Swift nicknamed “Namby Pamby”), and -Isaac Watts—the famous hymn-writer. In a comparatively -early number a short note introduces in very -learned fashion a quaint letter purporting to be from “some -substantial tradesman about ‘Change,’” in which the writer -grows querulous over the way in which his daughter (who -“has for some time been under the tuition of Monsieur -Rigadoon, a dancing-master in the city”), has been taught to -behave at a ball he takes her to.</p> - -<p>With some of the dancing the old man is delighted, as -he is with the art generally, but presently he has to complain: -“But as the best institutions are liable to corruptions, -so, sir, I must acquaint you that very great abuses are crept -into this entertainment. I was amazed to see my girl handed -by and handing young fellows with so much familiarity,” and -he finds that fault especially with “a most impudent step -called ‘Setting.’”</p> - -<p>There can be little doubt, however, that the good citizen -was shocked by a dance that was probably quite innocuous, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span> -only seemed to suggest a familiarity of behaviour unusual to -his prim eyes, viewing a ball-room for the first time.</p> - -<p>Almost the whole of one issue of <cite>The Spectator</cite> is taken up -with a letter from John Weaver, to whom Steele gives a fine -advertisement by not only printing the letter <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">in extenso</i>, but -introducing it with sapient comments from himself. One -point he makes somewhat recalls to mind the complaint of -Arbeau’s young friend, the law-student Capriol, who had -grown dusty over his studies.</p> - -<p>Speaking of dancing, Steele says: “I know a gentleman of -great abilities, who bewailed the want of this part of his -education to the end of a very honourable life. He observed -that there was not occasion for the common use of <em>great</em> -talents; that they are but seldom in demand; and that these -very great talents were often rendered useless to a man for -want of small attainments.” One can hardly perhaps -consider dancing to-day as a “small attainment,” however -it may have been considered in the reign of Queen -Anne.</p> - -<p>Weaver’s own letter is too long to quote in its entirety, but -I cannot refrain from giving at least the following, since, while -speaking of his own work, he offers incidentally several -peculiarly interesting glimpses as to the state of the art in -1712.</p> - -<div class="blockquoty"> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Mr. Spectator</span>,</p> - -<p>“Since there are scarce any of the arts or sciences that -have not been recommended to the world by the pens of -some of the professors, masters, or lovers of them, whereby -the usefulness, excellence, and benefit arising from them, both -as to the speculative and practical part, have been made -public, to the great advantage and improvement of such arts -and sciences; <em>why should dancing, an art celebrated by the -ancients in so extraordinary a manner, be totally neglected by the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span> -moderns, and left destitute of any pen to recommend its various -excellencies and substantial merit to mankind?</em></p> - -<p>“<em>The low ebb to which dancing is now fallen</em> is altogether -owing to this silence. <em>The art is esteemed only as an amusing -trifle</em>; it lies altogether uncultivated, and is unhappily fallen -under the imputation of being illiterate and ‘mechanic.’ -And as Terence, in one of his prologues, complains of the -rope-dancers drawing all the spectators from his play; so -may we well say, that capering and tumbling is now preferred -to, and <em>supplies the place of, just and regular dancing -in our theatres</em>. It is, therefore, in my opinion, high -time that someone should come to its assistance and relieve -it from the many gross and growing errors that have crept -into it, and overcast its real beauties; and to set dancing in -its true light, would show the usefulness and elegance of it, -with the pleasure and instruction produced from it; and also -lay down some fundamental rules, that might so tend to the -improvement of its professors, and information of the -spectators, that the first might be the better enabled to -perform, and the latter rendered more capable of judging -what is (if there be anything) valuable in this art.</p> - -<p>“To encourage, therefore, some ingenious pen capable of -so generous an undertaking, and in some measure to relieve -dancing from the disadvantages it at present lies under, I, -who teach to dance, have attempted a small treatise as an -<cite>Essay towards an History of Dancing</cite>; in which I have enquired -into its antiquity, origin and use, and shown what -esteem the ancients had for it. I have likewise considered -the nature and perfection of all its several parts, and how -beneficial and delightful it is, both as a qualification and an -exercise; and endeavoured to answer all objections that have -been maliciously raised against it. I have proceeded to give -an account of the particular dances of the Greeks and Romans, -whether religious, war-like or civil; and taken particular -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span>notice of that part of dancing relating to the ancient stage in -which the pantomimes had so great a share. Nor have I been -wanting in giving an historical account of some particular -masters excellent in that surprising art; after which I have -advanced some observations on the modern dancing, both -as to the stage, and that part of it so absolutely necessary for -the qualification of gentlemen and ladies; and have concluded -with some short remarks on the origin and progress -of the character by which dances are writ down, and communicated -to one master from another. <em>If some great -genius after this would arise, and advance this art to that -perfection it seems capable of receiving, what might not be -expected from it.</em>”</p> -</div> - -<p>All modern students of dancing will be interested especially -in the passages I have italicised in the foregoing excerpt, for -one gets a significant glimpse as to the state of theatrical -dancing (they had no native <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballet</i>) in London during the -reign of Anne; such a contrast to Paris, where Louis XIV’s -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Académie Royale de la Danse</i> was beginning to bring forth -“rare and refreshing” fruit and the Ballet was beginning to -be understood as a genuine work of art.</p> - -<p>“The art is esteemed only as an amusing trifle!” In an -earlier paper had not “Mr. Spectator” introduced the subject -with a little apology for dealing at all with a reputedly -trivial theme, and had he not backed himself up with scholarly -reference to classic writers on the Dance, such as Lucian?</p> - -<p>Oh! Anne! That the art should have been, in your reign, -“esteemed only as an amusing trifle!” And when you -might have followed a royal example and, emulating your -contemporary Louis, ennobled the art by founding an English -“Royal Academy of Dancing.”</p> - -<p>Well, Weaver, at any rate, knew that the art was something -more than an “amusing trifle” when he wrote almost<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span> -prophetically: “If some great genius after this would arise -and advance this art to that perfection it seems capable of -receiving, what might not be expected from it.” What -would he have said had he lived to see the triumphs of -Noverre, of Blasis, and of the British, French or the Russian -Ballet of modern times?</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII<br /><br /> -A FRENCH DANCER IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LONDON</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">We</span> have seen that the state of dancing in England was -nothing to boast of in the early eighteenth century. -We have seen that London had not yet what Paris had had -some fifty years—State-aided Opera and Ballet.</p> - -<p>But the public appreciation of art was there all the same, -and an astute manager of that day was as capable of -realising, quite as well as any modern, that where there was -no home supply it might be profitable to import foreign -talent.</p> - -<p>Strange, is it not, that there was not then, any more than -to-day, anyone clever enough, apparently, to realise that since -foreign talent would prove attractive to a dance and spectacle-loving -public (had not the English proved their innate love -of spectacle in Elizabethan times?) it <em>might be less expensive -and still more profitable, to encourage native talent</em>. Still -that is our way. We let the foreign artist discover England, -and then discover the foreign artist. We never seem to -discover ourselves. We shirk the horrible revelation that the -English really are an artistic, an art-loving nation. But -whatsoever the foreigner may have or have had against us, -he can never accuse us of lack of enthusiasm, of indifference -to his efforts to please.</p> - -<p>In the early eighteenth century—French actors, dancers, -and acrobats; in the later eighteenth and mid-nineteenth—Italian<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span> -opera singers and ballet; in the later nineteenth—light -French Opera (at the Criterion, Gaiety and Opera -Comique); and in the twentieth—Russian Opera and -Ballet; these London has had, and more, and always greeted -with generous praise and enthusiastic approval. Whatsoever -may be said of the English as a nation of “shopkeepers” -slow to adopt new ideas, there is nothing small or hesitating -about their adoption and praise of foreign art and artists; -and so it was that the delectable French dancer Mlle. Marie -Sallé, one of the two chief pupils of the famous Prévôt, -found a warm welcome when she visited London in the reign -of George I.</p> - -<p>Mlle. Sallé, born in 1707, was the daughter of one minor -theatrical manager, niece of another, and made her first -appearance at the age of eleven in an opera-comique by -Le Sage—author of the lively “Gil Blas”—entitled “La -Princesse de Carisme,” at the St. Laurent Fair, in Paris, in -1718. She spent the next few years in touring, or, when not -on tour, in playing at the Fair theatres in Paris. It is just -possible that Watteau may have seen her as a young girl at -the Fair theatres before he died in 1721. That, however, -though pleasant to contemplate as a possibility, is less our -concern than the circumstances of her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i>, and her subsequent -appearance in London.</p> - -<p>“La Princesse de Carisme,” a romantic-satirical, three-act -musical comedy, dealt with the love-affairs and adventures -of a Persian Prince and his boon companion and -“confident”—Arlequin. There was some charming music -in it, and so great was its success at the theatre of the St. -Laurent Fair that it was put on at the Opera in Paris by -Royal command.</p> - -<p>By the year 1718, it will be remembered, old Christopher -Rich had died, leaving his theatre in Lincoln’s Inn Fields in -London to his son John Rich, who made himself famous and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span> -increased his wealth by producing the first pantomimes ever -seen in the great metropolis, which were mounted on the -stage with all the attractions of gorgeous scenery and dresses, -grand “mechanical effects,” appropriate music, and striking -ballets; the various acts of the spectacle being interspersed -with a comic or serio-comic element, supplied by the eternal -love-affairs of Arlequin and Columbine.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp52" id="i150a" style="max-width: 21.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_150a.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Marie Sallé<br /> -(<em>From an engraving by Petit after a picture by Fenouil</em>).</div> -</div> - - -<p>This form of entertainment became so popular as to rival -seriously the power of London’s two chief theatres, Drury -Lane and Haymarket, mainly through Rich’s enterprise -in securing all the best opera-singers, dancers, acrobats -and other performers from the Continent. In fact, he -may fairly be described as London’s earliest music-hall -manager, for the entertainment provided at the Lincoln’s -Inn Fields theatre was much like that of a modern variety -house. It was thus he came to engage Mlle. Sallé and -her brother, who made their first appearance here as -dancers in an English comedy, “Love’s Last Shift,” in -October, 1725.</p> - -<p>Next year also they appeared in London, and in April, -1727, Mlle. Sallé was given a complimentary benefit, in -which she and her brother introduced some of their youthful -pupils. In that same year she made her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the Paris -Opera, where she remained till, for some obscure reason, she -broke therefrom, and in October returned to London, once -more under John Rich’s management.</p> - -<p>The reason for the break may have been that professional -jealousy did not give her the place which her talents should -have justified; or may have been over the question of -costume-reform, which was a matter of burning interest to -some of the younger spirits in those days. Or it may have -been merely as the result of managerial changes at the -Opera in 1728. But whatsoever the reason, what Paris -lost London gained, and her greatest triumph here came<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span> -at the end of 1733, when she made her first appearance at -Covent Garden, following it up with still greater success in -the spring of the following year, when she achieved a striking -success in a classic ballet, “Pygmalion,” in more or less -correct costume, instead of in the absurdly befrilled garb, -with laced cuirasse, powdered hair and plumed helmets, -which were considered <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">de rigueur</i> on the stage at that absurdly -artificial period.</p> - -<p>Marie Sallé was not only a dancer of exquisite lightness -and grace, she was a woman of taste and sense, and, forestalling -Noverre’s fight on the same ground, had tried to -bring about costume-reform at the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Académie Royale</i> in Paris, -only to find that those in authority were strong in—authority, -<em>and</em> convention! She rejoiced, therefore, in a return to -London, that gave her more scope for the expression of her -artistic ideas, and two ballets of her own composition, -“Pygmalion” (February, 1734) and “Bacchus et Ariane” -(March, 1734), were mounted with more regard for classic -feeling. Her appearance in both caused a furore. Royalty -came to Covent Garden on the nights she danced. The -whole town flocked to see her, and numerous duels were -fought by ardent young gentlemen who trod on each other’s -toes when jammed in the crowds that endeavoured to enter -the theatre.</p> - -<p>Mlle. Sallé must have been a woman of character. In a -loose era she was cordially detested by her stage colleagues -in Paris for her virtue! It was such a reflection on them -that one should not be as they!</p> - -<p>Another aspect of her is revealed in a significant little -anecdote. The great Handel, having admired her in Paris, -had offered her three thousand francs to appear at Covent -Garden, and specially composed for her a ballet, “Terpsichore.” -Hearing of this, Porpora, Handel’s great rival and -manager of the King’s Theatre, Haymarket, promptly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span> -offered her three thousand guineas, and had the tact to -suggest that she might accept it as she had not yet signed -a contract with Handel. To which proposal Sallé replied -with quiet scorn: “And does my word then count for -nothing?”</p> - -<p>London was delighted with the novelty of Mlle. Sallé’s -ideas in the production of Ballet, and with the personal -grace of the young dancer herself. One of the older historians -of the dance has described her in the following glowing -terms: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Une figure noble, une belle taille, une grâce parfaite, -une danse expressive et voluptueuse, tels étaient les avantages -de Mademoiselle Sallé, la Taglioni de 1730.</i>”</p> - -<p>As an influence in the revolution of the Dance and Ballet -she might perhaps not incorrectly be described as the Isadora -Duncan of her period. True, she did not dance barefoot, -but she came to loosen the bonds of tradition, and to free -the spirit of the Dance from the stiffening conventionalities -which had grown up around Ballet as seen at the Paris Opera. -In London she had greater freedom, and—greater success; -indeed, so triumphant was her final season that when she -did return to Paris she was welcomed by Voltaire with the -following verses:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Les Amours, pleurant votre absence,</div> - <div class="verse0">Loin de vous s’étaient envolés;</div> - <div class="verse0">Enfin les voilà rappelés</div> - <div class="verse0">Dans le séjour de leur naissance.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In yet another poem he pays tribute to her virtue in -describing her thus:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“De tous les cœurs et du sien la maîtresse,</div> - <div class="verse0">Elle alluma des feux qui lui sont inconnus.</div> - <div class="verse0">De Diane c’est la prêtresse</div> - <div class="verse0">Dansant sous les traits de Vénus.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span></p> -<p>Later there was to come a change and the idealistic young -dancer was to be attacked for the very virtues her adoring -poets—for Voltaire was not the only one—had celebrated. -Her austerity got on the Parisian nerves! A more modern -scribe has pictured her thus:</p> - - -<p class="pfs90">SALLÉ</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“The perfect dance needs music sweet</div> - <div class="verse0">As dreams; seductive, so the feet</div> - <div class="verse0">Are led to move as by some spell;</div> - <div class="verse0">Or music as of murmuring shell.</div> - <div class="verse0">True dance shows naught of haste or heat,</div> - <div class="verse0">Nor trick, nor any kind of cheat.</div> - <div class="verse0">Beauty and Joy, twin souls, should meet</div> - <div class="verse0">To make that lovely miracle,</div> - <div class="verse4">The perfect dance.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“A field of wind-kissed waving wheat;</div> - <div class="verse0">A swaying sea, scarce waked to greet</div> - <div class="verse0">The dawn; clouds drifting; these things tell</div> - <div class="verse0">What dance may be—if it excel.</div> - <div class="verse0">Men said they saw in hers complete,</div> - <div class="verse4">The perfect dance!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>But if the Parisians did not quite appreciate her as they -should have done at first, her return to Paris after her -London successes was triumphant. Her portrait was -painted by Lancret; her every appearance was greeted with -enthusiasm.</p> - -<p>She remained at the Opera for some years, retired therefrom -in 1740, but made frequent appearances after, at -Versailles and at Fontainebleau, until a few years before her -death in 1756.</p> - -<p>It is interesting to think that her personal dignity had -won her the respect, and her beauteous art the homage of -London before her qualities came to be recognised in Paris. -It is possibly just the suggestion of austerity about her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span> -performance that appealed to the London audience. She -had a poetic distinction above the average. She was -an expressive <em>mime</em>, and her dancing was marked by -supreme refinement, a magnetic reserve, a strange -suggestion of pictured stillness, an exquisite simplicity -and grace.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII<br /><br /> -LA BELLE CAMARGO</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">Some</span> say that Camargo had no right to be described -“La Belle.” Contemporary accounts of her appearance -differ. It was a time when people took sides, and -duelled for their opinions.</p> - -<p>It is a curious fact that several famous dancers have -been of questionable beauty—at least, as to face, and when -in repose; for it is another curious thing that no dancer -ever did or possibly ever could, look plain when dancing, -that is, if dancing really well. The animation or gentle -grace of the dance, whether quick or slow, seems inevitably -to confer a beauty that otherwise might not be apparent. -This fact in itself would appear to suggest that in dancing, -as in other arts, and in life itself, it is the “spirit which -quickeneth”; and, where that sufficiently illumines the -body, what the body itself may otherwise be profits little.</p> - -<p>But if some of her more jealous colleagues may have found -Camargo too dark for their taste—“swarthy,” said some—you -may in turn criticise her critics and see for yourself -what she was like if you go to view her portrait by Lancret, -in the Wallace collection in Hertford House.</p> - -<p>Marie-Anne de Cupis de Camargo was born at Brussels early -in April, and baptised in the parish of St. Nicholas—it is well -to be exact in matters of such importance!—on the 15th of -that month, in 1710.</p> - -<p>She was the daughter, and first child, of a gentleman who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span> -had “seen better days”—and, through his daughter, was -to see them again. At the time of her birth he was a teacher -of music and dancing, and was employed by, or dependent -on, the Prince de Ligne. Through her father the little dancer -claimed descent from an exalted Roman family, which from -time to time had given a bishop, an archbishop, and a -cardinal to Holy Church; while on her mother’s side she was -descended from a famous and ancient Spanish house.</p> - -<p>Romance was ever ready to find in the earliest years of a -popular star predictions of future fame, and it is probably -only romance that tells how Camargo danced, on hearing a -violin played, when she was but six months old!</p> - -<p>It is rather more certain, though, that her first lessons -were from her father, and that under his tuition she did well -enough, by the time she was nearly ten, to deserve the -patronage of the Princesse de Ligne, when that lady paid -the expenses of some few months’ study under the then -famous Mlle. Prévôt.</p> - -<p>Even so she must have been remarkably precocious, for -before she was eleven she had returned to Brussels finished -enough to achieve a remarkable success on her first appearance. -An auspicious <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> was followed by an engagement -at Rouen, but, through no fault of Marie-Anne be it said, the -manager failed.</p> - -<p>As the Camargo luck would have it, however, there -was a new director at the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Académie Royale</i> in Paris, by -name Francine, and from him the little dancer received the -welcome chance of appearing at the Opera, where she made -her Paris <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> on May 5th, 1726, in “Les Caractères de la -Danse,” and achieved an instant and emphatic success.</p> - -<p>Over the new-comer the impressionable capital fairly -lost its head, and soon every fashion—shoes, hats, fans, -coiffures, everything—was “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">à la Camargo</i>,” of which craze -relics survive, for even to-day we have Camargo shoes. Such<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span> -a threatened eclipse of her own popularity not unnaturally -made poor Prévôt—now about forty-six, and having been -before the public over twenty years—furiously jealous, and -for the next year or so Marie-Anne’s progress was made -difficult by intrigue, and ere Paris set its seal of favour on -her art by imitating her fashions, the young dancer had to -find herself more than once occupying the comparative -obscurity of the “back row.”</p> - -<p>Her chance came, though, when one of the famous male -dancers, Dumoulin, for some reason failed to make his entry, -and Camargo, in a sudden devil-may-care mood, taking up -his cue, leapt forward and went through his dance with such -dazzling brilliance and won such universal acclaim that -henceforth any intrigue for the suppression of the youthful -artist was impossible, and it was Prévôt, not Marie-Anne, -who eventually had to go.</p> - -<p>While Sallé—also a pupil of Prévôt—was making a bid -for fame in London, Camargo was taking Paris by storm, -and creating another of which she was temporarily the -unhappy centre. Furious at this second obtrusion on the -public notice Mlle. Prévôt bitterly upbraided her pushing -young pupil, refused to give her any more lessons, and even -to dance with her in an <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrée</i> in which the Duchesse de Berri -had asked her to appear.</p> - -<p>A well-known male dancer of the Opera, seeing Camargo -in tears, said to her: “Leave this severe and jealous mistress, -who seeks only to mortify you. I will give you lessons, and -will compose the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrée</i> which the Duchesse requires and -you shall dance in it.” Under the careful direction of Blondi -the young dancer—then only sixteen—made rapid progress. -She combined <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">noblesse</i> and brilliance of execution, with grace, -lightness, and a gaiety which was natural to her—on the -stage. One who had seen her described her in the following -terms: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">C’était une femme d’esprit; fort gaie sur la scène<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span> -et fort triste à la ville; qui n’était ni jolie ni bien faite, mais -légère, et la légèreté était alors un mérite fort rare. Elle exécutait -avec une extrême facilité la ‘royale’ et ‘l’entrechat’ coupé sans -frottement....</i>”</p> - -<p>There was for a little time considerable rivalry between -Sallé, Camargo and a third young dancer named Roland, -of whose record history has been neglectful. But the rivalry -was testified by an anonymous scribe whose verses may be -translated as follow:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse1">“Of Camargo, Roland, Sallé</div> - <div class="verse0">The connoisseurs have much to say!</div> - <div class="verse0">One holds ’tis Sallé’s grace that tells,</div> - <div class="verse0">And one—Roland in joy excels.</div> - <div class="verse0">But each is struck by the display</div> - <div class="verse0">Of nimble steps and daring way</div> - <div class="verse10">Of Camargo.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Equal the balance ’twixt the three</div> - <div class="verse0">But were I Paris, forced to choose,</div> - <div class="verse0">Only I know I could not use</div> - <div class="verse0">But crown the dance, sublime and free,</div> - <div class="verse10">Of Camargo.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>There was of course the inevitable tribute from Voltaire, -whose poem, apart from the ingenuity with which he divides -his favours between the rival stars, is of unusual interest, -since it gives a useful impression of their contrasted styles -in apostrophising the dancers thus:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Ah! Camargo, que vous êtes brillante!</div> - <div class="verse0">Mais que Sallé, grand dieux! est ravissante!</div> - <div class="verse0">Que vos pas sont légers, et que les siens sont doux!</div> - <div class="verse0">Elle est inimitable, et vous êtes nouvelle;</div> - <div class="verse4">Les nymphes sautent comme vous</div> - <div class="verse4">Et les Grâces dansent comme elle.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>It is all safe praise of course, but when we separate the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span> -qualities one finds that he is only versifying the current -opinion—Camargo is “brillante,” her steps are “légers,” -and the “nouvelle” refers less to <em>her</em> than to the novelty of -her steps, with the clever invention of which she delighted -her audience; and the nymphs, you observe, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">sautent</i> -comme vous,” an appropriate phrase for one whose <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrechats</i> -amazed a generation to which such things were new. On -the other hand, Sallé was “ravissante,” her steps were -“doux”; she was “inimitable,” and “les Grâces <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dansent</i> -comme elle,” a point of special significance when we recall -the historic distinction between the words <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">sauter</i> and -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danser</i>.</p> - -<p>Voltaire’s admiration was not exactly fevered—could -the icy “intellectual” ever have been that? Not so the -rest of Paris. Rumour soon gave her countless lovers—as -it will a pretty actress to-day?—but history does not -record that she succumbed to their protestations. Certainly -duels were fought on her behalf; but probably she was -unaware that she was the cause; and certainly she did not -provoke them. <em>Was</em> she a pretty actress? Setting aside -the opinion of her feminine contemporaries, unbiased colleagues -thought not. Yet painters such as Lancret, Vanloo, -and Pater sought for the honour of depicting her graceful figure -and—was it her face? Well, as to actual features perhaps -she was not faultlessly beautiful, but with that mingled -Italian and Spanish blood, even if she were swarthy as some -said, she must have been striking, temperamental, full of -fire and “interesting” as we might say to-day. Much of her -fascination must have been in expression, and one feels that -she had that quality which often makes a dancer—sheer joy -in dancing.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp86" id="i160a-t" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_160a-t.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">M. Ballon and Mlle. Prévôt<br /> -(<em>After an engraving [reversed] in the Bibliothèque de l’Opéra</em>).</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp94" id="i160a-b" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_160a-b.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Camargo<br /> -(<em>From the painting by Lancret in the Wallace Collection</em>).</div> -</div> - - -<p>Her style was noted by contemporaries as combining -quickness with grace to a degree not previously achieved, -and she won special credit for her invention of new steps.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span> -Her improvisation of new dances was remarkable, and it is -important to note that she was the first to perform an -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrechat</i>, which, only for the benefit of non-dancing readers, -may be described as the step in which a dancer actually -crosses her feet rapidly while in mid-air. This historic innovation -took place in 1730, and she could make four crossings; -while eight are said to be as many as any dancer has since -performed.</p> - -<p>Another interesting point to note is that until the advent -of Camargo the ballet skirts reached nearly, or quite, to the -ankles. She was the first to shorten it, not, of course, to the -brevity one can only regret has been too often seen since, -but to such degree as to enable the steps to be better seen -and the dancer to have greater freedom of movement. Her -favourite dances were the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Tambourin</i>, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Gavotte</i>, and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Rigaudon</i>, -or <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Rigadoon</i>, as it is known in English. But for all the shortening -of the skirt and the rapidity of her steps, Marie-Anne was -never accused from departing from modesty, grace, and -refinement of deportment.</p> - -<p>A curious personal characteristic was, that while -on the stage she was the incarnation of gaiety, yet -in private life she was for the most part strangely grave, -and even sad; though, with all the advantages of talent, -position, and wealth of which she was possessed, it might -have been expected she should be quite otherwise. No one -ever discovered the reason. One imagines it to have been -that modern disease, “the artistic temperament,” and a -steady perception of the pitiful fact that all stage triumphs -are but transient; and that, popular as she might be, and -was, on her retirement in 1751, her fame would not long -endure after her death, which actually occurred in 1770. -Yet to-day she lives for us in Lancret’s exquisite picture, for -all to see who visit Hertford House.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span></p> - - -<p class="pfs90">CAMARGO SPEAKS</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Talk to me not of poor Prévôt,</div> - <div class="verse0">With all her peevish airs and graces;</div> - <div class="verse0">Her day is past! ’Tis sad, I know,</div> - <div class="verse0">But then—we cannot <em>all</em> be aces!</div> - <div class="verse0">’Tis time she learned her proper place is</div> - <div class="verse0">A little lower in the pack;</div> - <div class="verse0">For all in favour now <em>my</em> pace is:</div> - <div class="verse0">Of Rigaudons I have the knack.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Though some still like a vogue that’s slow,</div> - <div class="verse0">Formal, and stiff, the present craze is</div> - <div class="verse0">All for the dance that has some ‘go;’</div> - <div class="verse0">And Minuet enjoys all praises.</div> - <div class="verse0">But yet my dance the more amazes,</div> - <div class="verse0">And none can follow on my ‘track,’</div> - <div class="verse0">As step with swift step interlaces.</div> - <div class="verse0">Of Rigaudons I <em>have</em> the knack.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“When in my aerial flight I go,</div> - <div class="verse0">High leaping, see the people’s faces!</div> - <div class="verse0">How round their eyes begin to grow,</div> - <div class="verse0">And what a shout each one upraises!</div> - <div class="verse0">Perchance some jealous girl grimaces.</div> - <div class="verse0">But what of that! when, smiling back,</div> - <div class="verse0">I see the one thing <em>she</em> betrays is—</div> - <div class="verse0">Of Rigaudons <em>I</em> have the knack!</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p class="pfs90">ENVOI</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“<em>But oh! one fear my soul abases.</em></div> - <div class="verse0"><em>Time will some day my fair limbs rack!</em></div> - <div class="verse0"><em>Who then will reck that now the phrase is—</em></div> - <div class="verse0"><em>‘Of Rigaudons I have the knack’?</em>”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX<br /><br /> -THE HOUSE OF VESTRIS</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">It</span> is recorded that during one of the many revolts indulged -in by the dancers of the Paris Opera against managerial -control, which incidentally meant, of course, State and Royal -control, some of the leaders were sent to Fort l’Evêque—including -Auguste Vestris.</p> - -<p>So melodramatically pathetic was the farewell scene with -his father, Gaetan, that even his colleagues laughed! “Go -my son,” said <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">le Diou de la Danse</i>. “This is the most glorious -moment of your career. Take my carriage, and ask for the -cell which was occupied by my friend the King of Poland. -I will meet every expense.”</p> - -<p>And the great Gaetan is said to have added, with an air of -injured dignity, that this was the first time in history that -there had been “any difference of opinion between the House -of Bourbon and the House of Vestris!”</p> - -<p>What <em>was</em> the—“House of Vestris?” Well, it was a -fairly numerous one, of which, so far as our interest is concerned, -Gaetan was virtually the founder. He had a father -it is true, who, being employed, it is believed, in a Florentine -pawnbroker’s, got into some trouble and with his young -family “cleared” to Naples. There being no trains, “wireless” -or Scotland Yard in those days, they stayed there in safety -for a while; the children, who had been taught music and -dancing, being made to exercise their talents in that direction -for their general support.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span></p> - -<p>Palermo was the next move, where two of the girls, Marie-Therese -and Violante, with one of the sons, Gaetan, entered -the Opera. After that they seem to have scattered and -travelled over most of cultured Europe, appearing now in -one opera house, now in another, and always deeply engaged -in love affairs. It is with their arrival in Paris, and with -Gaetan more especially that we now have to do.</p> - -<p>He was one of the eight children of Thomas Vestris and -his wife, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">née</i> Violante-Beatrix de Dominique Bruscagli, but -only of three of the family have we much record, namely, -Gaetan and the two sisters already mentioned.</p> - -<p>Gaetan-Appolino Balthazar Vestris was born at Florence -in April, 1729, and in importance—though far from it in -physique—was the Mordkin of his era. There, however, the -resemblance ceases.</p> - -<p>He was a little man, with the biggest ideas of his own -talents. But his size did not detract from his merits, his -sheer style as a dancer; and from all accounts he is to be -ranked as one of the finest male dancers the world has ever -known. Indeed, it is hardly an exaggeration to say that he -is one of the most important factors in the history of the -modern dance and that his influence as a teacher is seen -to-day in the real classic school, that is, the school which is -based on ages of tradition. For Gaetan was in his time the -supreme leader of the Dance, and undoubtedly gave a new -standard and tradition to Paris, the influence of which -spread to every Opera House on the Continent.</p> - -<p>He is a link in a chain. One of the first dancing -masters to assist Louis XIV in establishing his Royal -Academy of Music and Dance—and modern theatrical -dancing dates from that event—was Beauchamps, whose -pupil was “the great” Dupré. <em>He</em> taught Gaetan Vestris. -Gaetan in turn taught his son Auguste, of whom, in his later -years, Carlotta Grisi was a pupil, and there may be some<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span> -to-day who have studied under pupils of Carlotta Grisi, who -herself died comparatively recently.</p> - -<p>According to a contemporary biographer Gaetan made his -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the Royal Academy of Music and Dance “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">sans -retribution</i>,” in 1748; entered there for study in 1749, became -a solo dancer in 1751, a Member of the Académie Royale -de Danse in 1753; <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître de ballet</i> in 1761 until 1770, and -composer and master of Ballet from that year until 1776.</p> - -<p>From time to time he visited Stuttgart—as the Russian -dancers to-day have visited London—in vacation, and in the -theatre there under the direction of that master of ballet-composition -and stage reformer, Jean Georges Noverre, -found greater scope for his artistic abilities than in the more -conventional work of the Paris Opera.</p> - -<p>We have seen that by her invention of new and rapid -steps, Camargo infused new life into the technique of theatrical -dancing some years before the rise of Gaetan Vestris to -supremacy. He, in turn, came to bring a new influence -mainly in the direction of a certain <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">largeur</i> of movement -and gesture, a certain grandiosity, as well as setting a new -standard in perfection of execution.</p> - -<p>A contemporary critic declared: “When Vestris appeared -at the Opera one really believed it was Apollo who had come -to earth to give lessons in grace. He perfected the art of the -Dance, gave more freedom to the ‘positions’ already known, -and created new ones.”</p> - -<p>Undoubtedly he learnt much from Noverre, even as the -latter had learnt much from David Garrick. Noverre conceived -the idea of creating the dance with action, in short, -the ballet-pantomime; at least its creation was claimed, -and by some of his contemporaries, attributed to him; -though we have seen that he had forerunners in the Duchesse -du Maine, and, too, in Sallé, who was an ardent stage-reformer -and seems to have influenced Noverre. But it was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span> -the latter who took practical steps towards instituting the -real ballet in action, the true ballet-pantomime as we have -seen it to-day.</p> - -<p>Up to this time, opera-ballet had had a somewhat rigid -form: there were music, singing and dancing; but the -dances were detached items in the general effect. The -regulation form was: <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">passe-pieds</i> in the prologue; <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">musettes</i> -in the first act; <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tambourins</i> in the second; <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chaconnes</i> and -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">passacailles</i> in the third and fourth.</p> - -<p>In all this it was not the plot of the opera which decided -the introduction of the dances, but quite other considerations, -such as the particular excellence of particular dancers -in their special dances—the best performers usually appearing -last. It was routine, not the action of the story by which -these things were ordered; and the poet who had provided -the plot, the musician who had composed the music, the -costumier and scenic artist, and even the ballet master, each -worked detachedly, without regard to consultation and cooperation -towards an artistic unity of effect.</p> - -<p>The lines had been set, the routine laid down for all time; -any deviation therefrom seemed impossible, a thing vainly -imagined only by a heretic, who could not hope to win in a -fight against the established form and authority of the Opera. -Yet the reformation came. Noverre, the reformer, found in -Gaetan Vestris a technical exponent who responded to his -influence; and in Dauberval, another; and at Stuttgart the -time and place for artistic experiment. It is to this triumvirate -that credit was given in their own time for the reform -of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">scène chorégraphique</i>, a reform which had to struggle -against and overcome tradition, prejudice, ignorance and the -obstinacy of authority. Slow progress was made at first. -Stuttgart had its effect, but the Paris Opera still clung to -the bizarre accessories which were then regarded as inherent -to the dignity of the theatre—the masks, under which the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span> -faces were hidden, the towering wigs by which the heads -were bowed; the absurd panniers; the puffed skirts; the -great breastplates, all forming the heroic panoply by which -the leading histrions were known for hero and heroine, and -traces of which may be found in those spangled figures -beloved of our grandfathers and grandmothers in their childhood, -during the first half of last century.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp47" id="i166a" style="max-width: 19.875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_166a.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Gaetan Vestris<br /> -(<em>From an old print</em>).</div> -</div> - - -<p>Gaetan Vestris was the first dancer who dared to discard -that absurd convention—the mask, and so reveal that -expressive play of feature which made <em>acted</em> ballet possible. -This was in 1770, when he appeared in a ballet-pantomime -on the story of <cite>Medea and Jason</cite>. He astonished the audience -by the dramatic force of his miming and by the nobility of -his physiognomical expression. One critic wrote: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Le -mérite particulier de Vestris, c’était la grâce, l’élégance et la -délicatesse. Tous ses pas avaient une pureté, un fini dont on -ne peut se faire une idée aujourd’hui et ce n’est pas sans quelque -raison qu’on compare son talent à celui de Racine.</i>”</p> - -<p>For all his artistic talent as dancer and mime, however, -Gaetan was practically illiterate; ignorant of all save the art -in which he excelled; and his conceit was colossal.</p> - -<p>One day, when he was coming from a rehearsal at the -Opera, a somewhat ample lady happened, in passing, to -tread rather heavily on one of his feet. In deep concern she -apologised profusely, and expressed an earnest hope that -she had not seriously hurt him.</p> - -<p>“Hurt me, Madam!” he answered. “Me? You have -merely put all Paris into mourning for a fortnight!”</p> - -<p>His pride in his son was stupendous, and he once declared -that, “If Auguste occasionally descends to touch the earth it -is merely out of consideration for the feelings of less talented -colleagues.” As to himself, on one occasion he volunteered the -assertion that his century had produced but three really -great men—Frederick the Great, Voltaire and himself!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span></p> - -<p>Of the many susceptible ladies who succumbed to the -questionable fascination of this “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Diou de la Danse</i>”—as -in his Italianate-French he called himself—the most notable—apart -from his legitimate wife, the beautiful <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuse</i> -Heinel, whom he married in 1752—was Mlle. Allard.</p> - -<p>Born of poor and none too honest parents, Marie Allard -first drew breath on August 14th, 1742, at Marseilles, where -at an early age she entered the local theatre. On the death -of her mother, she decided to leave a disreputable father and -made her way to Lyons, where she found another not very -brilliant theatrical engagement. At the age of fourteen, -tiring of Lyons, she set out to win fame in Paris, where she -entered the Comédie Française. In the course of time, she came -to know Gaetan Vestris, and with him she studied dancing.</p> - -<p>She made her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the Opera in June, 1761, and delighted -the audience with the verve, grace and gaiety of her -dancing. Though she shone especially in comedy, she was -noted as a clever actress in tragedy; and while “Sylvie,” -in the comedy-ballet of that name, was one of her most -successful parts, she is said to have moved beholders to -tears by her performance in Noverre’s “Medea.”</p> - -<p>In the lighter <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôles</i>, however, she was especially popular, -and from the moment of her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrée</i> (she was the only dancer -at the Opera who was allowed to compose her own <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrées</i>, -not edible!) her gaiety of manner was such as almost to -eclipse the real talent displayed in her dancing.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately, her public career came to a close all too -soon for her admirers, from a cause which even she with -all her agility and incessant exercise, was unable to control—a -tendency to <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">embonpoint</i>! She retired in 1781, and died in -1802; not before she had seen the success of her and Gaetan -Vestris’ son, Auguste, who, known as Vestr’-Allard, seemed -to combine within him the respective <a id="tn168"></a><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber’s Note—“choregraphic” changed to “choreographic”.">choreographic</ins> -perfections of mother and father.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span></p> - -<p>Gaetan Vestris, having retired in 1782, lived until 1808, -and rejoiced to see his son acknowledged as supreme. On -him he graciously conferred the title of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Le Diou de la Danse</i>; -and he declared that it was, after all, only natural that -Auguste should excel, since the young man possessed one -advantage over himself—he “had Gaetan for his father!”</p> - -<p>Auguste, or Marie-Auguste, to give his full name, was -born at Paris in 1760. He made his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the age of -twelve in a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i> entitled “Cinquantaine” with a -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chaconne</i>, which he danced in a manner such as had never -been seen. In 1773 he made a strikingly successful appearance -as Eros in the ballet of “Endymion;” and though already -recognised as a master he entered the Academy school in -1775 and the Opera in the following year. For some time -he accepted subordinate <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôles</i>, but gradually his consummate -ability in all he undertook brought him forward, and as he -became more and more the pet of the ladies of the Opera -and the admiration of its patrons he began to develop his -father’s traits, especially conceit.</p> - -<p>On one occasion the Director, de Vismes, annoyed at some -impertinence of the young man, said, “Monsieur Vestris, do -you know to whom you speak?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Auguste replied, “to the farmer of my talent.”</p> - -<p>It says much for that talent that his appearance at the -Opera during some thirty-five years, under Louis-Seize, the -Republic and the Empire, largely accounted for its prosperity -in those amazing times.</p> - -<p>He had his father’s grace, precision, suppleness, and -style, but more spirit and vivacity; a greater gift of mime; -and was as good in <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">genre</i> as in the nobler <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôles</i>. He paid -several visits to London, always with success.</p> - -<p>He married in 1795, a young dancer, Anne-Catherine -Augier, who had made her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the Opera two years -before under the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">nom de théâtre</i> of <cite>Aimée</cite>, but his infatuation<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span> -for her modesty and charm and many good qualities did not -last any longer than had his other infatuations for worse -qualities in less desirable ladies, and his infidelities led her to -attempt suicide, with results that left her more or less an -invalid until death put an end to her unhappy existence in -1809. Auguste Vestris himself died in 1842, and left one son -Auguste-Armand. He made his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the Opera, as did a -cousin, Charles Vestris, both being pupils of Auguste; and -both went abroad; but neither added greater brilliance to -the family name than had been achieved for it by first Gaetan, -and then Auguste, the first and most distinguished upholders -of the House of Vestris.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX<br /><br /> -JEAN GEORGES NOVERRE</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">Supreme</span> above all other writers on the dance and -ballet is Jean Georges Noverre, whose genius has been -praised by Diderot, Voltaire, by D’Alembert, Dorat, and by -David Garrick, the last of whom described him as “the -Shakespeare” of the dance.</p> - -<p>Born at Paris in April, 1727, he was the son of a distinguished -Swiss soldier, who had served as an adjutant in the -army of Charles XII, and intended his son for a military -career.</p> - -<p>Jean, however, early developed a passion for the stage, -and especially for dancing, so was apprenticed by his father -to the famous Parisian dancer and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître de ballet</i>, Dupré.</p> - -<p>In August, 1743, young Noverre made his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the -Court of Louis-Quinze in a fête at Fontainebleau, but with -only moderate success. Not discouraged, however, he went -a little later to the Court of Berlin, where he became a -favourite with Frederick the Great and his brother, Prince -Henry of Prussia.</p> - -<p>He returned to France in 1747, and two years later obtained -the post of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître de ballet</i> at the Opéra Comique, where the -success of his “Ballet Chinois” aroused considerable jealousy -among his colleagues and brought him some distinction in -the art world. But the success was not great enough for his -ambitious spirit, and he again travelled, and did not return -to Paris for nearly twenty years. Noverre and such are<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span> -seldom recognised as prophets in their own country, until -their genius has received recognition abroad. As Castil-Blaze, -the historian of opera in France, has neatly expressed -it: “Noverre and the two Gardels effected in the dance -the same revolution that Gluck and Sacchini achieved some -years later in French music.” But Noverre was unable to do -this as a young man in Paris fighting against the sheer dead -weight of convention and hide-bound authority. He was -unable to do it until he had won his laurels abroad.</p> - -<p>Sallé, one of the most exquisite and “intellectual” of -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuses</i>, had left Paris for a more appreciative audience in -London because the Paris Opera disliked her attempts to -discard the ridiculous conventions of stage costumes then -ruling and to “reform it altogether” in favour of something -more congruous.</p> - -<p>Noverre visioned to himself a theatre devoted to a kind of -ballet as different from that he saw in Paris, as the Russian -ballet we have seen to-day differs from that which London -had seen in the ’thirties of last century; a ballet that should -be informed by a technique so perfect as to be unobtrusive, -and combining the arts of dance, pantomime, music and -poesy into a new, subtle, resourceful and comprehensive -means of artistic expression.</p> - -<p>He wanted to see swept away all the mechanical rules -of ballet composition, the stereotyped and unimaginative -story, the conventional arrangement of stage groups, the -stilted “heroic” style of the dancers, the formal sequence -of their <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrées</i>, and above all, the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bizarrerie</i> of their -masks, their panniers and helmets with waving, funereal -plumes. He wanted to infuse a new spirit of art and efficiency -into what he found about him and—he had to go elsewhere! -An invitation from the Duke of Würtemberg to become -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître de ballet</i> at the luxurious Court of Stuttgart gave him -his chance, and he founded here the school which was to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span> -influence European Ballet in that and the successive generation, -as the school of Petrograd seemed like to do to-day.</p> - -<p>The publication of his <cite>Lettres sur la Danse et sur les Ballets</cite>, -in 1760, dedicated by permission to this same Duke of -Würtemberg and Teck, caused a sensation among dancers -in Paris and other capitals, and having produced ballets in -Berlin, London (1755), Lyons (1758), and Stuttgart, he was -reintroduced to Paris by Vestris (who had been in the habit -of visiting Stuttgart every year to dance during his vacations) -in 1765, when he achieved a success with his tragic ballet of -“Medea.”</p> - -<p>Later he was to visit Vienna, to superintend the fêtes on the -occasion of the marriage of the Archduchess Caroline (Queen -of Naples), produce there a dozen ballets, and become appointed -Director of Court fêtes and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Maître de Danse</i> to the -Empress Maria Theresa and Imperial Family, the Empress -heaping favours upon him and granting a lieutenancy to his -son.</p> - -<p>From Vienna he went to the Court of Milan, where he was -created Chevalier of the Order of the Cross; then to the -Courts of Naples and Lisbon; then to London, and finally -again to Paris, in 1775, on the invitation of his old pupil, -Marie Antoinette, who made him <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Maître des Ballets en Chef</i> -at the Imperial Academy of Music, and Director of the fêtes -at the Petit Trianon; finally retiring at the outbreak of the -French Revolution, to London, where it is possible—or, at -any rate, in England—some of his descendants may yet be -living.</p> - -<p>A translation of these wonderful <cite>Lettres sur la Danse et -sur les Ballets</cite> was published in London in 1780, and was -dedicated to the then Prince of Wales, later George IV. -In the preface the anonymous translator says: “The -works of Monsieur Noverre, especially the following letters, -have been translated into most of the European languages<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span> -and thought worthy of a distinguished place in the libraries -of the literati.” To which, let me add, they should be so -thought to-day, at least in their original French form, for -they are of uncommon interest and literary charm.</p> - -<p>In the somewhat stiff manner of the English of the late -Georgian period, his translator remarks of Noverre’s work in -the original: “His manner of writing is chaste, correct and -elegant; perfectly master of his subjects, he treats of them -with the utmost perspicuity; and by the connection which -he proves to exist between the other arts, and that of dancing, -the author lays down rules and precepts for them all; so -that the poet, the painter and the musician may be greatly -benefited by the perusal of his works.”</p> - -<p>The translator follows with a short history of dancing, -and three extremely interesting epistles to Noverre from the -great Voltaire, in the first of which, apropos the publication -of Noverre’s <cite>Lettres</cite>, he says: “I have read, sir, your -work of genius: my gratitude equals my esteem. You -promise only to treat of dancing, and you shed a light on all -the arts. Your style is as eloquent as your ballet is imaginative.” -In another he remarks: “I have for admiring you, -a reason personal to myself; it is that your works abound -with poetical images. Poets and painters shall vie with -each other to have you ranked with them.” Again he says: -“I am surprised that you have not been offered such advantages -as might have kept you in France; but that time is -no more when France sets the example to all Europe”; but -elsewhere remarks, curiously enough: “I believe that your -merit will be fully recognised in England, for there they love -Nature.”</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp49" id="i174a" style="max-width: 20.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_174a.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Jean Georges Noverre</div> -</div> - - -<p>It was just this love of Nature and “natural” acting -which brought Noverre and Garrick together in mutual -admiration and friendship, to the latter of whom, by the way, -the French <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître</i> pays the highest tribute in his tenth letter.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span> -To turn, however, to the first: “Poetry, painting and -dancing are, or ought to be, the faithful copy of Nature ... -a ballet is a piece of painting, the scene is the canvas; in the -mechanical motions of the figures we find the colours ... -the composer himself is the painter.</p> - -<p>“Ballets have hitherto been the faint sketch only of what -they might one day be. An art entirely subservient, as this -is, to taste and genius, may receive daily variations and -improvements. History, painting, mythology, poetry, all -join to raise it from that obscurity in which it lies buried; -and it is truly surprising that composers have hitherto disdained -so many valuable resources.... If ballets are for -the most part uninteresting and uniformly dull, if they fail -in their characteristic <em>expression</em> which constitutes their very -essence, the defect does not originate from the art itself, but -should be ascribed to the artists. Are then the latter to be -told that dancing is an imitative art? I am indeed inclined -to think that they know it not, since we daily see the generality -of composers sacrifice the beauties of the dance and -forego the graceful <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">naïveté</i> of sentiment, to become servile -copyists of a certain number of figures known and hackneyed -for a century or more.... It is uncommon and next to -impossible now to find invention in ballets, elegance in the -forms, neatness in the groups, or the requisite precision in the -means of introducing the various figures.”</p> - -<p>“Ballet masters should consult the productions of the -most eminent painters. This would bring them nearer to -Nature and induce them to avoid as often as possible that -symmetry of figures which, by repeating the object, presents -two separate pictures on one and the same canvas. A ballet, -perfect in all its parts, is a picture drawn from life, of the -manners, dresses, ceremonies and customs of the various -nations. It must be a complete <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">panto-mime</i> and through the -eyes speak, as it were, to the very soul of the spectator. If<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span> -it wants expression, if it be deficient in point of situation and -scenery, it degenerates into a mere <em>spectacle</em>, flat and -monotonous.</p> - -<p>“This kind of composition will not admit of mediocrity; -like the art of painting it requires a degree of perfection the -more difficult to attain in that it is subordinate to a true -imitation of Nature, and that it is next to an impossibility to -achieve that all-subduing truth which conceals the illusion -from the spectator, carries him, as it were, to the very spot -where the scene lies; and inspires him with the same sentiments -as he must experience, were he present at the events -which the artist only represents.</p> - -<p>“Ballets, being regular representations, ought to unite the -various parts of the drama. Most of the subjects, adapted -to the dancer, are devoid of sense, and exhibit only a confused -jumble of scenes, equally unmeaning and unconnected; yet -it is in general absolutely necessary to confine oneself -within certain rules. The historical part of a ballet must have -its exposition, its incidents, its <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dénouement</i>. The success of -this kind of entertainment chiefly depends on choosing good -subjects, and dealing with them in a proper manner.”</p> - -<p>The above brief quotations are all of interest as bearing -on particular points in dancing and ballet-composition, but -I cannot refrain from giving one more and a lengthier excerpt, -the sound common sense of which applies to-day and will -appeal to all modern dancers who realise that the finest -opportunities of displaying their skill are, and can only be, -found in ballets worthy of their art.</p> - -<p>“Every ballet,” he says, “complicated and extensive -in its subject, which does not point out, with clearness and -perspicuity, the action it is intended to represent, the intrigue -of which is unintelligible, without a program or printed -explanation: a ballet, in fine, whose plan is not felt, and -appears deficient in point of exposition, incident and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dénouement</i>;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span> -such a ballet, I say, will never rise, in my opinion, -above a mere <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i> of dancing, more or less commendable -from the manner in which it is performed. But it -cannot affect me much, since it bears no particular character, -and is devoid of expression.</p> - -<p>“It may be objected that dancing is now in so improved -a state that it may please, nay, enchant without the accessory -ornaments of expression and sentiment.... I readily -acknowledge that, as to mechanical execution, the art has -attained the highest degree of perfection: I shall even confess -that it sometimes is graceful: but gracefulness is but a small -portion of the qualities it requires.</p> - -<p>“What I call the mechanical parts of dancing are the -steps linked to each other with ease and brilliancy, the -aplomb, steadiness, activity, liveliness, and a well-directed -opposition between the arms and legs. When all these parts -are managed without genius, when the latter does not direct -these different motions, and animate them by the fire of -sentiment and expression; I feel neither emotion nor concern. -The dexterity of the dancer obtains my applause; I -admire the automaton, but I experience no further sensation. -It has upon me the same effect as the most beautiful line, -whose words are uncouthly set asunder, producing sound, -not sense. As for instance, what would a reader feel at -hearing the following detached words: <em>Fame-lives-in-dies-he-cause-who-in-virtue’s?</em> -Yet these very words aptly joined -by the man of genius, by Shakespeare, express the noblest -sentiment:</p> - -<p class="center">‘He lives in Fame who dies in Virtue’s cause.’</p> - -<p>“From the above comparison we may fairly conclude -that the art of Dancing has in itself all that is necessary to -speak the best language, but that it is not enough to be -acquainted only with its alphabet. Let the man of genius<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span> -put the letters together, form the words, and from these -produce regular sentences; the art shall no longer be mute, -but speak with true energy, and the ballets will share with -the best dramatic pieces the peculiar advantage of exciting -the tenderest feelings; nay, of receiving the tribute of a -tear; while, in a less serious style, this art will please, entertain -and charm the spectators. Dancing thus ennobled by -the expression of sentiment, and under the direction of a -man of true genius, will, in time, obtain the praises which -the enlightened world bestows on poetry and painting, and -become entitled to the rewards with which the latter are -daily honoured.”</p> - -<p>The closing lines of the above are so curiously prophetic -one questions whether we have not already reached the -period when an “enlightened world” bestows on dancing—at -any rate on dancers—the “rewards” with which poetry -and painting have been (or ought to have been) hitherto -honoured.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI<br /><br /> -GUIMARD THE GRAND: 1743-1816</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">For</span> some thirty of Madeleine Guimard’s seventy-three -years of life she was the idol of Paris, having risen -from obscurity to power, and returned again from a joyous -life set in high places to a lonely death in obscurity.</p> - -<p>Authorities differ, as authorities so often do over the -advent of new stars in the firmament of life, as to the date -of Guimard’s birth. One says the 2nd, and another the 10th, -and yet a third the 20th of October. Edmond de Goncourt—not -infallible on other points—gives the date of her baptism -correctly as December 27th, 1743.</p> - -<p>She made her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> before the Parisian public when she -was about sixteen, at the Comédie Française. She was -received into the Academy in 1762, at the age of nineteen, -and at a salary of six hundred livres.</p> - -<p>In face she was not beautiful; some have described her -even as ugly. She certainly had not Sophie Arnould’s -shrewish wit, though she had humour; but her gestures, -her face, above all her expressive eyes spoke eloquently, -her dancing seemed ever the true and spirited expression -of sentiments really felt, and in whatsoever <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i> she was -always brilliant, entrancing. She had that glamour which -makes up for lack of looks, and had, too, caprice of mood -and a commanding manner, both qualities which susceptible -men find adorable.</p> - -<p>Her historians have not always been kind. A contemporary<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span> -wrote: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">La Guimard a des caprices entre nous. On -ne peut compter sur elle.... Son arrogance n’a pas de nom.... -Ce que la Guimard veut, bon gré, mal gré, il faut qu’on -le veuille.</i>” And there you have it! “What Guimard -wishes, willy-nilly one must wish.” That is a touch that -tells; the words ring true. Intriguing, capricious—masterful! -What wonder, then, that she came to rise by her own buoyancy, -of manner and morals, and sought the rarefied, but, in -the days of Louis XV, far from inaccessible atmosphere -of Court circles.</p> - -<p>Guimard made her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the Opera in May, 1762, as -Terpsichore in a ballet called “Les Caractères de la Danse,” -and achieved a triumph. From that time until she retired -from the stage she was practically without a rival in the -affections of the Parisian audiences. One testimony to -her popularity is found in the promptitude with which -she was nicknamed. Guimard, if not beautiful in face, -had, nevertheless, a beautiful figure, was quite unusually -graceful, carried herself nobly, was altogether a commanding -and magnetic personage, but for all her beauty of figure -Guimard was amazingly slim.</p> - -<p>Seeing her in a classical ballet dancing as a nymph between -two fauns—impersonated by the celebrated male-dancers -Vestris <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">père</i> and Dauberval—Sophie Arnould said it reminded -her of “two dogs fighting for a bone.” Another -of her footnotes on Guimard was her description of her as -“Le Squelette des Grâces,” which also had the saving grace -of being partly a compliment, and it was by this nickname -that Madeleine was generally known throughout Paris.</p> - -<p>To judge from this insistence on Madeleine’s thinness one -might imagine that she could not be as attractive, certainly -hardly as graceful as has been said. But such nicknames -are, though emphasising some special characteristic, usually -only marks of popularity, and that Guimard really was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span> -graceful can be gathered from the summing-up of Noverre -who had seen her dance for years and knew, as only a great -ballet-master could, what he was talking about when he said -that “... from her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> to her retirement she was always -graceful, naturally so. She never ran after difficulties. A -lovable and noble simplicity reigned in her dance; she -designed it with perfect taste, and put expression and sentiment -into all her movements.”</p> - -<p>Of her performance in Gardel’s ballet, “La Chercheuse -d’Esprit,” in which she played the title-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i>, a contemporary -wrote that “her eloquent silences surpassed the vivid, easy -and seductive diction of Mme. Favart;” and he mentions -one point that is of interest when he remembers that the -struggle that Noverre had had to achieve some reform of -costume on the opera-stage, namely, that Guimard, “following -the example of Mme. Favart, discarded the panniers and -the cuirasse of conventional costume.”</p> - -<p>In the ballet of “Les Fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour,” in -1766, Guimard had the misfortune to have one of her arms -broken by a piece of falling scenery. Such was her place -in public regard even at this time, that a Mass was said at -Notre-Dame for her recovery.</p> - -<p>It was not long after success came to her that Guimard -accepted the protection of the notorious Prince de Soubise. -One of her first acquisitions, in 1768, was a superb residence -at Pantin, just outside Paris, which was decorated by -Fragonard. It was visited by everybody who <em>was</em> anybody, -for, apart from the charms of its mistress, there was a theatre -in the mansion, where entertainments of a very special kind -were staged, little poetic trifles or risky comedies, which -while delighting a circle of appreciative connoisseurs would -not have been staged in the ordinary way, as being caviare to -the general.</p> - -<p>The place at Pantin, however, did not suffice the exigent<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span> -Madeleine, and a town-house was taken also in the Chaussée -d’Antin,—next to that of Sophie Arnould by the way—where -another theatre was built and where even more -festive entertainments were provided, a theatre which could -seat five hundred persons (only present by invitation) which -received the name of The Temple of Terpsichore. It was -designed by the architect Ledoux, decorated by Fragonard, -who did numerous lovely panels in which Guimard appeared; -and by David, then a youthful assistant, whom Madeleine’s -generous aid is said to have sent to Rome for the furtherance -of his art education.</p> - -<p>Here in the course of time all Paris came. Here Guimard -held her famous receptions—three a week, to the first of -which were invited members of the Court circles, the aristocracy -of the aristocracy; to the second—artists, actors, -actresses, musicians, poets, the aristocracy of the world of -intellect; to the third—all the polished rakes and roués, -with their attendant Phrynes, the aristocracy of vice.</p> - -<p>There seem to have been wild times in the Chaussée d’Antin -Hôtel, and some of Madeleine’s private theatrical productions -must have been worthy of tottering Rome. Well might -discreet Abbés, and reputedly virtuous ladies of the Court -hide behind the curtains of the darkened and mysterious -boxes with which her theatre was provided. Not be seen -while seeing was their only chance to retain a virtuous -reputation! It was now doubtless that after having long -danced <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">le genre sérieux</i>, Guimard abandoned it as one record -says for the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">genre mixte</i>, and was “inimitable” in “les -ballets Anacréontiques!”</p> - -<p>One example of the sort of dramatic fare Madeleine was -giving her guests on occasion at Pantin, or at the Chaussée -d’Antin residence, will suffice. In 1721 at the Château of -St. Cloud, in the presence of the Duc d’Orléans as Regent, -there had been given a ballet called “Les Fêtes d’Adam.” Some<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span> -of her friends suggested that Madeleine should go one better -and produce a ballet on a classic subject with herself as -Venus rising from the sea. But the Archbishop of Paris got -news of the affair and managed to nip the suggestion in the -bud. Perhaps it was never seriously intended; it may have -been “merely a suggestion—nothing more.”</p> - -<p>One of her first lovers was Delaborde the financier, poor -only as an amateur musician, who directed her theatre at -Pantin till it was closed in 1770; and only of greater importance -in her life, financially, was Soubise. But Madeleine -had a particular <em>penchant</em> for bishops it seems, and incidentally -some of her later and most devoted friends were De -Jarente, Bishop of Orleans, De Choiseul, the Archbishop of -Cambrai, and Desnos, Bishop of Verdun.</p> - -<p>The first-named of these clerical worthies had the disposal -of a whole sheaf of livings, that is to say, he was supposed to -have, but it was really Madeleine who allotted them—abbeys, -priories, chapels and so forth. She did not forget -her friends, and De Jarente found himself unable to resist. -“What Guimard wishes one must wish!” It was this -allotment of the bishops’ <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">feuille des bénéfices</i> which drew -from Sophie Arnould the whimsical remark that “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Ce petit -ver à soie</i> (Guimard) <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">devrait être plus gras. Elle ronge une -si bonne feuille.</i>”</p> - -<p>Another favour which, through the Prince de Soubise, -Madeleine was able to dispense among her friends was permission -to hunt in the Royal forests, and it led to trouble -on more than one occasion—her friends were so much of a -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">genre mixte</i>.</p> - -<p>But if men were weak where Guimard was concerned, -there is no need to consider her as infamous. There is so -often a tendency among chroniclers to consider that because -a pretty woman, with every inducement to succumb to -temptation, had a “protector,” all her men friends found<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span> -her equally ready to receive their attentions. Nothing -could be more unjust. There may have been reasons why -Madeleine did not marry sooner than she did, and she may -not have been quite that paragon of virtue our present time -prefers, but in an age notorious for its callousness and cruelty -as well as for its moral laxity she was distinguished as a -woman not merely of fascination but of good heart and -generous impulses.</p> - -<p>Did not one writer say of her that “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">En quittant le théâtre, -cette virtuose emporta le genre agréable avec elle</i>?” Did not -Marmontel, referring to her well-known acts of charity, write -of her the poem beginning:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Est-il bien vrai, jeune et belle damnée</div> - <div class="verse0">Que, du théâtre embelli par tes pas,</div> - <div class="verse0">Tu vas chercher dans le froid galetas,</div> - <div class="verse0">L’humanité plaintive abandonnée?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Did not a preacher speak of her in the pulpit as “Magdalen -not yet repentant, but already charitable?” and add, too, -that “The hand which gives so well will not be refused when -knocking at the gates of Paradise?” And why? Because -all who were in trouble had but to turn to Guimard for help—poor -players, artists, poets, all. Because, though every -year she received a handsome present from Soubise, one year, -in 1768, when the winter had dealt cruelly with the Paris -poor, she begged that instead of sending her jewellery, the -Prince would send her the equivalent in money, and when -she received it she added more, and herself went to -all the poor folk in her neighbourhood and fed the starving; -went unostentatiously, from simple good-heartedness -and sympathy; and it was the populace who spoke of it, -not she.</p> - -<p>She had her foibles, her little vanities perhaps, as when -at Longchamps one summer she appeared in an equipage<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span> -most gorgeously embellished with somewhat startling arms—mistletoe -growing out of a gold mark, which glowed in the -middle of a shield, the Graces serving as supports, with a -group of Cupids as a crown.</p> - -<p>Guimard could be jealous on occasion. A Mlle. Dervieux, -appearing as a singer at the Academy without success, had -the audacity to reappear as a dancer and triumph. This -Madeleine would possibly not have minded, but her own pet -poet Dorat celebrated Mlle. Dervieux’s success in verse, and -this poetic infidelity was more than Madeleine could stand, -with the consequence that all the pamphleteers of Paris were -forthwith ranged on sides and a paper war took place between -the rival supporters of the two fair dancers, characters were -torn to rags, and in the course of time the battle burnt itself -out, as such usually do, without anyone being seriously the -worse.</p> - -<p>Strangely enough it was just at this time that Guimard -herself elected to make an appearance as a singer. When -there was a revival of some of the old pieces in the repertoire -of the Royal Academy, including “Les Fêtes d’Hébé ou les -Talents Lyriques,” for which Rameau had written the music, -Guimard appeared in this as Aglaia, one of the three Graces—“with -song and dance,” as one might say to-day. But it -was, as so often the case in modern days, only the charm of -the dance that made it possible to forgive the disillusion of -the song, for Madeleine’s voice was thin and hard.</p> - -<p>It was as a dancer and always as a dancer that Guimard -excelled. It was as a dancer she won her chief successes in -the ballets “La Chercheuse d’Esprit” (1778), “Ninette à la -Cour” (1778), “Mirza” (1779), “La Rosière” (1784) and -“Le Premier Navigateur” (1785), all of which, by the way, -were by Maximilien Gardel. Of her work in these one -historian has written: “Her dance was always noble, full -of life, light, expressive and voluptuous; her acting naïve,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span> -gay, piquante, tender and pathetic.” Connoisseurs reproached -her at times for having grown a little “mannered,” but -she always preserved in her dance that finish, even -preciosity, and those delicate <em>nuances</em> of style of which -later times have proved the rarity.</p> - -<p>It was as a dancer she had the good fortune to please the -King who, always a generous patron of the arts—with the -nation’s money!—gave her for one dance she performed -before him and the Queen, a pension of six thousand livres -a year, giving at the same time a pension of one thousand -a year to the man who danced with her, Despréaux, who -later became her husband. This pension came to her the -year following her appearance in “Le Premier Navigateur,” in -1786, apparently just at a time she was much in need of -money. One may believe that Madeleine’s impulsive generosity -had helped to bring about that need, as well as her -known extravagance. For one thing, apart from her being -ready to assist less fortunate artists, she had been the prime -mover in an act of wholesale renunciation.</p> - -<p>The Prince of Soubise, in the manner of his King, a -generous patron of the arts, had been allowing a handsome -annual pension to a number of dancers at the Opera, as -well as treating them all to periodical supper-parties of -most sumptuous kind. Suddenly the supper-parties ceased, -the Prince was no longer seen among the audiences at the -Opera and it came to be known that his son-in-law, the -Prince de Gueméné, had become bankrupt, disastrously so, -and that the entire family were doing their best to meet the -creditors honourably. When this was known all the dancers -foregathered in Madeleine’s <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">loge</i> at the Opera and a stately, -kindly, tactful letter was drawn up and signed by all the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pensionnaires</i>, some thirty or more, headed by Guimard. -The length of it precludes entire quotation in a chapter all -too short to cover Madeleine’s crowded seventy-three years,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span> -but after referring to their regret at the Prince’s absence, to -a delay in approaching him due to fear lest they be thought -wanting in consideration, and to the urgent motive which -had overcome such delicate scruples on hearing the news of -the bankruptcy confirmed on all sides, the writers of the -letter proceed that, finding there can be no prospect of the -position improving, they feel they would be guilty of ingratitude -were they not to imitate the Prince’s exemplary -renunciations on behalf of his relative, and restore the -pensions with which his generosity had provided them. -“Apply,” the letter continues, “these revenues, Monseigneur, -to the relief of so many old soldiers, poor men of letters, and -such unhappy retainers as the Prince de Gueméné draws -with him in his downfall. As for us, other resources remain. -We shall have lost nothing, Monseigneur, if we retain your -esteem. We shall even have gained if in refusing to-day -your kindly gifts we force our detractors to acknowledge -that we were not unworthy of them. We are, with deep -respect, Monseigneur, your Serene Highness’s very humble -servants, Guimard, Heinel, Peslin, Dorival, etc., etc.” The -letter is dated 6th December, 1782.</p> - -<p>It was now that Guimard was paying periodical summer -visits to London for the Opera seasons. Edmond de Goncourt -in his monograph on the dancer gives two very interesting -letters written by Guimard apropos to these London -sojourns, one to Perregaux the Banker, dated 20th June, -1784, the other to M. de la Ferté, Director of the -Académie, dated 26th May, (1786) and both addressed from -No. 10, Pall Mall.</p> - -<p>In the former she gives a spirited and amusing account -of the way in which Gallini and Ravelli, then directing the -Opera in London, had sought to take advantage of a fire -at the old Opera House in order to break through the contract -with Guimard by which she was to receive six hundred<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span> -and fifty guineas for the season. The fire seemed at first -likely to put a closure on the season, but Covent Garden was -placed at the disposal of the Opera. Gallini, making alleged -losses the excuse, tried to persuade Madeleine to lower her -terms for the rest of the season. Finding she would only -agree to providing her own costumes—no light consideration—he -pretended satisfaction and departed. Ravelli, however, -followed and, evidently by arrangement, informed her that -Gallini was several kinds of idiot, and that he had been -deposed in favour of Ravelli who, as the new stage-manager, -came to offer her fresh terms—twenty-five louis a performance, -on behalf of Gallini.</p> - -<p>Guimard smiled and expressed astonishment that Ravelli -should make such propositions from Gallini since the latter -was no longer in power, and added that she held them to her -contract. When she turned up at rehearsal with a couple of -witnesses and having consulted solicitors, Ravelli “looked -green” and Gallini “stupefied.” They offered fresh proposals -and tried hard to wriggle out of their contract but -Guimard won, of course, and the more so in that though her -chief friends among the English aristocracy, notably the -Duchess of Devonshire, were out of town, enough were left -to make things uncomfortable for Gallini, who found his -conduct the talk of the town.</p> - -<p>The second letter, to M. la Ferté, is mainly good advice -on the direction of the Opera and encouragement of rising -talent, and for this giving of counsel she begs that he will -excuse her since it is out of friendship for him and also on -account of her desire, in her own words, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ne pas voir détruire -entièrement la belle danse, que j’ai vu exister à l’Opéra</i>.” In -both letters she sends—in the inevitable postscript!—charming -messages to the wives of her correspondents and -mentions some little commissions with which they had -entrusted her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span></p> - -<p>That she did not have a bad time in London may be -gathered from the fact that she excuses herself for not -having written sooner because since she arrived in town -she had not been left a minute to herself by “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">les plus grandes -dames</i>,” and principally by the Duchess of Devonshire with -whom she spent most of the time that she had away from -the theatre; and of the London audiences generally she -remarks: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Ils m’aiment à la folie, ces bons Anglais!</i>” Not -the first time a charming foreign dancer has been beloved of -“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ces bons Anglais!</i>”</p> - -<p>But with all the friendship of the great and the love of -the populace and her six hundred and fifty guineas for the -London season, Guimard’s financial position was not what -it had been. The Soubise pension had been relinquished; -that she received from the King in view of twenty years’ -service at the Opera hardly sufficed her rather magnificent -requirements, and the time came, in 1786, when she found -it convenient to dispose of her mansion in the Chaussée -d’Antin. This she did by arranging, without police sanction, -a lottery, the tickets for which numbered two thousand five -hundred, at a hundred and twenty livres each, a total sum of -three hundred thousand livres. There was a fierce demand -for the tickets, and twice the number could have been sold. -The drawing took place in a salon of the Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs, -Rue Bergère, on the 1st of May, 1786, and Madeleine’s -mansion with all its furniture went to the Comtesse du Lau, -who, by the way, had only taken one ticket!</p> - -<p>It is worth noting now that Madeleine had reached the -age of forty-three, that she had never been pretty and that -she was marked with smallpox, with which—a current -danger at those times—she had been attacked in 1783. To -a clever and magnetic personality age matters not, nor do -looks mean everything since in any case they are bound -to alter in the course of a few decades; and even smallpox<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span> -is not fatal to fascination. But these things, nevertheless, -have to be admitted when one comes to years of -discretion, and forty-three may be accounted such. One -wonders whether Madeleine, who was eminently a woman -of sense, began about now to face facts and the future, -and whether the doing so, or else mere circumstances, -political and social, impelled her to the next step in her -career.</p> - -<p>People had wondered how Guimard had managed to keep -exactly the same appearance for so many years. This was -the secret! When she was twenty she had a portrait painted -that was true to life and afterwards, for some twenty years -or so, every morning she would study this and make herself -up to resemble it exactly; and neither lover nor friend was -ever admitted to this toilette.</p> - -<p>This was an ingenious idea, but it could not last for ever. -It is all the more interesting then to note the next important -incident in Guimard’s career. Ninon de l’Enclos, acting on -the principle that it’s never too late to have a lover, flirted -when she was ninety. Guimard gave up lovers when she was -past forty and took a husband, a man, moreover, whom she -had known for years.</p> - -<p>In 1789, Guimard retired from the Opera; in 1789 she -married Jean Despréaux, dancer and poet; and in 1789 the -gathering storms of Revolution broke and Paris, smitten -first by famine, became for the next few years a hell, in -which strangely enough, there was still a demand for entertainment -lighter and less fervid than massacre.</p> - -<p>When Guimard and Despréaux—comrades for at least -twenty-five years—married, they settled down, on a fairly -comfortable income, derived from their pensions and acquired -property, at Montmartre and one of Jean’s poems -gives a charming picture of their retreat in those troubled -times. But during the Revolution, State finances were in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span> -disorder, and pensions were curtailed or discontinued and -all the old favourites of the Opera were more or less involved -in difficulties. In 1792, the city of Paris having confided -the care of the Opera to Francoeur and Celerier, they -nominated Despréaux director of the theatre and a member -of the administrative committee, but this did not last. The -following year Francoeur and Celerier were imprisoned, -the actors were authorised to manage the theatre themselves -and Despréaux—whose father, by the way, who -had been leader of the orchestra at the Opera, killed himself -the same year from despair at the general ruin around -him—was allotted some part in the management of the -public fêtes.</p> - -<p>In 1796—the year of the establishment of the Directory—Madeleine -made a reappearance at a benefit given on -January 23rd for the veteran performers at the Opera who -had all suffered grievous losses in the Revolution. In 1807, -three years after the crowning of Napoleon, by which time -the national ferment had begun to settle down a little and -the languished arts to take hope again, an Imperial -decree dated July 29th, reduced the number of theatres -in Paris to eight, and the Académie Impériale de Musique—as -it was now called—had for Director, Picard, the comic -poet, and for “inspecteur”—Despréaux.</p> - -<p>But these casual and precarious employments were not -enough to remedy the losses that husband and wife sustained -in the lean and fevered years from 1789, when they -settled down in their high-perched nest overlooking all -Paris in Montmartre until 1807, when Despréaux became -again attached to the Opera, and that this employment too -did not last we know from a letter which Madeleine wrote to -a friend in 1814 imploring him to use his influence with -people at Court to obtain from Louis XVIII some position -for her husband, a letter in which she mentions the loss<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span> -of their entire fortune owing to the Revolution and pleads -that “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">nos besoins sont bien urgents</i>.”</p> - -<p>There is then every probability that their needs really -were urgent. Guimard had never been charged with thrift; -and Despréaux was a poet. Both started married life with -a fair capital—all things henceforth held in common of -course, according to the law—but fortune was against them, -and though they might perhaps have weathered the storm -had they been twenty years younger, it was almost inevitable -that, their pensions gone, their capital diminishing, -they should find the struggle growing yearly harder and -their chances of replenishing their coffers less and less. De -Goncourt gives what one cannot but feel is a too idyllic -picture of the last years of the old couple, mainly on the -basis of Jean’s poems (and <em>he</em> was ever an optimist!) but -he also gives us one true, interesting, and poignant glimpse -of <a id="tn192"></a><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber’s Note—“Madaleine” changed to “Madeleine”.">Madeleine</ins> -as an old lady who, with her toy theatre, would, -for the amusement of friends who chanced to drop in, go -through the scenes of former splendour and with her frail -fingers perform the steps that had made her famous in many -a ballet of the past.</p> - -<p>Apparently Madeleine’s appeal to friends at Court must -have had some success for Despréaux. In the following -year, 1815, he was appointed inspector-general of the Court -entertainments, and professor “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">de danse et de grâces</i>” at the -Conservatoire. But it is probable that only the last three -or four years of their married life brought them any return of -fortune.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp60" id="i192a" style="max-width: 85.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_192a.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Madeleine Guimard<br /> -(<em>From the painting by Fragonard</em>).</div> -</div> - - -<p>Madeleine died on May 4th, 1816, and, for years out of -sight of a public which had long had other and less gracious -objects for thought, her death passed almost unnoticed by -the populace for whose amusement she had worked so loyally -in her prime. Four years later, on March 26th, 1820, Despréaux -followed her who had been his adored comrade for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193"></a>[193]</span> -the greater portion of their lives. He had seen her, as little -more than a child, win her earliest triumphs at the Opera, -had seen her growing splendour as a woman of fashion, -watched her through many years, danced with her, written -for her and about her, seen her worst and best, and loved her -well enough all through to wait till she would consent to -marry him and with him retire from the stage they had so -long adorned; and through the years, troublous for no fault -of theirs, which followed their marriage, he cheered and -consoled her for all she had relinquished, for the public -worship all foregone, and for the neglect of the rising generation.</p> - -<p>He it was who, though their means can hardly have permitted -it, instituted the little <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">déjeuners</i> and supper-parties of -kindred spirits, where songs were written and ballads sung in -praise of love and wine and “la Gloire”—the one cry of the -French Romanticists; all, one may well think, to cheer his -beloved whose charm and goodness, poet himself, he never -ceased to sing.</p> - -<p>All this could not have been had not Guimard, with all her -faults had more reserves of goodness than her earlier circumstances -can have given opportunity for developing. Guimard -had been grand; Guimard had been gay; but through it -all Guimard must have been good in heart, full of sympathy -and courage and generous charities of mind and soul; -and Despréaux, gentle, wise, humorous, idealistic, honest, -must have found her so, to speak and write of her as he -always did, with ardour and a kind of boyish awe, even -after she had passed away. No note of discord marred their -married years, and when Guimard came to make her exit -from the stage of life, silently, with nothing but ghostly -memories of applause, her comrade, well we may be sure, -waited only with impatience for his cue to follow her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194"></a>[194]</span></p> - - -<p class="pfs90">GUIMARD SPEAKS</p> - -<p class="pfs90">(Ætat. 70)</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Yes, ye may laugh at Mère Guimard,</div> - <div class="verse0">Laugh well, my girls, while laugh ye may!</div> - <div class="verse0">But none of ye will fare as far</div> - <div class="verse0">As I, who long have had my day.</div> - <div class="verse0">Time was when Paris all did pray</div> - <div class="verse0">Because I broke my arm! And yet</div> - <div class="verse0">Who now recalls my queen-like sway</div> - <div class="verse0">O’er those whom Death did not forget?</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Time on my visage many a scar</div> - <div class="verse0">Hath graven deep. No longer gay</div> - <div class="verse0">My voice, that once could make or mar</div> - <div class="verse0">The Minister who failed to pay</div> - <div class="verse0">Just tribute to my charms. Decay</div> - <div class="verse0">My once slim, rounded limbs doth fret;</div> - <div class="verse0">And scarce my feet could tread their way</div> - <div class="verse0">O’er those whom Death did not forget.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Yet ere I dance to where they are,</div> - <div class="verse0">Take heed, my girls, the words I say!</div> - <div class="verse0">I had a power none might bar,</div> - <div class="verse0">A court that rivalled the array</div> - <div class="verse0">Of aught Versailles could best display,</div> - <div class="verse0">For at my Court Versailles was met!</div> - <div class="verse0">And still I triumph, old and grey,</div> - <div class="verse0">O’er those whom Death did not forget.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p class="pfs90">ENVOI</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“‘Squelette des Grâces’ they called me!</div> - <div class="verse0">Yea, and now? Sans-graces! A mere ‘Squelette!’</div> - <div class="verse0">But grace I <em>had</em>, and have, to-day</div> - <div class="verse0">O’er those whom Death did not forget.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195"></a>[195]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII<br /><br /> -DESPRÉAUX, POET AND—HUSBAND OF GUIMARD</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">There</span> can be nothing more irksome to a man than to -be known merely as the husband of his more famous -wife.</p> - -<p>In speaking, however, of Despréaux as “husband of -Guimard,” it is not my intention to cast any slight on an -estimable and, in his own time, well-known personality; -but I do so merely that the reader will thereby be able to -“place” her genial and accomplished husband, M. Despréaux -to whom reference has already been made. He was born in -1748, five years after Mlle. Guimard, and was the son of a -musician at the Paris Opera, where he himself was entered -as a supernumerary-dancer in 1764. He made rapid progress -in the art of his choice and won increasing reputation until, -unhappily a wound in the foot completely closed his career -as a “star,” and being a man of much theatrical experience -and general culture, he then became a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître de ballet</i> and -also gave dancing lessons. In 1789 he married Madeleine -Guimard, whom he had long worshipped, and the two retired, -as we know, at the opening of the Revolution to a cosy nest -on the heights of Montmartre. So high, indeed, were they -and so steep was the roadway approaching their dwelling, -that the patrols refrained from troubling them, and save for -financial losses, and rumours of revolution and distant guns, -the couple remained untroubled by the red and raging -Anarchy in the city stretched at their feet.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196"></a>[196]</span></p> - -<p>Edmond de Goncourt makes out—on what authority I -cannot fathom—that Despréaux was born in 1758, and <em>not</em> -1748, thus making him out to be fifteen years the junior of -Guimard when they married in 1789. As on other points he -writes with such accuracy and copious wealth of detail one -might suppose him to be correct, but seeing that Despréaux -was undoubtedly entered a supernumerary-dancer in the -Opera in 1764, and could hardly have been so at the age of -six, one can only infer a slip of the pen, and that Goncourt -really meant 1748, which would make the young male dancer’s -age the likelier one of sixteen on appearing at Opera as a -super, although he would, of course, have been training -earlier.</p> - -<p>The question of age, however, is comparatively small. -The thing that matters for us is that Despréaux, following -modestly in the footsteps of his far greater predecessor -Boileau-Despréaux (not an ancestor, by the way) had cultivated -a taste for poetry, and during his retirement at -Montmartre, divided his time between amusing his wife and -friends with cutting silhouettes—at which he was an expert—and -singing songs and parodies which he wrote himself.</p> - -<p>It seems an odd thing, does it not? that a man should be -thus amusing himself and his friends—should be sufficiently -undistracted to do so—while the greatest revolution then -known to history should be in progress. But what could he -do? He was a dancer, a singer, an artist; and could have -had little weight had he meddled in the risky game of politics. -As it was, perhaps, he chose the saner course, and when -most were losing their heads he kept his own, and, as Richard -Cœur de Lion had when in prison, wiled away the hours in -song.</p> - -<p>His poems were collected and published in two volumes -under the title: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Mes Passe-Temps: Chansons, suivies de -l’Art de la Danse, poème en quatre chants, calqué sur l’Art<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197"></a>[197]</span> -Poétique de Boileau Despréaux.</i>” They were “adorned” -with engravings after the design of Moreau Junior, and the -music of the songs appears at the end of the second volume.</p> - -<p>The work was published after the Revolution fever had -subsided, in 1806, and perhaps the very strangest comment -on the Revolution is implied in Despréaux’s preface, which -calmly opens with the following: “In 1794 I suggested to a -number of friends that we should meet once or twice a month -to dine together, under the condition that politics should -never be mentioned, and that each should bring a song composed -upon a given word. My proposition was taken up; -we decided that the words should be drawn by lot, after -being submitted to the judgment of the gathering, in order -to eliminate subjects which might only present needless -difficulties.”</p> - -<p>And so the year 1794, being one of the worst of all those -red years of Revolution, this little centre went placidly -through it, dining and wining and rhyming, as if there were -nothing worse than a sham fight raging round the distant -horizon. It positively makes one wonder if there <em>was</em> a -French Revolution after all. But no, there evidently was, -for our author had a nice little library, and in the following -year, owing to monetary losses occasioned by the general -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">débâcle</i>, had to sell many of his beloved volumes. Of course -he made song about it—“Ma Bibliothèque, ou Le Cauchemar”—in -which he pictures the spectre of want asking him what -he will do, and urging him to sell his books for food. “Que -feras-tu, Despréaux?” the nightmare questions:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Ni bois ni vin dans ta cave</div> - <div class="verse0">De chandelle pas un bout:</div> - <div class="verse0">Faussement on fait le brave</div> - <div class="verse0">Lorsque l’on manque de tout!</div> - </div> - -<hr class="r20" /> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198"></a>[198]</span></p> </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse0">Une tartine de beurre</div> - <div class="verse0">Vaut plus que jadis un bœuf</div> - <div class="verse0">Dans un mois, à pareille heure</div> - <div class="verse0">Quel sera le prix d’un œuf?</div> - <div class="verse0">Par décade mille livres</div> - <div class="verse0">Ne peuvent payer ton pain</div> - <div class="verse0">Mon ami, <em>mange tes livres</em></div> - <div class="verse0"><em>Pour ne pas mourir de faim</em>.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The spectre points out that the prospect of having to do so is -no mere dream and urges him to sell “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tous tes auteurs fameux</i>,” -pointing out that he could live on the “divine” Homer for -at least a day or two, while on the “pensif” Rousseau he -could exist a long time. He could count on his precious -Virgil for the rent, while the translation “de Delille” should -yield his old gardener’s wages. Among the many works -mentioned in indiscriminate order are Plutarch, La Fontaine, -Don Quichotte, Anacreon, Newton, Milton, Cicero, Horace, -Juvenal, Boccaccio, Erasmus, Montesquieu, Boileau, Corneille, -Voltaire, Racine, Favart, Molière, Plato, Dorat, Seneca, and -a set of the British Drama!</p> - -<p>It should be noted, by the way, that Despréaux had some -knowledge of English and had paid occasional visits to -London with his wife, who was rather a favourite of the then -Duchess of Devonshire, and in one of his poems he gives an -amusingly bitter “Tableau de Londres,” in which he complains -of—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Cette atmosphère de cendre</div> - <div class="verse0">Qui ne cesse de descendre,”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">speaks of the lower classes as “insolent” and chaffs the -English taste for beer and the eternal “roast-biff” (<em>sic</em>); -while as to the English Sunday, the stanza must really be -given in full:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Deux cents dimanches anglais,</div> - <div class="verse0">N’en valent pas un français,</div> - <div class="verse0">Ce jour, si joyeux en France,</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199"></a>[199]</span></p> - <div class="verse0">Est le jour de pénitence;</div> - <div class="verse0">Et lorsqu’un Anglais se pend</div> - <div class="verse4">Se pend, se pend,</div> - <div class="verse0">C’est un dimanche qu’il prend;</div> - <div class="verse0">A Paris, le dimanche on danse.</div> - <div class="verse4">Vive la France!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Our poet’s range of subject was remarkable—high philosophy, -discussed with smiling raillery; curious life-contrasts, -like that of his wife being a popular dancer and his sister a -nun; charades, dialogues, charming and pathetic little word-pictures -like “La Neige,” a “Bacchic” song on “The End -of the World,” and so forth, nothing seemed to come amiss -that could be turned into song. Throughout his varied work -there runs a consistent strain of Gallic gaiety—itself a form -of bravery; and if his Muse has not the hard, biting intensity -of a Villon, nor the lofty rhetoric of a Victor Hugo, it manages -to keep a middle course of sanity and pleasantry with invariable -success and an infallible though limited appeal.</p> - -<p>Among his many ingenious poems are two of special -interest to stage-folk of all time, one “Le Langage des -Mains,” <cite>Chanson Pantomime</cite>, the other “Le Langage des -Yeux”; both of which require to be illustrated by the actor -who sings them and emphasise the need of facial and manual -expression. As he truly says:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Le comédien ou l’orateur,</div> - <div class="verse0">Sans mains, serait un corps sans âme.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In one of the poems appears the phrase, “La Walse (<em>sic</em>) aux -mille tours,” while among the notes at the end of the volume -is a definition which may be translated as follows: Walse—a -Swiss dance the music of which is in 3-4 time; but it has -only the value of two steps. It is done by a couple pirouetting -while circling round the salon. It has nothing in it of complexity;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200"></a>[200]</span> -it is the art in its infancy. When its rhythm is in 2 time -it is called “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">sauteuse</i>.” The word “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">sauteuse</i>” suggests the -ordinary polka in 2-4 time, in the customary manner, for any -dance described as “sauteuse” means one in which the -feet are raised from the ground, or in which leaping is indulged -in, <em>not</em> when the feet glide on the ground, as in the -modern waltz. The old <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">volta</i>, from which the modern waltz -is derived, was, it will be remembered, a <em>leaping</em> dance.</p> - -<p>The greater part of the second volume is mainly devoted -to his lengthy paraphrase of the great Boileau’s “L’Art -Poétique,” under the title of “L’Art de la Danse,” which is -full of sound instruction to dancers and interesting criticism -of his contemporaries.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201"></a>[201]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII<br /><br /> -A CENTURY’S CLOSE</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">We</span> have lingered somewhat over these sketches of the -eighteenth century; let us hasten over that century’s -close, for was it not steeped in blood?</p> - -<p>“Revolution,” did they not call the madness which seized -France? Heralded by fair promises of universal brotherhood, -what did all the fine talk of her “intellectuals” and “philosophs” -end in? A state of anarchy, national madness; in -which no man’s life was safe, and no woman’s honour.</p> - -<p>War is horrible enough between nations. What, then, is -universal war between individuals, “men, <em>brother</em> men?”</p> - -<p>Strange, is it not, that while the dying century was performing -its dance of death, theatres should be open; operas, -comedies, and ballets be performed.</p> - -<p>Before Guimard and her literary husband had begun to -find their fortunes affected by the advent of the popular -madness called Revolution, there were few theatres in Paris. -Indeed, there were only five of any importance giving daily -performances in 1775 and of these the Opera was of course -the leading house as of old—the work of Gluck, Grétry, -Piccinni and Sacchini holding the bill in Opera, for a period -of some thirty years onward, the work of ballet composition -being mainly in the hands of Noverre and the brothers -Maximillian and Pierre Gardel.</p> - -<p>It was from the end of that year, too, when Noverre’s -“Médée et Jason” was produced that the novelty of ballet-pantomime,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202"></a>[202]</span> -having come to replace the earlier opera-ballet, -now became generally known simply as ballet.</p> - -<p>In 1781 the Paris Opera was the scene of a tremendous -conflagration, in which, owing to the presence of mind of -Dauberval, one of the leading dancers, in quickly lowering -the curtain, during a performance of the ballet, the audience -were able to escape, but several of the dancers were burnt, -and Guimard herself, discovered cowering in one of the -boxes clad only in her underwear, was rescued by one of -the stage hands. The famous house was ruined, and the -company removed to a provisional house erected by the -architect Lenoir by the Porte St. Martin.</p> - -<p>Ten years later, in 1791, a Royal decree establishing the -freedom of the drama did away with the former paucity of -Paris in regard to places of amusement, and in that year -alone eighteen new theatres were added to those already in -existence, and old ones sometimes changed their names.</p> - -<p>The Opera was known as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">L’Académie Royale de Musique</i>. -Then the King having displeased his people and fled to -Varennes, it became simply the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Opera</i>. Then the King -having pleased his subjects they graciously permitted a -return to <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">L’Académie Royale</i>. Then, a month later, in -October, 1791, it became the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Opera-National</i>; and later the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Théâtre des Arts</i>, all of which changes foreshadowed in a -way the advent of blind Revolution; and the next change -of title to <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Théâtre de la République et des arts</i>; which yet -was not its final title. Meanwhile, what of the dancers?</p> - -<p>Guimard had left the stage in 1790. Two years later -the leaders of the ballet were Mlle. Miller (later to become -Madame Pierre de Gardel), Mlle. Saulnier, Mlle. Roze, -Madame Pérignon, Mlle. Chevigny.</p> - -<p>Pierre Gardel, born in 1758 at Nancy, had been <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître de -ballet</i> at the Opera from 1787, and had produced “Télémaque,” -“Psyché,” and other ballets out of which he made a fortune.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203"></a>[203]</span> -“Psyché” alone was given nearly a thousand times! In most -of them Madame Gardel appeared and with remarkable -success. At fifty, as at twenty, she was still admired. She -was an excellent mime, a graceful dancer in all styles, seemed -in each new <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i> to surpass herself, and Noverre, describing -her feet, said “they glittered like diamonds.”</p> - -<p>Then there were the brothers Malter, the one known as -“the bird,” the other as “the Devil,” because he usually -played the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôles</i> of demons.</p> - -<p>Madame Pérignon, who succeeded Madame Dauberval -(<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">née</i> Mlle. Theodore), was a dancer of talent, but was considerably -surpassed by Mlle. Chevigny of whom an eyewitness -of her dancing remarked: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Quelle verve! quelle -gaîté dans le comique! dans les rôles sérieux, quelle chaleur! -quel pathétique! Tout le feu d’une véritable actrice brillait -dans ses beaux yeux.</i>”</p> - -<p>Then there were Miles. Allard, Peslin, Coulon, Clotilde, -Beaupré, Brancher, Chameroy; Gosselin, who was, despite -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">embonpoint</i>, so supple as to win the nickname “the Boneless”; -Fanny Bias, and Bigottini; and M. Laborie, who -in 1790 had “created” the title-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i> in “Zephyre;” Messieurs -Lany, Dauberval; Deshayes, a marvel of soaring agility; -Henry, whose mobile figure recalled “le grand Dupré”; -Didelot, Duport; Auguste Vestris, with whom we have -already dealt; and Lepicq, known as the Apollo of the -Dance.</p> - -<p>Throughout the Revolution the theatres had been open, -and had been full. The people had gone mad with lust of -blood and lust of power; but the dancers continued to -maintain their aplomb in difficult <em>poses</em>, and pick their steps, -more carefully amid the lit and flowered splendours of the -theatre, than statesmen could theirs upon the blood-stained -slippery mire of current “politics.”</p> - -<p>France might hold its fantastic State ballet, the Fête of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204"></a>[204]</span> -the Supreme, indeed might go stark mad, and all Law and -Order and Reason be overthrown, but one man, the greatest -world-man known to history, was gathering strength to -bring order out of chaos, to remake a nation and a nation’s -laws; to set the world a-wondering if he should master it.</p> - -<p>Strangest of all, perhaps, that he, the great Napoleon, -should have found time to flirt with a ballet-dancer—the -famous Bigottini, of whom the Countess Nesselrode in her -letters said that the effect she produced with her dancing and -miming was so moving as to make even the most hardened -man weep.</p> - -<p>But she seemed rather to have amused Napoleon, more -especially when, having told the President of the Legislative -Chamber, Fontanes, to send her a present, she received a -collection of French classics; and on being asked later by -Napoleon—unaware of the nature of the gift—if she was -content with Fontanes’ choice, she exclaimed that she was -not entirely.</p> - -<p>“How so?” asked Napoleon.</p> - -<p>Bigottini’s reply must be given in the original.</p> - -<p>“Il m’a payée en <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">livres</i>; j’aurais mieux aimé en <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">francs</i>.”</p> - -<p>In spite of the library, Mlle. Bigottini became a millionaire—in -francs.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205"></a>[205]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak pb10" id="BOOK_III_THE_MODERN_ERA">BOOK III: THE MODERN ERA</h2> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207"></a>[207]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV<br /><br /> -THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">Though</span> it had not died during the Revolutionary -period, either in Paris or London, the art of Ballet, -from the death of Louis XV was really of little artistic -interest, and was to remain so until the famous ’Forties of -last century.</p> - -<p>The dancers were mostly mechanical; the ballets uninspired; -the mounting meretricious; and it was not till -the ’forties of last century that a new and all-surpassing -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuse</i>, Marie Taglioni, came to infuse a new spirit into -the art and found a tradition that holds to-day.</p> - -<p>In London Ballet was in almost the same state as in Paris, -but not quite, possibly because having been always imported -at its best, it had had less opportunity of becoming hide-bound -by tradition at its worst, as in the case of an old-established -continental school. For the continued production -of soundly artistic ballet the existence of a good -school is a necessity, a school founded and sustained on right -principles. But in its continued existence there is inevitably -danger of ultimate stultification from the “setting” of the -very tradition it has created, unless there is a perpetual -infusion of new ideas.</p> - -<p>In Paris the new idea was not then encouraged, if it came -counter to the traditional technique of which the Vestris, -father and son, were the supreme exponents.</p> - -<p>In London there was more freedom, because there was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208"></a>[208]</span> -less of tradition; and while we had to wait until the mid-’forties -for the productions which were to the Londoners -of the early Victorian period what the Russian ballet has been -to Londoners in recent years, there was some fairly sound -work being done here from 1795 to 1840.</p> - -<p>I have, among my books, a volume of libretti of ballets -composed by Didelot and produced at the King’s Theatre, -Haymarket, from 1796 to 1800. It contains “Sappho and -Phaon,” <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">grand ballet érotique, en quatre actes</i>; “L’Amour -Vengé,” <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballet épisodique, en deux actes, dans le genre anacréontique</i>; -“Flore et Zephire,” <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballet-divertissement</i>, in one -act; “The Happy Shipwreck, or The Scotch Witches,” a -dramatic ballet in three acts; “Acis and Galatea,” a pastoral -ballet in one act; and “Laura et Lenza, or The Troubadour,” -a grand ballet in two acts, “performed for the first time for -the benefit of Madame Hilligsberg,” who played Laura.</p> - -<p>“Laura and Lenza,” is of particular interest to us to-day, -for among the performers, in addition to M. Didelot, who -played the troubadour hero, Lenza, was a M. Deshayes—a -capable dancer and producer of ballet in London and Paris—and -a Mr. d’Egville, bearer of a name which is well-known -in both cities at the present day.</p> - -<p>“Flora et Zephire,” was the most popular, and was frequently -revived even as late as the ’thirties, when Marie -Taglioni made her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> in it at King’s Theatre, for Laporte’s -benefit, on June 3rd, 1830.</p> - -<p>Both in Paris and London, however, during the first two -decades of the nineteenth century Ballet was comparatively -undistinguished and it was not really until the ’thirties that it -began to assume new interest. True, there were in Paris, -some remarkable exponents of advanced technique as regards -dancing, but in the glamour of technical achievement the -greater idea of the art of Ballet was somewhat obscured.</p> - -<p>At the Paris Opera the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dieux de la danse</i> were MM. Albert<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209"></a>[209]</span> -Paul and Ferdinand, all of whom visited London from time -to time and the second of whom was known as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">l’aérien</i>, a -descriptive nickname emphasised by the quaint criticism of -a contemporary who wrote: “Paul used to spring and -bound upwards, and was continually in the clouds; his foot -scarcely touched the earth or rather the stage; he darted -up from the ground and came down perpendicularly, after -<em>travelling a quarter of an hour in the air</em>!”</p> - -<p>M. Paul, by the way, later became a celebrated dancing-master -at Brighton, in good Queen Victoria’s early days.</p> - -<p>Then, too, there was Paul’s sister who became Madame -Montessu, hardly less celebrated than her brilliant brother. -Then, too, Mlle. Brocard, who so won Queen Victoria’s -girlish admiration that some of her dolls were dressed to -represent the pretty dancer in character. Brocard, however, -was more remarkable for her beauty than for her dancing.</p> - -<p>Another famous artist of the period was M. Coulon, to -whose careful tuition the graceful, and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">élégante</i> Pauline -Duvernay owed much of her success, as did also the sisters -Noblet—Lise and Alexandrine, the latter of whom forsook -the dance to become an actress.</p> - -<p>Of Lise Noblet a contemporary chronicler wrote in 1821: -“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Encore un phénix! Une danseuse qui ne fait jamais de -faux pas, qui préfère le cercle d’amis à la foule des amants, -qui vient au théâtre à pied, et qui retourne de même!</i>” In -1828, she created, with immense success, the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i> of Fenella, -in <cite>La Muette de Portici</cite>, and was described as “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">le dernier -produit de l’école française aux poses géométriques et aux -écarts à angle droit</i>”; the same critic drawing an interesting -comparison between the old school and the rising new one, -in adding: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Déjà, Marie Taglioni s’avancait sur la pointe -du pied—blanche vapeur baignée de mousselines transparentes—poétique, -nébuleuse, immatérielle comme ces fées dont parle -Walter Scott, qui errent la nuit près des fontaines et portent en<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210"></a>[210]</span> -guise de ceinture un collier de perles de rosée!... Lise -Noblet se résolut non sans combat—à prouver qu’il y a au -monde quelque chose de plus agréable qu’une femme qui tourne -sur l’ongle de l’orteil avec une jambe parallèle à l’horizon, dans -l’attitude d’un compas farée. Elle céda, à Fanny Elssler, -‘Fenella’ de La Muette qu’elle avait créée, et lui prit en échange—‘El -Jales de Jérès.’ ‘Las Boleros de Cadiz’ ‘La Madrileña,’ -et toutes sortes d’autres cachuchas et fandangos. Grâce à ces -concessions, Mdlle. Noblet resta jusqu’en 1840, attachée à l’ Opéra.</i>”</p> - -<p>These references to contrast of styles, to Scott, and to -Spanish dances are particularly interesting as illuminating -the change which was coming over the Ballet about 1820-1830. -Mere technique as the chief aim of Ballet was beginning -to fail. It had become too academic and needed the -infusion of a new spirit of grace and freedom. It came in a -sudden craze for national dances, particularly Slav and -Spanish, and in the craze for Scott and all his works, which -undoubtedly became an influence on Opera and Ballet, as -they did on the forces which led to the growth of the great -Romantic movement, of which Hugo was to be hailed as -leader and of which the effects passing on through the Art -and Literature of the ’fifties, ’sixties, and ’seventies, can -still perhaps be traced to-day.</p> - -<p>Much of the popularity of the Spanish and Slav dances -during the early part of the nineteenth century was due to -their frequent performance by Pauline Duvernay, Pauline -Leroux and the Elsslers. There were two Elsslers, sisters, -the elder of whom, Thérèse, was born in 1808, and Fanny -in 1810, both at Vienna.</p> - -<p>Thérèse was less brilliant a dancer than her sister—whom -she “mothered” always—but had a charming personality. -She eventually gave up the stage to marry, morganatically, -Prince Adalbert of Prussia, and was afterwards ennobled.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp51" id="i210a-l" style="max-width: 21.4375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_210a-l.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Fanny Elssler<br /> -(<em>From an old engraving</em>).</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp52" id="i210a-r" style="max-width: 21.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_210a-r.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Carlotta Grisi<br /> -(<em>From a lithograph</em>).</div> -</div> - - -<p>At the outset of her career Fanny achieved distinction,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211"></a>[211]</span> -or had it thrust upon her, by becoming an object of the -“grande passion,” on the part of l’Aiglon, the Duc de Reichstadt, -Napoleon’s ill-fated son. But it was said that the -rumour was only put about by her astute manager, in order -to get the young dancer talked about, and as an advertisement -the manœuvre succeeded admirably.</p> - -<p>Both sisters, after acquiring a favourable reputation in -Germany, came to London, and it was here, in 1834, that -Véron, the manager of the Paris Opera, came over to tempt -them to appear in Paris with a salary of forty thousand -francs, twenty thousand each. Thinking to impress the -young Viennese with an example of Parisian magnificence, -Véron gave a dinner-party in their honour at the Clarendon, -in Bond Street, to which the best available society was -invited, and the menu, the wine and the equipage were of -unparalleled quality. At dessert an attendant brought a -silver salver piled high with costly presents for the ladies of -the company—pearls, rubies, diamonds, superbly set—a -miniature Golconda. But somehow it all fell a trifle flat. -The Elssler girls, true to their simple German training, -drank only water with their dinner, and with dessert merely -accepted, the one a hatpin, and the other a little handbag; -and they would not agree to sign their contract until the day -of Véron’s departure!</p> - -<p>Both in Paris and London the sisters were triumphantly -successful, and when in 1841 they toured through America -they met with a reception that was sensational. It was -“roses, roses all the way”; and in some of the towns -triumphal arches were erected. At Philadelphia their horses -were unharnessed and their carriage drawn by the admiring -populace, headed by the Mayor!</p> - -<p>Fanny was an especial favourite, and when the sisters -left New Orleans, some niggers, who were hoisting freight -from the hold of an adjacent steamboat—and niggers are<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212"></a>[212]</span> -notoriously apt at catching up topical subjects—thus chanted, -as the vessel bearing the dancers left the wharf:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Fanny, is you going up de ribber?</div> - <div class="verse6">Grog time o’ day.</div> - <div class="verse0">When all dese here’s got Elssler fever?</div> - <div class="verse6">Oh, hoist away!</div> - <div class="verse0">De Lor’ knows what we’ll do widout you,</div> - <div class="verse6">Grog time o’ day.</div> - <div class="verse0">De toe an’ heel won’t dance widout you.</div> - <div class="verse6">Oh, hoist away!</div> - <div class="verse0">Day say you dances like a fedder,</div> - <div class="verse6">Grog time o’ day.</div> - <div class="verse0">Wid t’ree t’ousand dollars all togedder.</div> - <div class="verse6">Oh, hoist away!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Fanny Elssler was at her best in the ballet of “Le Diable Boiteux,” -the plot of which is founded on Le Sage’s -famous romance. An enthusiastic contemporary described -her in the following quaint terms: “<em>La</em> Fanny is tall, -beautifully formed, with limbs that strongly resemble the -hunting Diana, combining strength with the most delicate -and graceful style. Her small and classically shaped head -is placed on her shoulders in a singularly elegant manner; -the pure fairness of her skin requires no artificial whiteness; -while her eyes beam with a species of playful malice, well-suited -to the half-ironical expression at times visible in the -corners of her finely curved lips. Her rich, glossy hair, of -bright chestnut hue, is usually braided over a forehead -formed to wear, with equal grace and dignity, the diadem of -a queen, or the floral wreath of a nymph; and though -strictly feminine in her appearance, none can so well or so -advantageously assume the costume of the opposite sex.”</p> - -<p>As a dancer she excelled in all spirited dances, such as the -<i>Fandango</i>, and the <i>Mazurka</i>, while in the <i>Cachucha</i> and the -<i>Cracovienne</i>, she stirred her audience to a frenzy of admiration. -Thérèse Elssler retired from the stage in 1850. Fanny, a -year later, married a rich banker, withdrew, and died in 1884.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213"></a>[213]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV<br /><br /> -CARLO BLASIS</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">The</span> Dance and Ballet had made progress during the -past two centuries and had reached the point when, -unable to attain to greater perfection of technique, it needed -some fresh artistic inspiration. Italy, however, had long -been degenerate as regards the Dance, her whole artistic -ambition having expressed itself in Opera and an unrivalled -excellence in vocal technique. So that towards the end of -the eighteenth century and for half the nineteenth, her -singers were unmatched throughout the world.</p> - -<p>The introduction of French dancers and the production -of some of the ballets of French composers turned the attention -of the lovers of <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">bel Canto</i> to the possibilities of the sister -art. Noverre had produced some of his ballets at Milan, -and his methods and artistic taste gradually spread through -Italy, his influence being further extended by several of his -Italian pupils, such as Rossi and Angiolini.</p> - -<p>It was not, however, until Carlo Blasis came to preside -over the Imperial Academy of Dancing and Pantomime -at Milan, 1837, that the Italian ballet began to assume -any importance, and the Milan Academy, becoming recognised -as the first in Europe, came in turn to influence Paris, -London and other capitals of the world. Indeed, it is hardly -too much to say that probably every opera house which has -been established a century owes something directly or indirectly -to the genius of Carlo Blasis, who in his enthusiasm -for, and appreciation of, the Dance and Ballet, and in his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214"></a>[214]</span> -ability to write thereon was another Noverre, but with an -even wider range of talent and scholarship.</p> - -<p>In the history of art there can be few records of such -amazing power of assimilation, combined with a high standard -of achievement. We have but to glance at a list of his -works, to realise this. While the theory and practice of -dancing were his leading theme, one to which he returned -again and again, few things failed to stimulate his interest -and his pen.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Observations sur le Chant et sur l’Expression de la Musique -Dramatique</i>” were a series of essays contributed to a London -paper. He wrote considerably on the art of Pantomime. He -contributed biographies of Garrick and of Fuseli to a Milan -periodical; and another of Pergolesi to a German paper. A -dissertation on “Italian Dramatic Music in France,” was -another of his subjects. He left in manuscript works on -François Premier; on Lucan and his poem of Pharsalia; -on Alexander the Great; on the Influence of the Italian -Genius upon the World; on the then Modern Greek Dances; -on “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">La Grande Epoque de Louis XV en France, en Italie, et -en Angleterre</i>”; a “Lexicon of Universal Erudition”; -while perhaps the greatest of his works—according to contemporary -criticism—was “<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">L’Uomo Fisico, Intellettuale e -Morale</i>,” a book of some thousand pages.</p> - -<p>His education had been of a kind that should incline him -to take, as Bacon did, “all knowledge,” for his province. -Madrolle, the famous French publicist of his period, described -Blasis as “a man of the most comprehensive mind that he -had ever known,” and further declared him “a universal -genius.” Indeed, though he achieved fame as a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître de -ballet</i>, he seems really to have been a sort of super-maître of -all the arts.</p> - -<p>He was born at Naples on November 4th, 1803, the son -of Francesco Blasis and Vincenza Coluzzi Zurla Blasis, both,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215"></a>[215]</span> -it is said, of noble descent. The family claimed an ancestry -reaching back beyond the reigns of Tiberius and Augustus, -when there were patricians known as the Blasii. Machiavelli -mentions the same family, and various monuments in Italy -and Sicily bear the name of De Blasis.</p> - -<p>When Carlo was two years old, his father, who had forsaken -the ancestral profession of the sea for literature and -music, took his family from Naples to Marseilles, where the -<em>De</em> was dropped, for political reasons, and the name became -simply Blasis. Having studied the tastes and tendencies of -his children somewhat carefully Francesco determined to give -his son Carlo a thorough grounding in the classics and the -fine arts. His daughter Teresa was taught singing and the -pianoforte; and his younger daughter Virginia, who was -born at Marseilles, was destined to Opera. It must be set -to the credit of the fond father’s discernment and influence -that each of his children achieved distinction in their own -sphere and day.</p> - -<p>The education of Carlo, we are told in a contemporary -biography, “was at once literary and artistic and theatrical.” -He showed such enthusiasm and ability in his studies that -it was said that he might easily have become a painter, -a composer of music, or a dancer and ballet-master. He -finally chose the last as his profession owing to the fact -that it offered more lucrative prospects as well as combining -all the varied opportunities for artistic expression which his -young soul craved. In other directions, however, his general -education was not neglected, and the subjects he studied -all came to be employed in the profession he had chosen, -rendering him valuable assistance in dancing, pantomime -and the composition of ballets. In later life when asked how -he came to get through such masses of work as he did he -used to declare: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Le temps ne manque jamais à qui sait -l’employer</i>,” and to add Tissot’s saying: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Dormons, dormons,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216"></a>[216]</span> -très peu; vivons toute notre vie, et pendant trois semaines que -nous avons à vivre, ne dormons pas, ne soyons pas morts, -pendant quinze jours.</i>” Indeed, he <em>lived</em> every minute of his -incessantly active life, and in his later years seldom worked -less than fifteen hours a day.</p> - -<p>As a lad he studied music, in all its branches, with his -father. Drawing, painting, modelling, architecture, geometry, -mathematics, anatomy, literature and dancing he studied -with some of the best available masters of his period, at -Marseilles, Rome, Florence, Bordeaux, Bologna and Pavia; -and when he came to practise his profession as ballet-master -and composer, he was able not only to evolve the plot of -the ballet, and explain every situation, teach every step -and gesture and expression, but to furnish designs for the -costumes, scenery, and mechanical effects.</p> - -<p>He was avid of learning, and absorbed something of value -from all with whom he came in contact. He haunted the -artists’ studios and made a special point of visiting all he -could in any town in which he happened to stay, Thorwaldsen, -Longhi and Canova being among the more prominent -of the sculptors and artists whom he came to know. He -became a connoisseur and collector of paintings, sculpture -carvings, cameos, jewellery, old instruments; had a remarkable -library, not only of books in Greek, Latin, Italian, -French, English, German and Spanish, but an interesting -collection of music, from Palestrina to his own time, his -library and gallery being valued at somewhere about ten -thousand pounds.</p> - -<p>He started his professional career and travels at the -age of twelve, when he appeared as a dancer in the -leading theatre at Marseilles, then at Aix, Avignon, Lyons, -Toulouse; finally settling with his family for some time at -Bordeaux, where he had a very successful <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> and where—under -the able direction of Dauberval, of whom we have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217"></a>[217]</span> -already heard—most of the best dancers in France appeared -preparatory to an engagement in Paris.</p> - -<p>Blasis then received an invitation to the capital, where his -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> was so extraordinarily successful that he was promptly -placed in the front rank, and for a time studied under the -famous Gardel, who thought so highly of him that he selected -for him as partner in several ballets, Mlle. Gosselin, one of -the leading dancers at the Opera, followed by Mlle. Legallois, -a dancer of the classic school.</p> - -<p>On account of intrigues and cabals—which are not, alas, -unusual in the theatrical profession, or in any other perhaps—Blasis -left the Opera and was next engaged at Milan, first -going on a successful tour, during which he composed various -ballets, notably “Iphigénie en Aulide,” “La Vestale,” -“Fernando Cortez,” “Castor and Pollux,” “Don Juan” -and “Les Mystères d’Isis.”</p> - -<p>His appearance at La Scala, Milan, was triumphant, -and he remained there for fourteen seasons, as dancer and -ballet-composer. Then followed a successful Italian tour. -Painters, sculptors and engravers as well as various poets -celebrated his progress, and one Venetian painter, having -seen him dancing some <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas de deux</i> with his famous partner -Virginia Leon, in which they entwined and enveloped themselves -in rose-coloured veils—presumably very much as -Mordkin and Pavlova did in the “L’Automne Bacchanale,” -made sketches of the various graceful groupings and afterwards -introduced them into the decorations of an apartment -in the house of a rich Venetian nobleman.</p> - -<p>There can be no doubt that the appeal of Blasis’ work -to artists was greatly due not merely to his technical excellence -as a dancer but to the fact that—steeped as he was in the -study of music, sculpture and painting—his work was a -living expression of a classic art-spirit. Again and again in -his writings he emphasises the necessity the young dancer is<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218"></a>[218]</span> -under of studying not only music, but drawing, painting and -sculpture. In one interesting passage, especially, he remarks: -“It is in the best productions of painting and sculpture -that the dancer may study with profit how to display his -figure with taste and elegance. They are a fountain of -beauties, to which all those should repair who wish to distinguish -themselves for the correctness and purity of their -performances. In the Bacchanalian groups which I have -composed, I have successfully introduced various attitudes, -arabesques and groupings, the original idea of which was -suggested to me, during my journey to Naples and through -<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Magna Grecia</i>, on viewing the paintings, bronzes and sculptures -rescued from the ruins of Herculaneum.”</p> - -<p>The publication at Milan, of his first work, in French, -<cite>A Theoretical, Practical and Elementary Treatise on the -Art of Dancing</cite>, brought Blasis into prominent notice -throughout the Continent and in London, owing to press -notices and demands for translations of a work that was -unrivalled of its kind and is valuable to-day.</p> - -<p>In 1826 Blasis came to London, where, at the King’s -Theatre, Haymarket, he was triumphantly received as dancer, -actor and ballet-composer. He remained here for some -time, and in 1829-1830 published his still more important -work, in English, namely, <cite>The Code of Terpsichore</cite> in -which the whole subject of dancing is dealt with exhaustively. -The book was “embellished” with numerous line-engravings, -accompanied by music, composed by his sisters, Virginia -and Teresa Blasis, and was dedicated to Virginia, then -Prima Donna of the Italian Opera at Paris. The work -was an instant success and did much to further the aim -which Blasis had in all his writings, namely, the raising -of the art of the Dance and Ballet nearer to a level with -the other imitative arts.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp46" id="i218a" style="max-width: 19.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_218a.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Carlo Blasis<br /> -(<em>From a lithograph</em>).</div> -</div> - - -<p>The <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître</i> now divided his time between England and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219"></a>[219]</span> -Italy, sometimes appearing as a dancer, sometimes producing -ballets of his own composition; or yet again as journalist -and author, contributing articles to leading reviews, or -seeing some fresh volume through the press, always occupied -in propagating his school and principles, demonstrating his -method, and putting into practice wherever he went every -new improvement or suggestion which could advance the -cause he had at heart; always encouraging and inspiring all -those of his profession with whom he came in touch, with a -newer and higher idea of the possibilities of theatrical dance -and ballet. It was now said, indeed, that “all who followed -the same profession became either his disciples or imitators.”</p> - -<p>His triumphs as a dancer, however, were unhappily cut -short during an engagement at the San Carlo, Naples, by an -accident which occurred during rehearsal, some unaccountable -injury to the left leg, for which every remedy was tried -without avail. Though he was not unable henceforth to -perform the simpler and more natural movements he found -himself handicapped by a certain stiffness that made anything -like a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">cabriole</i> or <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrechat</i> impossible, and wisely decided -to retire rather than diminish the fame he had already -acquired as a dancer. Hereafter it was as a composer of -ballets and as a widely informed writer on the arts that he -elected to occupy himself, and in Italy, France and England—notably -at Drury Lane—his productions both on the stage -and in the Press, won him increasing recognition and respect.</p> - -<p>In 1837 Blasis was appointed by the Italian Government -Director of the Imperial Academy of Dancing and Pantomime -at Milan, where the reforms he introduced and the -new artistic ideal he created shortly raised it to the position -of the leading Academy of the world.</p> - -<p>By the end of the eighteenth century dancing and ballet -at the Paris Opera, had grown, as we have seen, a stiff, -formal, dull affair. Carlo Blasis’ rule at the Milan Academy,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220"></a>[220]</span> -which put new life into the art, had a tremendous influence -throughout the Continent, so much so indeed that Russia, -Austria, France, and even England <em>all</em> to-day owe something -to the traditions of style and efficiency his genius laid down -at that time.</p> - -<p>The system of training he instituted then is still much -the same in present-day opera-houses, from which most of -the famous dancers are drawn. Pupils entered the Milan -Academy at an early age. No one was admitted before the -age of eight years, nor after twelve, if a girl, or fourteen, if a -boy. They were to be medically examined, and be proved -to have a robust constitution and to be in good health. They -had to be children of respectable parents; and, when admitted, -were to remain in the school, devoted to its service and to the -service of the theatre for eight years. For the first three -years they were to be considered as apprentices and receive -no salary; those who were qualified for performance in the -theatre came to receive progressive salaries. Their daily -practice in the school was for three hours in the morning, from -nine to twelve, at dancing; after which they were to be exercised -in the art of pantomime for one hour.</p> - -<p>To-day the training is just as severe and much the same. -For the Russian ballet pupils enter the Academy at -Petrograd at the age of nine and remain till eighteen. -Madame Karsavina, one of the most finished dancers in the -world, has told us how, even now, she continues to practise -a couple of hours or more every day.</p> - -<p>A well-known Italian <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître de ballet</i> at a famous West End -theatre once told me that he always practised dancing from -two to three hours a day, and “pantomime” or “mime,” -as it is usually called, from one to two hours. Mlle. Génée, -too, has stated that she practises from two to three hours -daily. Such practice is necessary, not merely to a pupil, but -to a finished and successful dancer to keep the limbs absolutely<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221"></a>[221]</span> -supple and enable the artist to give that impression of -consummate ease in performing the most difficult steps, -which is the true test of the really great dancer; while the -study of “miming” is equally necessary, since it is the art -which gives life and expression to the dance.</p> - -<p>Before a dancer has achieved the distinction of becoming -a “star,” it may be safely reckoned that she has had from -eight to ten years daily drudgery, and that her earlier years -have been without financial reward, and may even have -involved her parents or relatives in considerable expense for -her training or apprenticeship. Given the physique, the -instinct for dancing, and the intelligence, what then must -the prospective “star” expect before she can become a -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première danseuse</i>, or even a “seconde”?</p> - -<p>Go into any large school where “toe-dancing” is taught -and what will you see? A large, barely furnished room, -on one or two, or perhaps on all sides of which is fixed a bar -or pole, some four feet from the ground. Here, having -already been thoroughly grounded in the “five positions,” -which every dancer learns, the pupils, perhaps a dozen or -more in number, ranging from eight upwards, will be found -at “side practice,” as it is called, going through the various -“positions” and steps, while one hand rests on the bar. -Here she goes through the fatiguing and endless training -known as practice “on the bar,” learning “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">battements</i>,” -which consist in moving one leg in the air, now forward, now -back, while the other, on tip-toe, supports the body; learning -the even more difficult <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ronds de jambes</i>, or circles made by -one leg while resting on the other; learning all the while to -get the legs free and supple, to keep the shoulders down and -the elbows loose, before proceeding to the more complex steps -and poses.</p> - -<p>After incessant drilling at the bar comes the “centre -practice,” in which many of the same positions and steps<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222"></a>[222]</span> -are repeated with new and more difficult ones, away from the -bar; until little by little after months, indeed, it may be -years, of incessant practice, the young dancer becomes -qualified to take a place in the minor ranks of the ballet -where, in watching the more finished work of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première -danseuse</i>, she is further inspired to yet more arduous practice -in the school or at home, in the hope of achieving a perfection -that shall bring her similar rewards—a princely income, unlimited -bouquets, and the clamorous applause of an adoring -audience.</p> - -<p>All this is severe enough training; but the dancer’s training -always has been severe. The hard thing, from the ballet -composer’s point of view is—that the individuality and -artistic spirit of the dancer is, only too often, crushed by the -training or at least subordinated to an exaltation of mere -technique. Technique is a necessity, of course. But it was -in the power of such men as Noverre and Blasis to inspire in -their disciples something more than an emulation for technical -efficiency, and to give them an artistic ideal which made the -drudgery of their training seem worth while as a means of -attaining to greater ease of artistic expression. Blasis’ -influence undoubtedly ran like a quickening spirit through -the capitals of Europe and led the way to that great revival -of romantic ballet which marked the era of the ’forties and -found its fullest and most poetic expression in the idealism -of Taglioni.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223"></a>[223]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI<br /><br /> -MARIE TAGLIONI (“SYLPHIDE”)</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">The</span> great theatrical sensation of the mid-’forties was -the famous <cite>Pas de Quatre</cite>, composed of Lucile Grahn, -Fanny Cerito, Carlotta Grisi, and Marie Taglioni, the last-named -making a welcome return to the stage after an absence -of some years. This was in 1845. Taglioni’s reappearance -and a dispute between the dancers as to the order of their -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrée</i> gave the event a handsome advertisement.</p> - -<p>In the end the difficulty was settled by Lumley, the -manager of the Opera, deciding that, as Mlle. Taglioni herself -was indifferent as to when she made her entrance, they -should appear according to age, the youngest first; and in -consequence Lucile Grahn led the quartette, a crescendo -of applause finishing in a terrific climax as Taglioni, greatest -of them all, appeared, and, as one witness declared, “the -whole house went clean mad.”</p> - -<p>Marie Taglioni, greatest of the four, was the first to give -the impulse towards the creation of that new school which -the others represented. The technique of all four was virtually -the same, that which had always been traditional. In the -foundations of their art all were of the old school. All had -been thoroughly drilled in the eternal “five positions.” -But in the spirit of this art all were as new for their period, -and by contrast with the eighteenth-century school, as -Camargo had been when she first quickened that school by -the introduction of a fresher inspiration and new miracles<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224"></a>[224]</span> -of execution; and as Sallé had been when she had striven -to replace the convention of pannier and cuirasse for classic -hero and heroine, with a costume nearer to Hellenic truth -and beauty. And of the four who made theatrical dancing -in the ’forties of last century what it was, Taglioni was the -pioneer.</p> - -<p>She was one of a family of Taglionis. There was Louise, -who had won distinction at the Opera under the Empire, and -who had a sister so beautiful that when she left the stage to -marry an Italian gentleman and settle down at Venice, it -came to be a proverb, “To see Venice and the beautiful -Contarini.” Marie was the niece of these two.</p> - -<p>Born at Stockholm in 1804, she was the daughter of Philip -Taglioni (1777-1871), a ballet-master from Milan, and a -Swedish mother, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">née</i> Anna Karsten, whose grandfather had -been a famous actor and singer at the Swedish Court. In -these two strains probably we have one of the secrets of -Marie Taglioni’s art, for, while from the Italian side she -would have inherited that passion for technique which is -innate in the Latin races, from the maternal she would have -received the impulse towards a poetic and dreamy idealism -which is characteristic of the North.</p> - -<p>Add to this the fact that her father was not only a really -accomplished teacher of dancing but was steeped in the -romantic legends and poetry of Scandinavia, and we are -better able to understand how it was the stiff formalism -and poetic conventionalities of Ballet in the pre-Taglioni -period had to succumb to the new breath of inspiration -which was to set all London and Paris raving of its beauty -in the ’forties, and fire even so temperate and cynical an -observer as Thackeray to enthusiastic expressions of admiration -of Marie Taglioni in “Sylphide.”</p> - -<p>As a child she was unprepossessing to look at and had -physical defects. It is said that when the famous dancing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_225"></a>[225]</span> -master, Coulon, was consulted as to the teaching of the -child, he exclaimed: “What <em>can</em> I do with that little hunch-back?”</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, her father intended that she should become -a dancer, and, taking her in hand himself, a dancer she -became; with the result that—to adapt the expression of -an ingenious French critic—between them they ultimately -<em>taglionised</em> the Ballet.</p> - -<p>Marie made her first appearance at Vienna in 1822, in a -ballet bearing the lengthy title, “Réception d’une jeune -nymphe à la cour de Terpsichore.” Her father had arranged -a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas</i> for her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i>, but in her confusion, it is said, she -forgot it, and substituted another of her own invention, -which proved a triumphant success.</p> - -<p>From Vienna she went to Stuttgart, where the Queen -of Würtemberg became so attached to her that she treated -her like a sister, and was seen to shed tears on the occasion -of Taglioni’s last appearance at the Stuttgart Opera House. -She next proceeded to Munich, where she was equally well -received by the royal family, finally making her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at -Paris on July 23rd, 1827, in a ballet called “Le Sicilien.”</p> - -<p>Her appearance was an immediate success, and was followed -by fresh triumphs in “La Vestale,” “Fernando Cortez,” “Les -Bayadères” and “Le Carnaval de Venise,” this first engagement -terminating on August 10th. One critic of her time writes -enthusiastically of the effect she created with: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">sa grâce -naïve, ses poses décentes et voluptueuses, son extrême légèreté, -la nouveauté de sa danse, dont les effets semblaient appartenir -aux inspirations de la nature au lieu d’être les résultats des -combinaisons de l’art et du travail de l’école, produisirent une -sensation très vive sur le public. Le talent d’une virtuose qui -s’éloigne de la route battue par ses devanciers, trouve des opposants -que la continuité des succès ne désarme pas toujours: il n’y eut -qu’une voix sur Mlle. Taglioni: tout le monde fut enchanté, ravi.</i>”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_226"></a>[226]</span></p> - -<p>The Ballet had grown formalised, stale. Taglioni came as -spirit from another sphere to infuse new vitality and idealism -into its wearied splendour, and she provided jaded opera -lovers with a new thrill. After her Parisian <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i>, she was re-engaged -for the following year and returned in the April of 1828 -to win further admiration in “Les Bayadères,” and “Lydie” -and “Psyché”; then, the year after, in “La Belle au Bois -dormant,” a fifteen years’ engagement being finally offered -to her at the Opera, with intervals of absence sufficient to -enable her to pay visits to Germany, Russia, Italy and -England, when, in every country, she achieved fresh -triumphs.</p> - -<p>Her London <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the benefit of Laporte, manager -at Her Majesty’s Theatre, took place on June 3rd, 1830, -in Didelot’s ballet of “Flore et Zephire.”</p> - -<p>A contemporary account of her dancing says: “Taglioni -unquestionably combines the finest requisites for eminence -in her art. The union she displays of muscular ability with -the most feminine delicacy of frame and figure is truly extraordinary. -A charming simplicity, the principal characteristic -of her demeanour on the stage—an utter absence of that -false consequence and <em>bombast</em> of carriage and manner which -have so peculiarly marked too many artistes of our time; -and a native grace and matchless precision in her movements, -even those in which the most astonishing difficulties are -conquered, and which yet appear to demand of <em>her</em> no effort, -leave us delighted with the <em>fairyism</em> of the lovely being before -us ... and enchant us into forgetfulness of the unwearied -perseverance and application by which, in aid of the -lavish gifts of Nature, such unrivalled excellence has been -attained.”</p> - -<p>Every contemporary account of Taglioni insists always -on that one note, the <em>idealism</em> of her art. The late Mme. -Katti-Lanner, who saw her dance, told me once that she<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227"></a>[227]</span> -appeared like some fairy being always about to soar away -from the earth to which she seemed so little to belong.</p> - -<p>Was it not Victor Hugo who inscribed a volume which he -sent to her: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">à vos pieds—à vos ailes</i>”?</p> - -<p>It was but natural then that she should be the ideal exponent -of the title-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i> in that graceful Ballet “Sylphide,” -which was produced at Paris on March 14th, 1832.</p> - -<p>The importance of the new influence brought to bear on -the art of Ballet by the advent of Taglioni and the contrast -between the older and the newer schools was well defined by -Théophile Gautier who, writing of “Sylphide” said: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Ce ballet -commença pour la chorégraphie une ère toute nouvelle et ce fut -par lui que le romantisme s’introduisit dans le domaine de -Terpsichore. A dater de la ‘Sylphide,’ les ‘Filets de Vulcain,’ -‘Flore et Zephire’ ne furent plus possibles: l’Opéra fut livré -aux gnomes, aux ondins, aux salamandres, aux elfes, aux -nixes, aux willis, aux péris et à tout ce peuple étrange et mystérieux -qui se prête si merveilleusement aux fantaisies du maître -de ballet. Les douze maisons de marbre et d’or des Olympies -furent reléguées dans la poussière des magasins, et l’on ne -commanda plus aux décorateurs que des forêts romantiques, que -des vallées éclairées par le joli clair de lune allemand des ballades -de Henri Heine....</i>”</p> - -<p>The poet Méry remarked of the new dancer: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Avec Mlle. -Taglioni la danse s’est élevée à la sainteté d’un art.</i>” That is -just what she achieved. Dancing, which had become a -mechanical display of technical <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tours de force</i>, was restored -to the dignity—or sanctity—of an art.</p> - -<p>But her influence extended further. She enlarged the -perspective of the stage effects. The stiff formalism of -“classic” scenes, of neat temples and trim vistas gave place -to mysterious lakes and umbrageous forests, vast spaces that -stirred the imagination and prepared the mind for the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrée</i> -of visionary dancers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228"></a>[228]</span></p> - -<p>The story of “Sylphide” is of the love of a sylph for a handsome -young Highland peasant, who is haunted by visions of -her in his dreams and memories of the vision on awaking, -so much so that the heart of his own betrothed is broken -and his brain is turned by the manifestation of his aerial -love, who herself becomes the victim of an unhappier fate by -a terrible spell cast on her by infernal powers and woven -during a witches’ sabbath, which forms one of the more -impressive scenes of the ballet. The plot was adapted from -Charles Nodier’s story, <cite>Trilby</cite>, by Adolphe Nourrit, and the -music by Schneitzhöffer was pronounced “excellent” by -Castil-Blaze, who remarked that it was an “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Œuvre infiniment -remarquable dans un genre qui peut devenir important lorsqu’un -homme de talent et d’esprit veut bien l’adopter</i>.” He also -reports of the first production of “Sylphide” in Paris, that it -had a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">succès merveilleux</i>.</p> - -<p>Elsewhere Taglioni’s success was no less remarkable. -Indeed, wheresoever she went she achieved a triumph. -At Petrograd such tempting offers were made by the -Emperor and Empress that she prolonged her stay for -three years, and left laden with gifts from their Imperial -Majesties. At Vienna, on one occasion, having been -called before the curtain twenty-two times, when she -finally got away from the Opera House her carriage was -drawn to her hotel by forty young men of the leading Austrian -families. In London she was worshipped by the public, and was -one of the special admirations of the youthful Queen Victoria, -some of whose dolls (as in the case of Brocard, Pauline Leroux, -and other dancers) were dressed to represent the characters -Taglioni played, and may be seen to-day in the London Museum.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp60" id="i228a-l" style="max-width: 25.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_228a-l.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Marie Taglioni<br /> -(<em>From a lithograph dated 1833</em>).</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp65" id="i228a-r" style="max-width: 27.4375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_228a-r.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">The Pas de Quatre of 1845<br /> -(<em>Lucille Grahn, Fanny Cerito, Carlotta Grisi, and -in the centre Marie Taglioni</em>).</div> -</div> - - -<p>Taglioni was married to Gilbert, Comte de Voisins, in -1835, but the marriage was not a happy one and was dissolved -in 1844. She retired for a little time, but returned -to the stage again and appeared in London, with triumphant -success, in 1845.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229"></a>[229]</span></p> - -<p>The climax of a great season came in July of that year, -when, at the request of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, the <cite>Pas -de Quatre</cite>, to which reference has already been made, was -arranged for the four great dancers, Taglioni, Cerito, Carlotta -Grisi and Lucile Grahn. One critic remarked that the appearance -of four such stars on the same boards and in the same -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas</i> was “truly what our Gallic neighbours call <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">une solennité -théâtrale</i>, and such a one as none of those who beheld it are -likely to witness again.”</p> - -<p>It was, he declared rightly, “an event unparalleled in -theatrical annals, and one which, some two score years hence, -may be handed down to a new generation by garrulous -septuagenarians as one of the most brilliant reminiscences of -days gone by.”</p> - -<p>Without being a septuagenarian, or being in a position -to remember an event about which to grow garrulous, all -who have studied theatrical history at all can freely endorse -the remark. Probably never in any theatre was seen such -excitement as there was on this occasion. Contemporary -testimony, when authoritative, is always valuable in such -cases, and as there is no better account of the famous “Pas de -Quatre” than that given by the <cite>Illustrated London News</cite> of that -day, July 19th, 1845, it may be quoted at length with advantage.</p> - -<p>Speaking of the curiosity which so unusual an event must -necessarily excite, and which led him to “hurry” to the -theatre, the writer declared that:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="noindent">“curiosity and every other feeling was merged in admiration -when the four great dancers commenced the series of -picturesque groupings with which this performance opens. -We can safely say we have never witnessed a scene more -perfect in all its details. The greatest of painters, in his -loftiest flights, could hardly have conceived, and certainly -never executed, a group more faultless and more replete with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230"></a>[230]</span> -grace and poetry than that formed by these four <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuses</i>: -Taglioni in the midst, her head thrown backwards, apparently -reclining in the arms of her sister nymphs. Could such a -combination have taken place in the ancient palmy days of -art, the pencil of the painter and the song of the poet would -alike have been employed to perpetuate its remembrance. -No description can render the exquisite, and almost ethereal -grace of movement and attitude of these great dancers, and -those who have witnessed the scene, may boast of having -once, at least, seen the perfection of the art of dancing so -little understood. There was no affectation, no apparent -exertion or struggle for effect on the part of these gifted -artistes; and though they displayed their utmost resources, -there was a simplicity and ease, the absence of which would -have completely broken the spell they threw around the -scene. Of the details of this performance it is difficult to -speak. In the <em>solo</em> steps executed by each <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuse</i>, each in -turn seemed to claim pre-eminence. Where every one in her -own style is perfect, peculiar individual taste alone may -balance in favour of one or the other, but the award of public -applause must be equally bestowed; and, for our own part, -we confess that our <em>penchant</em> for the peculiar style, and our -admiration for the dignity, the repose, and exquisite grace -which characterise Taglioni, and the dancer who has so -brilliantly followed the same track (Lucile Grahn), did not -prevent our warmly appreciating the charming archness and -twinkling steps of Carlotta Grisi, or the wonderful flying -leaps and revolving bounds of Cerito. Though, as we have -said, each displayed her utmost powers, the emulation of the -fair dancers was, if we may trust appearances, unaccompanied -by envy.</p> - -<p>“Every time a shower of bouquets descended, on the -conclusion of a <em>solo pas</em> of one or other of the fair <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballerines</i>, -her sister dancers came forward to assist her in collecting -them; and both on Saturday and Tuesday did Cerito offer -to crown Taglioni with a wreath which had been thrown in -homage to the queen of the dance. We were also glad to see -on the part of the audience far less of partisanship than had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231"></a>[231]</span> -been displayed two or three years since, on the performance -of a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas de deux</i> between Elssler and Cerito. The applause -was universal, and equally distributed. This, however, did -not take from the excitement of the scene. The house, -crowded to the roof, presented a concourse of the most eager -faces, never diverted for a moment from the performance; -and the extraordinary tumult of enthusiastic applause, -joined to the delightful effect of the spectacle presented, -imparted to the whole scene an interest and excitement that -can hardly be imagined.”</p> -</div> - -<p>Yet another triumph for Ballet was scored in the following -season, July, 1846, when Taglioni’s appearance in “La -Gitana” having been hailed with quite extraordinary -enthusiasm, there came a piece of managerial enterprise -equalling that of the famous <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Pas de Quatre</i>.</p> - -<p>A new ballet by Perrot, “Les Tribulations d’un Maître de -Ballet,” was arranged for production and during the performance -a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas</i> was to have been introduced, combining the -matchless three—Grahn, Cerito and Taglioni, supported -also by the niece of the last named, Louise Taglioni; and -St. Leon, husband of Cerito; and Perrot, husband of Carlotta -Grisi.</p> - -<p>This <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas</i> for the leading dancers was intended to form part -of a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i> entitled “Le Jugement de Pâris,” which -the aforesaid <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître de ballet</i> was supposed to be arranging -and to be having “tribulations” about. But on putting the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i> into rehearsal the idea was found to be so -attractive and to assume such importance as to overshadow -the rest of the production and the “Jugement de Pâris” -was therefore detached and staged as a separate ballet in -itself with the happiest result.</p> - -<p>The <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas</i> so isolated was of course the famous <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Pas des -Déesses</i>, the goddesses naturally being the fair rivals Juno, -Minerva and Venus, impersonated by the three great <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballerines</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_232"></a>[232]</span> -who contended for the apple thrown by the Goddess of Discord, -and awarded by Paris to the most beautiful of the -three.</p> - -<p>Needless to say, with such dancers, the production found -favour with audiences and critics, one of whom wrote:</p> - -<div class="blockquoty"> - -<p>“The idea of this <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas</i> is an excellent one; for it is an -important qualification in choregraphic compositions, that -the dancing should appear to be a necessary result of the -action—that an intelligible idea should be conveyed by it, -and a story kept up throughout. Without this, dancing, -however beautiful in itself, loses half its charm to those who -look for something more in it than mere power and grace -of motion. Here there is a purpose in the varied attitudes -and graceful evolutions of each <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuse</i>, as she is supposed -to be endeavouring to outstrip her rivals, and vindicate her -right to the disputed apple; and the effect is a charming -one, independently of the interest and excitement that must -inevitably attach to the combined performance of such -unequalled artists as these. The <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Graces</i>, enacted by Louise -Taglioni, Demississe, and Cassan; <em>Cupid</em>, by that graceful -child, Mdlle. Lamoureux; <em>Mercure</em>, by Perrot, etc., etc., -are all numbered amongst the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">dramatis personæ</i> of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballet</i>, -and a more charming combination could hardly be met with.</p> - -<p>“Taglioni is, however, the principal ‘star’ at the present -moment. Those who have visited Her Majesty’s Theatre -predetermined to find her marvellous talent diminished, -and to ‘regret’ her reappearance on the English stage, have -come away enchanted, despite themselves, at that marvellous -union of unrivalled agility, with the most perfect grace -and elegance, in which no dancer has as yet equalled her. -If there is any change perceptible, she seems to have advanced -in her art—in person, an increase of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">embonpoint</i> has proved -decidedly favourable to her appearance. It is, no doubt, in -the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danse noble</i> that she excels; but in every style of dancing -the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">je ne sais quoi</i> of peculiar refinement and grace, for which -she is remarkable in her style, distinguishes her. As long as -Taglioni continues to dance, she will continue to excite an<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233"></a>[233]</span> -enthusiasm of applause, as the famous Guimard, styled in -1770, ‘La Reine de la Danse,’ had done before her. A peculiar -gentleness and amiability of look, and a dignity of manner -which never abandons Taglioni, is in admirable keeping with -the style of her dancing; and, if we may believe report, -these do not belie her real character.”</p> -</div> - -<p>As a matter of fact, the appearances and “report” did -<em>not</em> belie her character, for Taglioni always won the respect -and love of all she met. She had done so abroad, where -crowned heads and royal families had made a friend of her, -enchanted with her sweetness and modesty, and won to -equal respect by her innate dignity of character.</p> - -<p>It was the same in London, where, it is said, she received -not only the generous homage of her stage colleagues and -was offered a superb testimonial at the close of the season -of 1846, but also met with special favour from Queen Victoria -herself, who was as much a connoisseur of good dancing as -she was of virtuous conduct.</p> - -<p>It may have been by reason of this that Taglioni was appointed -teacher of dancing and deportment to some of the -younger members of the English Royal Family; and later -undertook the tuition of a few favoured young dancers. Yet -Fortune did not favour her always, and she died at Marseilles -on April 25th, 1884; like Guimard, also neglected and in -poverty. But while there is one to read the records of the -stage her name will survive as one of the founders and supreme -exponents of the idealistic school of Ballet.</p> - - -<p class="pfs90">TAGLIONI (“SYLPHIDE”)</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“Slim, virginal, upon the stage she springs:</div> - <div class="verse0">And joy forthwith relumines weary eyes</div> - <div class="verse0">That, looking ever on dull mundane things,</div> - <div class="verse0">Long had forgot youth’s heritage of joy:</div> - <div class="verse0">Slim, virginal, clad in resplendent white</div> - <div class="verse0">With floral coronal and fluttering wings</div> - -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234"></a>[234]</span> - - <div class="verse0">She stands serenely poised; then, swift to rise,</div> - <div class="verse0">Gleams like a sunlit dove in sudden flight:</div> - <div class="verse0">So, once again, return to our dulled sight</div> - <div class="verse0">Dreams of a golden age without alloy.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“How many sages sought in ancient time</div> - <div class="verse0">Some magic stone transmuting all to gold;</div> - <div class="verse0">Elixirs rare have many yearned to find,</div> - <div class="verse0">Recalling refluent youth ere life depart;</div> - <div class="verse0">How many strove to conjure from the air,</div> - <div class="verse0">From water, earth or fire with subtle art</div> - <div class="verse0">The elemental beings therein divined!</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verseq">“But thou, with art more potent and sublime,</div> - <div class="verse0">Transmutest all! None seeing thee is old!</div> - <div class="verse0">All hearts forlorn, from dross of woe are freed!</div> - <div class="verse0">And in the magic glamour of thy grace,</div> - <div class="verse0">Hope’s listless wings win strength once more to fare</div> - <div class="verse0">Towards that Ideal whose lineaments we trace</div> - <div class="verse0">Importally incarnate in—‘Sylphide!’”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_235"></a>[235]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII<br /><br /> -CARLOTTA GRISI (GISELLE)</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">Seldom</span> is a good dancer also a born singer; and still -more rarely do both talents develop simultaneously to -such a point that there can be any serious doubt as to which -to relinquish in favour of the other. Yet such was the happy -fate of Carlotta Grisi, the cousin of the two famous singing -sisters, Giuditta and Giulia Grisi.</p> - -<p>Carlotta at one time showed such promise of becoming a -vocalist that no less a person than the great Malibran advised -her to devote her life to singing. But when Perrot, the -famous ballet-master, who had received his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">congé</i> from the -Paris Opera, saw her, when she was earning her living as a -dancer at Naples, he was clever enough to suggest that she -should develop <em>both</em> talents, fully intending that under his -encouragement and tuition she should become at least a -finished <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuse</i>, for he saw in the future of such a pupil an -opportunity of securing his own return to the Opera. Moreover, -although—as a famous <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maîtresse de ballet</i> of our time -once described him to me—“ogly as sin,” he managed to -become her husband!</p> - -<p>Carlotta Grisi was born in 1821 at Visnida, in Upper -Istria, in a palace built for the Emperor Francis II. When -a mere child of five years old she was dancing, with -other children, at the Scala, Milan, where she danced with -such grace that she was nicknamed <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">La petite Heberlé</i>, a Mlle. -Heberlé then being a very popular star. Subsequently she<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236"></a>[236]</span> -toured with a company through Italy appearing at Florence, -Rome, Naples, and it was here she met and became the pupil -and then wife of Perrot.</p> - -<p>Brief visits to London, Vienna, Milan, Naples followed, -the young dancer gathering fresh triumphs at each, until -finally she made her Parisian <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the Renaissance on -February 28th, 1840. Here she appeared both as singer and -dancer in “Le Zingaro,” but on the closing of the theatre she -went in February, 1841, to the Opera, and achieved an instant -success in “La Favorita.” From that moment her career -was one of continued triumph.</p> - -<p>In June of that year she appeared in “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Giselle, ou les -Willis, ballet en deux actes, de MM. de Saint Georges, Th. -Gautier et Coralli, musique de M. Adam, décors de M. Ciceri</i>,” -as it is described on my copy of the original libretto. Carlotta’s -appearance in it was <em>the</em> artistic sensation of the Continent.</p> - -<p>“Giselle” is founded on one of those romantic legendary -themes in which Germany was once so rich, and tells of the fate -of a village girl who falls a victim to the mysterious <em>Willis</em>, or -spirits of betrothed girls who in life were passionately fond -of dancing, who have died ere marriage, and are doomed after -death to dance every night from midnight to dawn, luring -whom they may to the same fate. This, and the story of -shattered hope and love forlorn, which bring about poor -little Giselle’s destruction, are the two leading themes of a -ballet which, touching both the heights of gaiety and depths -of tragedy, is rich in every element that can interest or charm, -and presents many dramatic situations that demand from a -supremely accomplished dancer a power of mimic expression, -intensity and poetic sympathy that are rare. Carlotta Grisi -was ideally equipped, and she was <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">par excellence</i>—Giselle. -A revival of the second act, under the title of “les Sylphides,” -was given by the Russian dancers at the Coliseum a few -seasons ago.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_237"></a>[237]</span></p> - -<p>Gautier’s admiration for Grisi was enthusiastic. “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Qu’est-ce -que Giselle?</i>” he asked the day after the first performance, -thus answering his own question: “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Giselle, c’est Carlotta -Grisi, une charmante fille aux yeux bleus, au sourire fin et naïf, -à la démarche alerte, une Italienne qui a l’air d’une Allemande -à s’y tromper, comme l’Allemande Fanny avait l’air d’une -Andalouse de Séville.... Pour la pantomime, elle a dépassé -toutes les espérances. Pas un geste de convention. Pas un -mouvement faux. C’est la nature prise sur le fait.</i>”</p> - -<p>Another of her admirers described Carlotta in the following -quaint terms: “... a blonde beauty; her eyes are of -a soft and lovely blue, her mouth is small, and her complexion -is of a rare freshness and delicacy.... Her figure is symmetrical, -for, though slight, she has not that anatomical -thinness, which is so common among the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuses</i> of the -Académie Royale. Her grace is not more surprising than -her aplomb. She never appears to exert herself, but can -execute the most incredible <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tours de force</i> with a perfect -tranquillity.”</p> - -<p>Grisi’s success in London was stupendous. She appeared -here at Drury Lane, and later at Her Majesty’s, for the Opera -seasons. On her farewell appearance in “The Peri” (by -Théophile Gautier, Coralli and Burgmüller) at the end of the -season in November, 1843, the <cite>Illustrated London News</cite> gave -the following note:</p> - -<div class="blockquoty"> - -<p>“Carlotta Grisi took her farewell of an English audience -on Saturday night (i.e. November 18th, 1843) in the popular -ballet of ‘The Peri,’ when a brilliant company was present -to bid adieu to their favourite dancer. On the entrance of -Mdlle. Grisi, there was one unanimous burst of applause, and -each movement of her graceful figure was the signal for -renewed approbation. When the famous leap was given, -cries of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">encore</i> re-echoed from every part of the house, and -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_238"></a>[238]</span>once again the favourite, with a spirit undaunted, leaped -into the arms of the lover in the ballet. The applause continued -undiminished until the fall of the curtain—then the -enthusiasm became a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">furore</i>, and the name of ‘Grisi’ was -uttered by a thousand voices. She soon appeared, led on by -Petipa, and in looks more expressive than words, spoke her -thanks for the kindness which she has received and merited. -Wreaths and bouquets were plenteously showered on the -dancer, and our artist has attempted a representation of the -enthusiastic scene.</p> - -<p>“After the performances, Mr. Bunn gave an elegant -supper in the grand saloon of the theatre to about seventy -of his friends and patrons. The entertainment was intended -as a complimentary leave-taking to Carlotta Grisi, on her -quitting London to fulfil her engagements in Paris. After -proposing the health of Carlotta Grisi, Mr. Bunn presented -that lady with a superb bracelet of black enamel, richly -ornamented with diamonds, as a slight <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">souvenir</i> of her highly -successful career at Drury Lane Theatre. Attached to the -bracelet was the following inscription: ‘<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Présenté à Mlle. -Carlotta Grisi, la danseuse la plus poétique de l’univers, avec -les hommages respectueux de son directeur A. Bunn, Théâtre -Royal, Drury Lane, 18th November, 1843.</i>’”</p> -</div> - -<p>A contemporary enthusiast, writing of her in 1846, said: -“Her name is henceforth inseparably connected with the -charming and poetic creations which her own grace and -beauty have immortalised: ‘Giselle,’ ‘Beatrix,’ ‘La Péri,’ -have attained a celebrity equal to that of ‘La Sylphide’ and -‘La Fille du Danube,’ and the most devoted admirer of -Taglioni can scarcely refuse a tribute of homage to the -bewitching elegance of Carlotta Grisi. Wherever she goes, -her reception is the same; if she is idolised in Paris, she is -adored in London. The impression produced by her performance<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_239"></a>[239]</span> -of ‘La Péri,’ at Drury Lane, in 1843, will not be -easily forgotten, and her more recent triumph in the ‘Pas de -Quatre’ is still fresh in the recollection of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">habitués</i> of the -Opera. Nor must we omit her last creations of Mazourka -in the ‘Diable à Quatre’ and ‘Paquita.’ It is impossible -to describe the fascinating <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">naïveté</i> of her manner, the arch -and lively humour of her pantomime, and the extraordinary -precision and grace of her dancing!” High praise, certainly! -But, evidently not exaggerated, for all contemporary accounts -of Grisi are equally enthusiastic.</p> - -<p>Carlotta’s married life was not entirely happy. She had -many admirers, and her husband had a temper, and though -she always kept the former at a discreet distance, the latter -was not so easily managed, and after a few years of marriage, -which had apparently been entered upon more as a matter of -mutual interest than mutual affection, she and her husband -agreed to separate. Grisi left the stage in 1857 at the climax -of her success, and retired to live quietly in Switzerland, -where she died only a few years ago.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_240"></a>[240]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII<br /><br /> -FANNY CERITO (“ONDINE”)</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">Of</span> the great quartette, Cerito was the especial pet of -London audiences, among whom she was always known -as the “divine” Fanny.</p> - -<p>This but echoed the pretty worship of her good old father -to whom she was always “La Divinita,” and who in the -heyday of her success used to go about with his pockets -stuffed with her old shoes, and fragments of the floral crowns -which had been thrown to her on the stage.</p> - -<p>From the time of her birth at Naples, in 1821, he had -guarded her, and his pride in her talent and her triumphs -was but natural, seeing how young she was, how early she -won fame, and how great was her charm.</p> - -<p>She made her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the San Carlo, Naples, in 1835, -in a ballet called “The Horoscope.” She then toured, -appearing at most of the Italian cities. Even before she had -left Italy she had earned, on her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at Milan, the complimentary -title of “the fourth Grace,” one of the many -“fourth” Graces the world has seen since ancient classic -days!</p> - -<p>After Italy there followed a couple of years at Vienna and -then, strangely enough, reversing the customary order of -things, her London <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> was made some years before she -appeared in Paris. She was seen regularly in London for -some seasons from 1840 onwards.</p> - -<p>In May, 1841, she appeared at Her Majesty’s, in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_241"></a>[241]</span> -“Lac des Fées,” with great success; in June “Sylphide” -was revived for her, and on August 12th she took her benefit, -to which people flocked from all parts of London and, notwithstanding -the usual deserted state of town at such a time, -the audience was one of the biggest and most fashionable on -record. Then she went on a brief visit to Liverpool, and then -returned for a time to Vienna.</p> - -<p>It was in the two ballets, “Alma” and “Ondine,” that -the beauteous Fanny achieved her greatest triumphs, in the -former representing a fire-spirit, in the latter, a water-nymph -given, as was Hans Andersen’s little Mermaid, mortal life -and form.</p> - -<p>She appeared in “Alma,” a ballet by Deshayes, on its first -production in London during July, 1842, on the night when -the famous “Persiani” row took place, and which was said -to be worse than several similar riots in the previous year at -the Opera. Mme. Persiani had been “too ill to sing,” and -the audience had been incredulous. Comparative quiet was -at length secured by the respected manager, Lumley, and, -as a journal of the time quaintly records: “A beautiful, -sylph-like Cerito, danced in the splendid ballet of ‘Alma,’ and -by her inspiration hushed the stormy elements with a repose -that ought always to reign when genius and talent are -supreme.”</p> - -<p>Another chronicler speaks of the “new and glittering -ballet of ‘Alma,’ which reflects the greatest credit on the -inventor, M. Deshayes,” and adds: “We have no hesitation -in saying that this is the ballet of all ballets, and carries our -memory back to our young, innocent and merry days of -juvenility, when care was not care, and tears not tears of -woe, to the days of bright sunny smiles, when fairies in our -eyes <em>were</em> fairies, and when the brilliant realisations of the -doings of ‘Cherry and Fair Star’ were real, existing things of -creation, and part and parcelling of our then dreamy nature<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_242"></a>[242]</span> -and being. Such is the new ballet of ‘Alma.’ It is one of -the best ever put on the opera boards.” That this impression -was created was due certainly to the talent, both as actress -and dancer, of Cerito, for whom the ballet had been specially -composed.</p> - -<p>Apropos of her great popularity in London a contemporary -record mentions an interesting “fact which will bear testimony -at once to her perfect embodiment of the poetry of -motion and her excellent private character,” namely, that -“The Queen Dowager of England was lately graciously -pleased to bestow on her a splendid enamel brooch, set with -diamonds, and accompanied by a most flattering message.”</p> - -<p>“Alma” was succeeded in the following year by “Ondine,” -also composed specially for her, by Perrot, with admirable -music by Pugni, and produced at Her Majesty’s on June 22nd, -1843. The plot is somewhat like that of Hans Andersen’s -story, “The Little Mermaid,” and the production gave -Cerito fine opportunities for expressive miming as well as -dancing, one of the great moments of the ballet being the -scene in which the little Naiad realises at last the mortal life -which has been given her, when, for the first time she sees -her shadow cast by the moonlight; and then came one of -the chief sensations of the ballet—Cerito’s dancing of the -famous <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas de l’ombre</i>, a thing of such beauty that the -audience wished it a joy for ever.</p> - -<p>Cerito made her Parisian <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> with success in 1847, in -a ballet called “La Fille de Marbre,” composed by St. Leon.</p> - -<p>A French critic, speaking of her personal attractions, -described her as “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">petite et dodue ... les bras ronds et d’un -contour moelleux, les yeux bleus, le sourire facile, la jambe forte, -le pied petit, mais épais, la chevelure blonde, mais rebelle</i>.” A -charming little picture.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp64" id="i242a-l" style="max-width: 26.9375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_242a-l.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Fanny Cerito and St. Leon</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp64" id="i242a-r" style="max-width: 26.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_242a-r.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Lucille Grahn and Perrot</div> -</div> - - -<p>Another critic wrote: “Short in stature and round in -frame, Cerito is one example of how grace will overcome the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_243"></a>[243]</span> -lack of personal elegance, how mental animation will convey -vivacity and attraction to features which, in repose, are -heavy and inexpressive. With a figure which would be too -redundant, were it not for its extreme flexibility and abandon, -Cerito is yet a charming <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">artiste</i>, who has honourably earned a -high popularity and deservedly retained it.”</p> - -<p>Some idea of her style as a dancer, as well as of her personal -appearance, is afforded by another contemporary who -described her as “bondante and abondante.”</p> - -<p>Among her other successes were “La Vivandière” and -“Le Diable au Violon.” For the last-named the violin was -played by St. Leon, the violinist and ballet-master, whom -she married. She separated from him in 1850. In April, -1854, she won a striking success in a ballet, “Gemma,” which -she had composed in collaboration with Théophile Gautier—a -great admirer of her—and she retired later in the same -year.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_244"></a>[244]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX<br /><br /> -LUCILE GRAHN (“EOLINE”)</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">Lucile Grahn</span> was born at Copenhagen, June 30th, -1821, and is said to have been so delighted with a -ballet to which she was taken when only four years old, that -she forthwith insisted on learning to dance, and made her -regular theatrical <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> as Cupid when she was seven!</p> - -<p>For a time she left the stage in order to pursue her studies -as a dancer. After seven years of the usual and always -taxing training she reappeared, at the age of fourteen, first -in “La Muette de Portici,” following with success in a ballet -of her own composition, “Le Cinq Seul,” then creating the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i> of the Princess Astride, in a ballet entitled “Waldemar,” -and followed with the title-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i> in “Hertha,” both Scandinavian -in subject.</p> - -<p>Then she proceeded to Paris, and after studying a while -under Barrez, was recalled suddenly to Copenhagen to take -part in a fête arranged in honour of the Queen of Denmark, -and so did not make her Parisian <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> until she appeared -at the Opera in “Le Carnaval de Venise,” in 1838, in which -she achieved an immediate success, only excelled in the -following year when she captured all Parisians’ hearts in -the ballet which Taglioni had already made famous—“Sylphide.”</p> - -<p>Unhappily, in the spring of 1840, her career was interrupted -by an accident while rehearsing a <em>variation</em> which -she was to perform at the benefit of Madame Falcon, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_245"></a>[245]</span> -singer; and in consequence of inflammation of the knee -she was laid up for some time in spite of the most careful -attention. She never appeared at the Paris Opera again; -but in the next few years her recovery was sufficient to allow -of her achieving many successes in London, as well as taking -part in the famous Quartette.</p> - -<p>In 1844 she appeared in “Lady Henriette” at Drury -Lane, and in the following Spring was engaged for the entire -season of the Italian Opera at Her Majesty’s, where she -won the most dazzling of her successes in a ballet entitled -“Eoline,” produced in April, 1845.</p> - -<p>A contemporary critic records the production in the -following amusingly naïve terms: “The ballet ‘Eoline,’ -with its poetic story, and its lovely feminine features (<i>sic</i>), -was the great hit of the first night, spite the difficulties of -complicated scenery and mechanical effects. The ballet -worked wonders, and Lucile Grahn exhibits nightly the most -delightful grace and modesty of deportment, in addition to -certainty and aplomb of position, reminding one of Canova’s -masterpieces of sculpture.”</p> - -<p>Grahn made a great success as Catarina in “La Fille du -Bandit,” during May, 1848. According to one critic it -“exhibited her talents in a higher degree than anything -she has previously appeared in. As the bandit’s daughter -she assumes a dignified bearing, like that of one born to -command, and supports it throughout whether in dancing -or action ... and the grace of her solos commands numerous -encores.”</p> - -<p>Yet greater success followed in “Le Jugement de Pâris,” -the honours therein, however, being shared with Cerito -and Taglioni. This appearance was in connection with -one of the most striking sensations of the theatrical season of -1848 (certainly the most remarkable in the history of ballet, -save for the famous <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Pas de Quatre</i> of three years before),<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_246"></a>[246]</span> -namely, the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Pas des Déesses</i>, which was performed in the -presence of Her Majesty Queen Victoria.</p> - -<p>Even the Russians of our day never evoked greater excitement -or enthusiasm than that which greeted the appearance -of these three great dancers of the ’forties in one ballet. A contemporary -critic, contrasting the production with that of the -former <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Pas de Quatre</i> remarked that “for poetry of idea and -execution the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Pas des Déesses</i> has decidedly the advantage,” -and goes on to say: “Besides this, though the attention is -principally directed to the three great <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuses</i>, yet the -grouping is rendered far more effective by the addition of -other actors.</p> - -<p>“The <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Pas des Déesses</i> has another recommendation; it is -longer, and the intervals while the three ‘stars’ are resting -themselves, are filled up by the charming butterfly steps -of Louise Taglioni, and the most incredible feats on the -part of St. Leon and Perrot. In fact, all here surpass themselves—of -Taglioni, Grahn, Cerito, each in turn seems to -obtain the advantage—though, of course, the palm is finally -adjudged by each spectator accordingly as his taste is -originally inclined. For ourselves, as critics, obliged to put -away all previous predilections, we are compelled to confess -that each in her peculiar style, in this <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas</i>, reaches the <em>ne plus -ultra</em> of her art, and each is different.</p> - -<p>“Though the styles of Taglioni and Lucille Grahn at -first sight would seem to be identical, yet they have both -their own peculiar characteristics. The buoyant energy -of Grahn contrasts with that peculiar quietness that marks -Taglioni’s most daring feats, while Cerito, who by her very -smallness of stature, seems fitted by nature for another -style of dancing, bounds to and fro, as though in the plenitude -of enjoyment. We have never seen either of these -great <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuses</i> achieve such wonders as in this <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas</i>. The -improvement of Lucile Grahn is, above all, marvellous; she<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_247"></a>[247]</span> -introduces a step entirely new and exquisitely graceful; -and, though it must be of most difficult achievement, she -executes it with an ease and lightness which gives her the -appearance of flying. It is a species of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">valse renversée</i> on a -grand scale. One of the most effective moments with Cerito -is that in which she comes on with St. Leon, executing a -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">jetés battus</i> in the air, and, at the same moment, turning her -head suddenly to catch a sight of the much-desired apple. -This never fails to elicit thunders of applause, and an encore.</p> - -<p>“As for Taglioni, after taking the most daring leaps in her -own easy and exquisitely graceful manner, she flits across -the stage with a succession of steps, which, though perfectly -simple, are executed with such inconceivable lightness and -such enchanting grace, as invariably to call forth one of the -most enthusiastic encores we ever remember to have witnessed; -in fact, from beginning to end of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i>, all the -spectators are kept in a state of excitement, which finds vent -in clappings, in shoutings, and <em>bravas</em>, occasionally quite -deafening.”</p> - -<p>The reference to the styles of Taglioni and Lucile Grahn -as being almost “identical” is made additionally interesting -by the discerning manner in which the critic contrasts the -“buoyant energy of Grahn” with that “peculiar quietness” -that marked Taglioni’s most daring efforts.</p> - -<p>Both had studied in the traditional school and to that -extent were bound to be somewhat similar. Their differences -were due to physique and temperament, Grahn, the fair -Dane, was somewhat heavier in build, had always been -stronger and was also younger than Taglioni, who, weakly -in childhood, had always been of more <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">raffinée</i> build and -temperament, and was now perhaps a shade less energetic -than in the days when she had delighted London with her -earliest appearances some fifteen years before. Still, that -“peculiar quietness” had always distinguished her and was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_248"></a>[248]</span> -that very quality which had made her so ideal an exponent -of “Sylphide.”</p> - -<p>Lucile Grahn, who was tall, slim, with blue eyes and -blonde hair, was said, as regards her dancing, to possess -“less strength than Elssler, less flexibility than Taglioni, -but more of both than anyone else.”</p> - -<p>She appeared in London each season until 1848, when the -arrival of Jenny Lind created such a craze for Opera—and -for Jenny Lind—that Ballet temporarily lost its attraction -for London audiences. She comes close to our own times, for -she died at Munich in the spring of 1907.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_249"></a>[249]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX<br /><br /> -THE DECLINE AND REVIVAL</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">Following</span> what may be called “the Taglioni era” -came a period of comparative dullness. There <em>were</em> successors -who charmed their audiences in London, in Paris, in -Rome, Vienna and America. There was the brilliant Caroline -Rosati; the stately Amalia Ferraris; dashing Rita Sangalli—who -married a Baron; dainty Rosita Mauri; Petipa, -Fabbri, and others whose name and fame were brilliant but -transient. But these, you will say, were all foreigners. -Had we no English ballet dancers? Well, it may safely be -said that Ballet in England was never more thoroughly -English, or more thoroughly banal, than for some twenty -years before and after the Taglioni period.</p> - -<p>From 1850 onwards it was the period of the Great Utilities, -of which Ballet was not one! Save for a few good examples -later at the old Canterbury Music Hall, with Miss -Phyllis Broughton as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première danseuse</i>, at Weston’s Music -Hall, Holborn, and at the Alhambra under Strange’s -management, and some good productions at the Crystal -Palace arranged by M. Leon Espinosa, it was practically -a close time for artistic dance and ballet for something like -a quarter of a century.</p> - -<p>The state of public disfavour into which the art had fallen -is well seen from the interesting extract from the <cite>Era -Almanack</cite> of 1872, in which one reads: “Judging from -Mr. Mapleson’s extensive productions the ballet was another<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_250"></a>[250]</span> -sheet anchor on which he relied. Madame Katti Lanner, a -Viennese <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuse</i> of great repute, was, with other foreign -artists, engaged for the <em>express purpose of reviving an -interest in the old-fashioned, elaborate ballet of action</em>. The -experiment was boldly made, but failed; and it is clear that -all modern audiences care for is an incidental <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i> -which may mean something or nothing. As for a story -worked out by clever pantomime, people refuse to stay and -see it, and the deserted appearance of the theatre while -‘Giselle’ and other ballets were in progress was a significant -hint that incidental dances only are appreciated by opera-goers -of the present day. The ballets invented by Madame -Katti Lanner were ‘La Rose de Séville,’ ‘Hvika’ and one -or two nameless <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissements</i>. She danced in them all, and -in the first act of ‘Giselle.’”</p> - -<p>Thus, London audiences from, roughly, 1850 to 1870, -had not that burning interest in the art of ballet which they -had displayed for the twenty years or so preceding 1850; -indeed, they had little or no interest in it. In Paris conditions -were much the same. There were dancers of some ability -and transient popularity, as we have noted, but no ballet and -no dancer appeared of outstanding merit such as those of the -great periods of the eighteenth century, the mid-nineteenth, -or such as we have seen to-day. Even dancing, apart from -ballet, was of comparatively little interest.</p> - -<p>In London, with the ’eighties came the dear old Gaiety -and another <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas de quatre</i>, that in “Faust Up-to-Date,” a very -different one from that of the ’forties, not the toe-dancing of -classic ballet, but step-dancing of the characteristic and -admirable English school; and it was a very bright and -inspiring dance done with tremendous <em>verve</em> by the Misses -Florence Levey, Lillian Price, Maud Wilmot, and Eva Greville.</p> - -<p>Supreme, however, as an exponent of the English school -of dancing was, unquestionably, Kate Vaughan, who, with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_251"></a>[251]</span> -Sylvia Grey, Alice Lethbridge, Letty Lind, and others of that -period, and for well into the ’nineties, were the delight of -London.</p> - -<p>Kate Vaughan herself was one of the most distinguished -dancers England has ever had—distinguished for incomparable -grace, finish, and characteristically English refinement -of manner. There were no ragged edges to her work. -Her art was—as all good art must be—deliberate; her -every pose and movement beautiful, and always instinct -with the quintessence of a special and personal charm that -never failed her to the end. I saw her dance, shortly before -her death, at a concert given on behalf of one of the various -charities which arose out of the Boer War; and all the art -and all the charm which had made Kate Vaughan a stage -influence in her time were as amply evident as when she had -first delighted us some twenty years before.</p> - -<p>With the ’eighties came the rise of the Ballet as a regular -London institution, on the founding of those two veteran -Vaudeville houses, the Empire and the Alhambra, where for -about a quarter of a century, practically without interruption, -Ballet was the chief item on their always varied and attractive -programmes. Of course, there was in 1884 the famous production -of Manzotti’s great ballet “Excelsior” at Her -Majesty’s Theatre; but it was not really until the opening -of the two aforenamed houses that we had a real revival of -Ballet in London apart from the Opera, and without that -State-aid which the art receives on the Continent.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_252"></a>[252]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXI">CHAPTER XXXI<br /><br /> -THE ALHAMBRA: 1854-1903</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">Both</span> the Alhambra and the Empire were alike in having -had a somewhat varied career before they became the -rival “homes of English ballet.”</p> - -<p>There was something like a craze for music-halls in the -early ’sixties of last century, and it was probably partly due -to this that the Alhambra, which had been opened in 1854 -as a Panopticon of the Arts and Sciences (with a Royal -Charter granted by Queen Victoria in 1850) failing of its -more ambitious purpose, ceased (unsuccessfully) to instruct, -and sought (with better success) only to amuse.</p> - -<p>First it was given over to more or less unorthodox religious -services on the Sundays and to boxing contests and wrestling -on the week days! Then for a time it came under the direction -of a then well-known theatrical manager and speculator, the -late Mr. E. T. Smith, who called it the Alhambra, and in 1870 -secured a regular music-hall licence. The place was still not -very successful. It became a circus for a short time.</p> - -<p>Then it was taken over by a Mr. William Wilde, of Nottingham, -who introduced Leotard, the famous gymnast, about -whose wonderful grace and daring London went mad, so -much so that on his return visit in 1866, under the late John -Hollingshead’s management, he received a salary of £180 a -week.</p> - -<p>Then Mr. Frederick Strange, who had been connected -with the Crystal Palace, became manager and introduced<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_253"></a>[253]</span> -ballet, his most notable production being one called -“L’Enfant Prodigue,” which was adapted from Auber’s -opera. Mr. Jules Riviere was the conductor of the orchestra; -and among those who became responsible for the arranging -of the ballets were the brothers Imré and Bolossy Kiralfy, -assisted by their sister Aniola, one of their most successful -productions being one entitled “Hungary.”</p> - -<p>At this period the old quarrel between the young “music-halls” -and the “legitimate” theatres was growing serious. -A ballet might be produced so long as it was called and was, -in effect, a mere <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i>. Anything else, a musical -sketch, or opera—in which words were said or sung—was -held an infringement of the rights of a regular theatre, and -when John Hollingshead, as stage director during 1865-1867, -produced in 1866 a pantomime called “Where’s the Police?” -the management were fined by a magistrate some two hundred -and forty pounds. Apart from ballet and such a production -as this pantomime, there was, of course, plenty of the -“variety” element, contributed by such performers as -Leotard, the Farinis, and the Foucarts, gymnasts; and -various vocalists known to their period.</p> - -<p>With the dawn of the ’seventies came a new taste for -ballet and “Les Nations” was staged at the Alhambra with -a Mlle. Colonna and other dancers, including Esther Austin -(a sister of Emily Soldene) in the cast; and a “Parisian -Quadrille” became a feature of the production.</p> - -<p>Then came a season of “Promenade” Concerts, and during -the Franco-Prussian war the conductor, Mr. Jules Riviere, -gave the “War Songs of Europe,” those of the French and -Prussian nations evoking such passion that free fights occurred, -and the theatre lost its music-hall licence; and the Directors -of the Alhambra Company promptly secured a regular theatre -licence from the Lord Chamberlain!</p> - -<p>So on April 24th, 1871, the place was opened as the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_254"></a>[254]</span> -Alhambra Theatre, with an evening’s entertainment including -a farce, “Oh, My Head!”; a comic opera, “The Crimson -Scarf”; and two ballets, “The Beauties of the Harem” -and “Puella.” Then followed another ballet “The Sylph -of the Glen”; and then “A Romantic Tale,” by J. B. -Johnston, and an extravaganza, “All About the Battle of -Dorking.”</p> - -<p>In September of the same year the Vokes, a famous family -of dancers, made their appearance, the programme including -“The Two Gregorys,” a comic ballet, and “The Mountain -Sylph,” and “The Beauties of the Harem,” in which a -Mlle. Sismondi appeared with much success. The Christmas -pantomime which followed, with the title “Harlequin Prince -Happy-go-Lucky, or Princess Beauty” (a title quite in the -good old pantomime style), included a ballet, with such -performers as Mlles. Pitteri, Sismondi, and another well-known -dancing family, the Elliots.</p> - -<p>There was a change of management in March, 1872, when -John Baum, from Cremorne Gardens, took up the reins and -produced Offenbach’s “Le Roi Carotte,” with M. Jacobi as -musical director, and ballets as a feature of the production. -Then followed “The Black Crook,” and Offenbach’s beautiful -opera, “La Belle Hélène,” and then, in December, 1873, -“Don Juan,” in each of the last two Miss Kate Santley -playing “lead.”</p> - -<p>In the spring of next year came “La Jolie Parfumeuse,” -followed in the autumn with a ballet, “The Demon’s Bride,” -and “Whittington,” an <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">opéra bouffe</i>, in which the honours -were shared by Miss Kate Santley and Miss Julia Mathews.</p> - -<p>In the autumn of 1875, with Mr. Joseph A. Cave as Manager -and producer, came “Spectresheim,” and a comic ballet, -“Cupid in Arcadia,” in which the Lauri family and “The -Majiltons” appeared. A succession of farces, pantomimes, -extravaganzas, light opera and ballets followed, the more<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_255"></a>[255]</span> -noteworthy productions being Strauss’s “Die Fledermaus,” -produced at the Alhambra on January 9th, 1877.</p> - -<p>As an example of the lavish manner in which the audiences -of those days were catered for, the programme for that -evening is interesting. There was none of the “9 to 11” -business about the theatres then. The “gallery boy” paid -his sixpence, or the “pittite” his two shillings expecting a -run for his money—and got it! The majority of theatres -began their performance at 7.15 p.m.; and those that did -not, started even earlier, sometimes as early as six o’clock, and -often with four or five productions. On January 9th, 1877, -the programme at the Alhambra was as follows:</p> - - -<table class="autotable fs90" summary=""> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">7.15.</td> -<td class="tdl">“A Warning to Parents.”</td> -<td class="tdl">A Farce.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">8.0.</td> -<td class="tdl">“Die Fledermaus.”</td> -<td class="tdl">Opera Comique by Johann Strauss.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">10.0.</td> -<td class="tdl">The Celebrated Girards.</td> -<td class="tdl">Eccentric Dancers.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">10.15.</td> -<td class="tdl">“The Fairies’ Home.”</td> -<td class="tdl">A New Grand Ballet.</td> -</tr> -</table> - - -<p>“Die Fledermaus” had an excellent cast, including Miss -Emma Chambers—a very popular soubrette of the time—and -Mr. Harry Paulton; while in the ballet were a Mlle. -Pertoldi, a very handsome <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuse</i> of statuesque proportions, -a Mlle. T. de Gillert, a clever mime, and among lesser -lights Mlles. Sismondi, Melville, Rosa and Richards, who -were for several years to be more or less prominently associated -with the Alhambra ballet.</p> - -<p>In September of the same year was staged Offenbach’s -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">opéra bouffe</i>, “Orphée aux Enfers,” with handsome, golden-tressed -Cornélie d’Anka as the chief attraction; the same -programme including the ballet of “Yolande,” “invented -and designed” by Alfred Thompson, with music by Mons. -G. Jacobi, and dances by Mons. A. Bertrand, from the Paris -Opera, who was later to become more closely associated with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_256"></a>[256]</span> -Alhambra productions. The principal <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuses</i> were Mlles. -Passani, Pertoldi, de Gillert and M. A. Josset.</p> - -<p>It has been stated that it was “towards the end of 1877” -that the late Mr. Charles Morton—one of the ablest theatrical -managers London has known—took charge of the Alhambra, -and that he started his connection therewith by reviving one -of his former great successes, namely, “La Fille de Madame -Angot.” He may have become connected with the theatre -towards the end of 1877, but apparently the first time his -name appeared on the programme as Manager was early in -January, 1878; and not with “Madame Angot” as his first -production, but with “Wildfire,” a “Grand, Spectacular, -Fairy, Musical and Pantomimic Extravaganza” (as it was -described) by the then very popular <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">collaborateurs</i>, H. B. -Farnie and R. Reece—an extra extravagant extravaganza -in three acts and fourteen tableaux!</p> - -<p>This remarkable production had a strong cast, including -Harry Paulton, J. H. Ryley, two charming singers, Miss -Lennox Grey and Miss Pattie Laverne; and among the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuses</i> in the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i>—Mlles. Pertoldi, de Gillert -and Sismondi.</p> - -<p>Next month came a triple bill, starting at 7.20 with a -farce, “Crowded Houses”; then, at 8, “La Fille de Madame -Angot,” with Mlles. Cornélie d’Anka, Selina Dolaro and -Lennox Grey as the bright particular stars; followed, at -10.30, with “Les Gardes Françaises,” a grand military -ballet; with Mlles. E. Pertoldi and T. de Gillert as the -leading artists, the dances being arranged by Mons. A. -Bertrand, the whole production proving very successful.</p> - -<p>Much of its success—as in the case of the two or three -preceding spectacles—was attributable largely to the beauty -of the staging and the splendour of the costumes, apropos -to which it should be noted here that it was first in 1877 that -M. and Mme. Charles Alias first began to make costumes for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_257"></a>[257]</span> -the Alhambra, and were associated with it in several subsequent -productions until the end of 1883.</p> - -<p>It was not, however, until 1884, when the Magistrate’s -licence for music and dancing was again recovered, that -M. Alias (to whom I am indebted for several details of the -theatre’s history) regularly took up the position of Costumier -to the Alhambra, in which capacity he had entire control of the -costume department—a very important factor in spectacular -production—and supplied every dress worn on the stage -for a period of about thirty years. Considering that there -were some nine or ten complete changes of management -during that time it speaks volumes for his ability and -the excellence of the work done by M. Alias that his -services should have been retained through so lengthy a period.</p> - -<p>To return, however, to the days when the Alhambra -was not a “music-hall” but a theatre, with the Lord -Chamberlain’s licence, and was giving <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">opéra comique</i> and -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">opéra bouffe</i> as well as ballet. Charles Morton’s next production, -in April, 1878, was another Offenbach revival, -namely, “The Grand Duchess,” with Mlle. Cornélie d’Anka, -Miss Rose Lee and J. D. Stoyle (“Jimmy” Stoyle), Pertoldi -and T. de Gillert in the cast, M. Bertrand (by now engaged -as “resident” ballet-master) introducing two ballets, one -Hungarian and the other Bohemian.</p> - -<p>In the following June came the production of Von Suppé’s -comic opera, “Fatinitza,” adapted by Henry S. Leigh, with the -late Aynsley Cook, Miss Rose Lee, John J. Dallas and other -popular stars in the cast. It was preceded by a farce, “Which -is Which,” and followed by a “grand Indian” <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballet d’action</i> -by the late J. Albery, entitled “The Golden Wreath,” -arranged by Bertrand, with music by Jacobi, and with -Mlles. G. David, E. Pertoldi and T. de Gillert as dancers. -It was, from all accounts, a very gorgeous production. -Indeed, so successful was it that when Offenbach’s “Geneviève<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_258"></a>[258]</span> -de Brabant” was staged in the autumn, this ballet was -“still running.”</p> - -<p>The sensation of the following spring was the production -of “La Poule aux Œufs d’Or,” a “new grand Spectacular -and Musical <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">féerie</i>,” by MM. Denhery and Clairville, adapted -to the English stage by Frank Hall, with a very strong cast -including such well-known favourites as Constance Loseby, -Emily Soldene, Clara Vesey, Violet Granville, the celebrated -French duettists Bruet and Rivière, Aynsley Cook, E. Righton -(“Teddy” Righton), with Pertoldi and de Gillert as leading -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuses</i>.</p> - -<p>In the autumn came a revival of Offenbach’s “The Princess -of Trebizonde,” with Miss Alice May, Miss Constance Loseby, -Miss Emma Chambers, Mr. Charles Collette, Mr. Furneaux -Cook, in the cast, the opera being followed by “Le Carnaval -de Venise,” a ballet in which that fine, statuesque dancer and -expressive mime, Mme. Malvina Cavallazi—later to become -so great a favourite with the Empire’s audiences—was -supported by Mlle. de Gillert and other Alhambra favourites, -and for which, as in the case of many ballets at this period—the -gorgeous costumes were from designs by Faustin.</p> - -<p>This was succeeded by Lecocq’s comic opera “La Petite -Mademoiselle,” of which the English libretto was by Reece -and Henry S. Leigh, a very brilliant cast including the late -Fred Leslie, Harry Paulton, Constance Loseby, Emma -Chambers and Alice May, the opera being preceded by a -farce and followed by a ballet, “Carmen,” dances by Bertrand -and music by Jacobi.</p> - -<p>On December 22nd, 1879, came the production of “Rothomago,” -a “Grand, New, Christmas Fairy Spectacle,” arranged -by H. B. Farnie from the French, in four acts and <em>seventeen -tableaux</em>! It was the day of big adjectives and big productions.</p> - -<p>This apparently started the modern fashion of requiring<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_259"></a>[259]</span> -a positive syndicate of musical collaborators, for the late -Edward Solomon was responsible for the music of the First -Act, P. Bucalossi for the Second, Gaston Serpette (composer -of “Les Cloches de Corneville”) for the Third, no less than -three ballets being contributed by Jacobi. The cast included -Constance Loseby, Mlle. Julie, Emma Chambers, Harry -Paulton, Pertoldi, de Gillert, Rosselli; the costumes were -designed by Mr. C. Wilhelm, and executed, as were so many -of the costumes for these earlier productions, by Madame -Alias, Miss Fisher and Mrs. May.</p> - -<p>The spring of 1880 was marked by the successful production -of Offenbach’s “La Fille du Tambour-Major,” with -an excellent cast including Constance Loseby, Edith Blande, -Fanny Edwards, the fascinating Fanny Leslie—who later -became so popular a “variety artiste”—Fred Leslie, and -Fred Marvin. It was followed by a gorgeous Egyptian ballet -“Memnon,” in which Mlle. Pertoldi, Miss Matthews—a very -handsome English dancer—and Mlles. Rosa and Marie -Muller (pupils of Mme. Katti Lanner) were the chief attractions, -not to mention Ænea, known as the “Flying Wonder.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Charles Morton left the Alhambra in 1881, and a -striking success was achieved by the new manager, Mr. -William Holland, with “Babil and Bijou,” the cast including -Miss Rosa Berend, Miss Constance Loseby, Harry Paulton, and -Harry Monkhouse; while in the two grand ballets arranged -by Bertrand and for which the dresses were designed by -Mr. Wilhelm, were to be seen Mlle. Pertoldi, and Mme. -Palladino, a <em>petite</em> and fascinating dancer who later -was to become one of the leading favourites at the -Empire.</p> - -<p>In December, 1882, the theatre was burnt down, and -on rebuilding various successful productions were staged. -The house, however, did not really enter upon its most -triumphant phase until October, 1884, when it became the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_260"></a>[260]</span> -Alhambra Theatre of Varieties, with ballet now as its main -attraction.</p> - -<p>The first of the productions was “A Village Festival,” a -new grand ballet of Olden Times, with Mlle. Palladino as -the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première danseuse</i>. It was followed in the December with -another, a very successful ballet, “The Swans,” with Mlle. -Palladino and a Miss Mathews, a very popular dancer in her -day. On the Christmas Eve yet another was staged, -“Melusine,” a new fantastic ballet, in which a Mlle. Sampietro -was supported by Miss Mathews. “Nina the Enchantress”; -“Le Bivouac”—a military spectacle; “Cupid;” -“The Seasons”; “Nadia”; “Algeria”; “Dresdina”; “Enchantment”; -“Antiope”; “Ideala,” a “pastoral divertissement”; -“Irene”—a fantastic ballet; “Our Army and -Navy”—patriotic spectacle; “Astrea,” were progressively -successful productions.</p> - -<p>“Asmodeus”; “Zanetta” followed, bringing us to June, -1890, and these too, were notable for some gorgeous stage -effects which drew “all London,” and for the dancing of -principals such as the two already mentioned, and of Mme. -Cormani, Signorina Legnani, Signorina Bessone, Mme. Roffey -and Signor de Vicenti, the last named being for many years -associated with the Alhambra productions.</p> - -<p>“Salandra,” given for the first time on June 23rd, 1890, -was a remarkably fine production, and with the late Charles -Morton as Acting Manager, Vernon Dowsett as Stage Manager, -Mr. T. E. Ryan for Scenic Artist, Signor Casati as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître de -ballet</i>, M. and Mme. Alias responsible for the costumes; -and a superb orchestra of fifty instrumentalists under Mons. -G. Jacobi, the Alhambra’s new era of growing prosperity was -now assured.</p> - -<p>The ballet was in five tableaux, and involved some striking -changes of scene. The heroine, Salandra (Signorina Legnani) -was a Gipsy Queen, and the opening scene introduced various<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_261"></a>[261]</span> -Tzigane dances. There was an exciting wrestling match, and a -lively hunting dance in the third tableau; a charming fair -scene in the last, and the whole production exhibited to the -full those characteristics of brightness, efficiency of performance, -and splendour of stage effect, which were long to -mark the Alhambra as a house of distinction and one high -in popular favour.</p> - -<p>For Christmas of that year “The Sleeping Beauty” -proved attractive, and was followed in 1891, by “On the -Roofs,” a “pantomime ballet” by the famous Lauri troupe. -“Oriella,” a new fantastic ballet—described as “the most -beautiful of all” then produced at the Alhambra—followed; -then a musical pantomime by Charles Lauri, “The Sculptor -and the Poodle”; then a comic ballet, “The Sioux,” by -Charles Lauri and his troupe, with music by Mr. Walter -Slaughter; and in September, 1892, came “Up the River,” -a very popular production invented by the late John -Hollingshead (who was now Manager) in which the rural -and riverside scenery by Mr. T. E. Ryan was very much -admired; the scenic effects—including a remarkable storm—being -admirably managed; the ballet capitally performed; -and M. Jacobi’s flowing and richly orchestrated -music proving better than ever.</p> - -<p>“Temptation,” a “new, grand fantastic ballet, in three -tableaux,” invented and arranged by Signor Carlo Coppi, -with scenery by Ryan, and music by M. Jacobi, was a big -and very successful production, in which a Signorina Elia, -as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première</i>, made a hit.</p> - -<p>The production of “Aladdin” by John Hollingshead -on December 19th, 1892, called forth tributes of praise for -the enterprising and ingenious Manager. The familiar story -was well kept to, the situations were telling, and the four -changes of scene were effected without once lowering the -curtain, while the last, “The Veil of Diamonds,” was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_262"></a>[262]</span> -amazing. A tableau curtain of glass was introduced, composed -of some 75,000 glass facets held together by <em>twenty-four -miles</em> of wire, and illuminated by various electric and other -lights of different colours, the whole achieving one of the -most wonderful effects ever seen on the stage, one not easily -forgotten.</p> - -<p>The cast was a strong one, Signorina Legnani—a finished -dancer of the typical Italian school—as the Princess; Mlle. -Marie, a charming little dancer and clever mime, as Aladdin; -Signorina Pollini, as the Spirit of the Lamp; that fine actor -and dancer, Mr. Fred Storey, as the Magician; with good -support from Mme. Roffey, Miss Hooten, the Almonti -Brothers, and, of course, a wondrous array of beauty among -the Alhambra <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">corps de ballet</i>. Mr. Bruce Smith had provided -artistic scenery; Mr. Howard Russell was the designer of -the costumes—as for several of the Alhambra ballets—which -were admirably turned out as usual by M. and Mme. -Alias; and M. Jacobi had once again surpassed himself in -the music, that for the beautiful “chrysanthemum” scene -and a waltz in A, in the finale, proving especially popular.</p> - -<p>Another great success was achieved in the production -of “Chicago,” in March, 1893, a lively, up-to-date production, -which later ran into a second edition. “Fidelia,” -adapted from “Le Violon du Diable,” was a romantic ballet -that also went into a second edition. The Alhambra by now -had as Business Manager, Mr. Albert A. Gilmer, with -Mr. A. G. Ford as Stage Manager, though Signor Casati, -as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître de ballet</i>, M. G. Jacobi, as conductor and composer -of the music, were still continuing in their accustomed -spheres.</p> - -<p>Yet another success achieved under the same able direction -was “Don Quixote,” with Mr. Fred Storey as a brilliant -exponent of the title-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i>, and Signorina Porro as the Dulcinea, -La Salmoiraghi as the niece, and Mr. Fred Yarnold, as the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_263"></a>[263]</span> -Sancho Panza, other parts being well filled by Miss Julia -Seale (a handsome and clever dancer and mime long associated -with the Alhambra), Mme. Roffey, Miss Hooten and -the Almontis.</p> - -<p>The ballet was a great success with the public, and a -happy comment by a leading critic was as follows: “Within -the charming framework of the four admirably painted -scenes by Ryan there is a continuous procession of ballet -incident, the costumes quaint, picturesque, poetic, splendid, -and nevertheless suggestive always of old Spain. Mr. Howard -Russell, the designer, deserves great praise for the fancy and -versatility which he has been able to show without proving -unfaithful to his theme. While his beautiful dresses give -rare variety and character to the dances of maidservants, -pages, millers, grape-gatherers, brigands, wood-nymphs, in -the earlier portions of the piece, they are seen to really -magnificent effect in the grand gathering of all the Terpsichorean -forces of the theatre in the final tableau. The stage -organisation of the Alhambra is always good. Nowhere do -we see better mass dancing; and nowhere either do the -dancers receive more assistance from the musician. M. Jacobi’s -ballet music is as sympathetic as its tunefulness is inexhaustible. -This is M. Jacobi’s eighty-ninth ballet here.” That -last remark may come as a revelation to those who do not -realise how much of ballet we have had at two London -theatres in the past thirty years. “Don Quixote” was -M. Jacobi’s “eighty-ninth ballet” at the Alhambra, and—there -were other Jacobian productions to follow!</p> - -<p>Mr. Alfred Moul in 1894 became the General Manager of -the Alhambra and the evidences of his long associations -with the dramatic and lyric stage were quickly apparent -in the series of brilliant successes with Ballet which now -were placed to the credit of the historic house of which -he had assumed control.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_264"></a>[264]</span></p> - -<p>A marked success in the summer of the same year was -“Sita,” the story of which dealt with an Indian girl’s hopeless -love for the accepted lover of her master’s daughter.</p> - -<p>A grand spectacular ballet, on the familiar theme of “Ali -Baba and the Forty Thieves,” was the sensation of the close -of 1894, more particularly owing to the introduction of an -“aerial ballet” by the well-known Grigolati troupe. The -treatment of the story was on conventional lines, naturally, -but the ballet was gorgeously staged, and introduced an -especially attractive dancer, Signorina Cecilia Cerri, while -Mlle. Louise Agoust, as Morgiana, added to the laurels she had -already won in other productions as a first-rate mime of -dramatic character. “Bluebeard” was another popular -success on familiar lines; and “Rip Van Winkle”—with -Mr. Fred Storey, masterly as Rip—yet another, towards the -end of 1896.</p> - -<p>Mr. Alfred Moul then staged “Victoria and Merrie England,” -a “grand national ballet in eight tableaux,” the scenario -being arranged and the ballet “invented” by Signor Carlo -Coppi, the music being by no less a personage than Sir Arthur -Sullivan, M. Jacobi still conducting, while the scenery was by -Mr. T. E. Ryan, the costumes by M. and Mme. Alias from -designs by Mr. Howard Russell, the cast including Signorina -Legnani, Miss Ethel Hawthorne, Miss Julia Seale and Miss -Josephine Casaboni. The ballet was a huge success. It was -certainly one of the finest spectacular and “patriotic” -productions ever seen on the London stage, and it is one -of the proudest records of the Alhambra that the performances -were honoured with nearly a score of Royal -visits.</p> - -<p>One of the great successes of the spring of 1898 was a -grand ballet on the old theme of “Beauty and the Beast,” -invented and produced by Signor Carlo Coppi, with music -by M. Jacobi, the interest being kept up throughout in a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_265"></a>[265]</span> -<em>crescendo</em> of pageantry. The sensation of the production -was, perhaps, the second tableau, “The Garden of Roses,” in -which the popular Signorina Cerri, supported by the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">corps de -ballet</i>, appeared in a grand valse representing every known -kind of rose, each dancer being almost hidden by gigantic -presentments of the flowers—red, tea, moss roses and every -other type—a luxurious mass of living blossoms, weaving -itself into ever fresh and endless harmonies of colour and -enchantment. Yet another gorgeous effect was attained by -a Butterfly ballet, and the whole thing was one more -triumph for Mr. T. E. Ryan as scenic artist, Mr. Howard -Russell and M. Alias, responsible for the wonderful -costumes; a triumph indeed for all associated with the -production.</p> - -<p>On the retirement of Mr. Moul, which took place in 1898, -Mr. C. Dundas Slater became General Manager, with Mr. -James Howell as Business Manager, Mr. Charles Wilson as -Stage Manager, Mr. H. Woodford as Secretary and Treasurer; -and Mr. G. W. Byng as Musical Director—the last two named -gentlemen holding their appointments for many years -following.</p> - -<p>A very popular production of this year was “Jack Ashore,” -modestly described as “an unpretentious Sketchy <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Divertissement</i> -in One Tableau” which was invented and produced by -Mr. Charles Wilson, with dances arranged by Signor Pratesi, -and music by Mr. George Byng. It had a delightful early -nineteenth-century setting for its dramatic little story and -was capitally done by a cast including Miss Julia Seale, Miss -Casaboni, the Misses Grace and Sybil Arundale, Mr. Albert -Le Fre, and the Brothers Almonti.</p> - -<p>An attractive production of the following year was “A -Day Off,” which, however, was somewhat outshone by the -beauty of “The Red Shoes,” a fine spectacular ballet based -on Hans Andersen’s famous story, with a good cast including<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_266"></a>[266]</span> -Mlle. Emilienne D’Alençon, Miss Julia Seale, and Miss J. -Casaboni—a very vivacious and attractive dancer.</p> - -<p>Two noteworthy ballets of 1900 were “Napoli,” in one -scene, written by Signor Giovanni Pratesi, produced by -Mr. Charles Wilson, with music by Mr. George W. Byng; and -a patriotic military display, “Soldiers of the Queen,” produced -by Mr. Charles Wilson, under the direction of Mr. C. Dundas -Slater, the scene representing Queen’s Parade, Aldershot, -from sunrise to sunset, concluding with an Inspection and -Grand March by the combined bands of Infantry, Drums -and Fifes, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">corps de ballet</i>, chorus and auxiliaries, numbering -over two hundred and fifty, and representing some thirty -leading regiments. Needless to say, produced as it was when -patriotic feeling was at its height on account of the Boer -War, it was as successful as it was magnificent.</p> - -<p>A “romantic nautical ballet,” in three scenes, entitled -“The Handy Man,” followed in January, 1901. It was -written and produced by Mr. Charles Wilson, with music -by Mr. George W. Byng, and dances arranged by Signor Rossi. -In the same programme was a vocal <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballet divertissement</i>, -“The Gay City,” by the same author and musician, the -dances arranged by Mme. Cormani. Later this was retained, -and was followed by a “fanciful” grand ballet, entitled -“Inspiration,” invented and written by Mr. Malcolm Watson, -the music being by Mr. George W. Byng, and the dances by -Signor Carlo Coppi, the cast including Miss Audrey Stafford, -as the Goddess of Inspiration, Miss Judith Espinosa, as the -Genius of Inspiration, Miss Edith Slack, as a Greek Dancer, -Mr. Fred Farren, as Caliban, and other well-known people. -The year closed with a charming <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i>, “Gretna -Green,” and a revised edition of “Soldiers of the King.”</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp52" id="i266a-l" style="max-width: 21.9375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_266a-l.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Mlle. Palladino in “Nina” at the Alhambra</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp51" id="i266a-r" style="max-width: 21.5625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_266a-r.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><span class="pad70pc"><em>Dover St. Studios</em></span><br /> -Mlle. Britta</div> -</div> - - -<p>“In Japan,” a delightful ballet, adapted by Mr. S. L. -Bensusan, from his story, <cite>Dede</cite>, with music specially composed -by M. Louis Ganne, proved particularly attractive.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_267"></a>[267]</span> -There was a good story, the acting and dancing were unusually -good, and the mounting and stage effects, under the -direction of Mr. C. Dundas Slater and Mr. Charles Wilson, -were fresh and beautiful, especially the “Ballet of Blossoms.”</p> - -<p>The theatre at this period was now again to come under -the influence of Mr. Alfred Moul. At an Annual General -Meeting of the Shareholders at the commencement of the -year 1902, when the fortunes of the theatre seemed once more -uncertain, Mr. Moul was invited again by both Shareholders -and Directors to assume control. He responded, and within -a few weeks was installed as Chairman of the Company, once -more throwing his energies into a congenial task. One of -his first achievements was to secure the services of an old -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">protégé</i> and a now eminent musician, Mr. Landon Ronald.</p> - -<p>From the pen of that accomplished artist came the music -for a spectacular Patriotic Ballet entitled “Britannia’s -Realm,” in a prologue and four scenes, invented and produced -by Mr. Charles Wilson, with dances by Signor Carlo Coppi. -It was one of the best planned and most extraordinarily -sumptuous productions ever seen at the Alhambra, long -famous for the splendour of its effects, and while there were -several charming novelties, such as the <cite>Pas des Patineurs</cite>, in -the Canadian Skating Carnival scene (the music of which -must still haunt those who heard it), for sheer magnificence -probably nothing finer has ever been produced on the -Alhambra stage than the Indian jewel scene, and the grand -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">finale</i> representing “Homage to Britannia,” and the formation -of the Union Jack. It was a remarkable achievement, and -well deserved the enthusiasm with which, night after night -for some months, it was received.</p> - -<p>An excellent ballet of 1903 was “The Devil’s Forge,” -invented by Mr. Charles Wilson and Mme. Cormani, with -music by Mr. George Byng. This also ran for some months, -and was a charming and dramatic work, beautifully staged,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_268"></a>[268]</span> -and uncommonly well acted, particularly good work being -done by Miss Edith Slack (a clever mime) as the hero, Karl, -and Miss Marjorie Skelley, a sound and graceful dancer, as -the Fairy of the Mountain.</p> - -<p>Before this was withdrawn a delightful adaptation of -“Carmen” had been staged, with much of Bizet’s music, -ingeniously handled by Mr. George Byng, who had composed -some admirable extra numbers. It was finely staged, notable -for the strength of the cast and vitality of the entire <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">corps de -ballet</i>, but above all for the superb acting of Guerrero as -Carmen and M. Volbert as Don José.</p> - -<p>Apart from Guerrero’s fine presence, her magnificent -dancing, the breadth, realism and intensity of her acting -throughout, all of which one could never forget, there were -two particularly memorable moments of that production; -one was the fortune-telling scene, the other—the scene in -which Carmen flirts with the Lieutenant of Gendarmes in order -to lure him away from the gipsy camp, and is dividing her -attention between her flirtation and the knowledge that Don -José has only just been frustrated from stabbing her while so -engaged, by the sudden intervention of her comrades, who -are endeavouring to drag him away silently so that the -Lieutenant who is just in front shall not hear and so discover -the presence of the gipsy band.</p> - -<p>In the card scene, Guerrero gave in all its fullness the sense -of a tragic, overhanging doom. In the other, all the combined -cunning and fighting instinct of a savage animal at bay -with circumstance, and trying by sheer cunning and audacity, -to master it, came out, and it was not acting but reality, the -real Carmen of Mérimée extricating herself and her comrades -from discovery and disaster by superb daring in the use of -her dazzling, unconscionable charm.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_269"></a>[269]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXII">CHAPTER XXXII<br /><br /> -THE ALHAMBRA 1904-1914</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">There</span> was plenty of novelty and ample charm in “All -the Year Round,” a ballet in seven scenes, written -and produced by Mr. Charles Wilson, with bright and appropriate -music by the well-known <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chef d’orchestre</i> of Drury -Lane, Mr. James Glover, on January 21st, 1904, by which -time the late Mr. George Scott was Manager.</p> - -<p>It was one that should always be worth revival, with -topical modifications, and though a genuine ballet with a -central idea connecting its varied scenes, it seemed in form -somewhat to herald the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">revue</i> which has since become such -a craze. It was what one might call a ballet in free form.</p> - -<p>The chief theme was the whim of a young French Marquis, -who, having invited friends to a dinner-party and engaged a -Hungarian band for their entertainment, himself turns up -late to find that his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chef</i> is about to resign because the dinner -is spoilt, and the servants are on the verge of striking, while -the guests are dancing. Annoyed at a clock which reminds -him of his unpunctuality, he orders its destruction. The -band now “strikes” and as everything is topsy-turvy, the -young host—not too blasé to enjoy any new freak—suggests -that servants and guests shall change places. This done, -they welcome in the New Year, and on the departure of the -last guest, the butler brings his master a large Calendar -which the young man is mockingly about to destroy also, -when the Spirit of Happiness descends from it, and as he -pursues her, she asks him to learn how he may obtain Happiness<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_270"></a>[270]</span> -throughout the dawning year—thus paving the way -for a sort of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">revue</i> of the Months.</p> - -<p>The scheme gave scope for a number of charming and -novel effects and topical reference to various old festivals, -such as St. Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day; various -sports and pastimes; a river scene, a seaside bathing scene, -an August Bank Holiday Revel. But the greatest charm of -the production was in scenes where a more poetic fancy had -had free play, as in the May scene, with the approach of Spring, -a glory of white and pink may, lilac and laburnum, and -heralding the blossoms of early summer, finishing with a -ballet of swallows and May flowers.</p> - -<p>The Autumnal scene, with its ballet of wheat, cornflowers, -poppies and autumn leaves, was a charming incident and -provided an excellent contrast to the earlier scene in the -warmth of its colouring. The November scene was, rightly -enough, placed in London, on the Thames Embankment by -Cleopatra’s Needle, amid a typical London Fog; while that -of December closed with a grand Christmas ballet of holly -and mistletoe and icicles, with snow-clad tree and hedgerow -in the background.</p> - -<p>It was indeed a capital production and was still in the -programme when a new and topical ballet, “The Entente -Cordiale,” was staged on August 29th following. This also -was invented and produced by Mr. Charles Wilson, with -excellent music by Mr. Landon Ronald, and dances arranged -and composed by Signor Alfredo Curti, who was for the next -few years to be closely associated, in the capacity of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître -de ballet</i>, with the Alhambra Theatre.</p> - -<p>The opening prologue took place in the “Grove of Concordia,” -where the five Great Powers of Europe assemble -to pay homage to the Goddess of Progress. But, later, the -Demon of War enters upon the world-stage and stirs up strife -among the Nations, so that all the horrors of War are felt<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_271"></a>[271]</span> -throughout the world, until finally Peace prevails and summons -the Ambassadors to enter and the Nations to assemble in the -Temple of Peace, where the Representatives of all the Nations, -assisted by the Orders of the Legion of Honour of France and -the Garter of England, at last form a grand alliance of all the -Powers and ensure the peace of the world in one <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Grande -Entente Cordiale</i>, a scene of splendour strangely annulled in -the face of present history but, let us hope, prophetic of the -future.</p> - -<p>“Parisiana,” a grand ballet in six scenes, invented and -produced by Mr. Charles Wilson, with music by Mr. James -W. Glover, and dances arranged by Signor Alfredo Curti, -and some gorgeous costumes by Alias, from designs by -Comelli, gave us in 1905 fascinating glimpses of Paris at various -periods—1790, 1830, 1906. Among noteworthy members of -the cast were Mlle. Jane May, heroine of the earlier production -of “L’Enfant Prodigue,” and one of the finest -modern mimes; and also Miss Edith Slack, Miss Cormani, -Signor Santini, and, for a time, Signorina Maria la Bella.</p> - -<p>Between October, 1906, and May 14th, 1907, the Alhambra -underwent partial reconstruction, with complete and elaborate -redecoration, under the supervision of Mr. W. M. Brutton, -the Alhambra Company’s architect; and big as the task -was it was carried through with entire success and with additional -triumph in that it was done without closing the theatre -for a single night!</p> - -<p>Mr. Alfred Moul had now assumed the dual task of Chairman -and Managing Director, with the result that under the -influence of a gentleman of extensive theatrical experience, and -wide musical culture, the Alhambra entered upon a new and -even yet more brilliant phase of artistic success in 1907, when -“The Queen of Spades,” a striking ballet of which the action -and dances were composed and arranged by Signor Alfredo -Curti, was staged and proved so successful as to run into a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_272"></a>[272]</span> -second “edition” and continue in the programme for some -months.</p> - -<p>Signor Alfredo Curti hailed from the Scala, Milan, where -he had studied the difficult art of Ballet composition on the -historic lines laid down by the virtual founder of the Milan -school, Carlo Blasis, of whom, as of Noverre, he was a great -admirer, and about whom I had many an interesting conversation. -Signor Curti, whose scholarship in the history of -the dance was remarkable, was an enthusiastic follower -of the traditional school, and as an accomplished dancer -and mime, an artist, trained geometrician, and devotee of -literature and music, he brought to bear on his work as -composer of Ballet, a theatrical experience and artistic -sympathy, somewhat akin to that of Blasis himself; and -while the action of his ballet was always coherent and dramatic -his appreciation of stage effect and handling of massed groups -of dancers in motion, were uncommonly fine.</p> - -<p>In the production of “Queen of Spades,” a dramatic -ballet, the story of which dealt with the allure of gambling, -he was supported on the musical side by that distinguished -Italian composer, Signor Mario Costa, some additional -numbers being contributed by Mr. George W. Byng, the costumes, -of course, being by Alias, from designs by Comelli, -and scenery by Mr. T. E. Ryan.</p> - -<p>With Signorina Maria Bordin, a finished dancer of the -typical Italian school, as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">prima ballerina assoluta</i>, seconded -by that admirable mime, Miss Julia Seale, Signorina Morino, -Signor Santini, and an excellent <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">corps de ballet</i>, the production -achieved instant success, and enthusiastically appreciative -audiences found special reason for approval in the novelty -of the stage effects, such as the “Dream Visions” in the -third scene, with its “Valse des Liqueurs,” the “Grand -March of Playing Cards and Roulettes,” the novel “Bridge” -minuet; the “Conflict between Evil and Good,” not to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_273"></a>[273]</span> -mention the dramatic effect of the “Temptation” scene -which followed, and the gorgeous finale in the “Nymphs’ -Grotto of La Source.”</p> - -<p>Ambitious and successful as was this production, it was -followed, in October, 1907, by one even more striking, namely, -“Les Cloches de Corneville,” adapted from Planquette’s -world-famous <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">opéra comique</i>. The <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballet d’action</i> was invented -and presented by Signor Alfredo Curti to the original music, -as ingeniously selected, arranged and supplemented by Mr. -George W. Byng. Some wonderful costumes were supplied -by Alias from designs by Comelli, and the entire spectacle -was produced under the personal direction of Mr. Alfred -Moul. Signor G. Rosi gave an uncommonly fine study of the -miserly Gaspard, Signor Santini making a “dashing” -Marquis de Corneville, Miss Daisy Taylor an attractive -Germaine, Miss Julia Seale playing cleverly as Grenicheux, -Signorina Morino as Serpolette, while Signorina Maria Bordin -won fresh laurels as the Spirit of the Bells, a part naturally -calling less for dramatic ability than for the music of motion.</p> - -<p>The production was beautifully staged. No prettier scene -has ever been set on the Alhambra stage than that of the -Hiring Fair and Apple Harvest, with its dance of apple-gatherers -and sabot dance; nor one more gorgeous than the -last, in the Baronial Hall of the Corneville Château, with its -striking Grand March of Knights. The ballet ran continuously -<em>for over seven months</em>, and was revived with no -less success two years later.</p> - -<p>Once more a “topical” ballet held the place of honour in -the programme on May 25th, 1908. “The Two Flags,” a -Franco-British <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i>, arranged and produced by -Signor Curti, with some capital music by Mr. George W. -Byng, was presented under the personal direction of Mr. -Alfred Moul, the chief <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i> of “La Gaieté de Paris” being -taken by Mlle. Pomponette—the very personification of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_274"></a>[274]</span> -French <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">enfantine</i> gaiety—well supported by Miss Julia Seale, -Signor Rosi, Signorina Morino, and other Alhambra favourites.</p> - -<p>In the same programme was given, under the title of -“Sal! Oh My!” an amusing satire on what we may term -the Salome School of Dancing, then recently instituted by -Miss Maud Allan. The Alhambra skit, described as “a -musical etcetera” (the delightful music of which, by the -way, was by Mr. George W. Byng), served to introduce to a -London audience for the first time La Belle Leonora, a very -handsome <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuse</i> of, I believe, Spanish origin, who was, -for several seasons, to become the “bright, particular star” -of the Alhambra.</p> - -<p>These two productions held sway for some months, but -gave place in October, 1908, to “Paquita,” a charming -romantic ballet arranged and produced by Signor Alfredo -Curti, with music by Mr. George W. Byng, who once more -proved his talent for composition of the kind essential for -ballet, music rich in expressive melody, dramatic in orchestration, -and always appropriate to the action and mood of the -situation. The production introduced to London audiences -for the first time, Mlle. Britta, a young Danish dancer, with -an interesting personality and a marked gift for acting.</p> - -<p>In the same programme was included “On the Square,” -a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i> arranged and produced by Miss Elise Clerc, -the scene of which was laid in Herald Square, New York, -and formed a background for dances by newsboys, flower-girls, -equestriennes, cake-walks, “apache” dances, a dance -of “Fluffy Ruffles and Rough Riders,” a clever eccentric -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas de deux</i>, by Miss Elise Clerc herself and the late Mr. Frank -Lawton (the whistler, who first came into prominence in -London in the original production of “The Belle of New -York”), the most attractive item in the whole production -perhaps being a marionette <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas de deux</i> by Mlle. Britta -and Miss Carlotta Mossetti, a clever dancer and mime.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp59" id="i274a-l" style="max-width: 24.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_274a-l.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><span class="pad70pc"><em>Hana</em></span><br /> -Mme. Guerrero</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp63" id="i274a-r" style="max-width: 26.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_274a-r.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><span class="pad70pc"><em>Dover St. Studios</em></span><br /> -Mlle. Leonora</div> -</div> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_275"></a>[275]</span></p> - -<p>The <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i> held its place in the programme for a -considerable time, but was in general character hardly up -to the artistic tone of the Alhambra’s past; and the production -of “Psyche,” a classic idyll in three scenes, of which the -dramatic action and dances were by Signor Alfredo Curti, -and the melodious, and always expressive music was -by Mr. Alfred Moul, came as a welcome relief to the -banalities of ragtime, the more so in that it provided a fine -opportunity for another striking success by Mlle. Leonora, -whose statuesque grace was particularly well displayed by -the classic beauty of the setting provided for her.</p> - -<p>“Femina,” another fine production by Signor Curti, gave -Mlle. Leonora opportunities, of which she fully availed herself, -more especially in her own national dance, and Mlle. -Britta achieved a marked success both as dancer and actress. -Since then the more recent influx of Russian dancers to the -Alhambra, in “The Dance Dream,” invented and produced -by Alexander A. Gorsky, and notable for superb mounting -and the fine dancing of Mme. Catrina Geltzer and M. Tichomiroff; -then the exquisite “1830,” and since then again, -another superb production of a new version of “Carmen,” -produced by Mr. Dion Clayton Calthrop, and with some -especially fine dancing by La Malaguenita and other Spanish -artists, all offered us fresh and delightful examples of the -enterprise of the management responsible for them.</p> - -<p>We must, however, leave any further consideration of the -many notable examples of Ballet at the Alhambra, which -during the past two or three years has been mainly given up -to the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Revue</i>; and must now turn to the Empire where an -extensive series of always artistic productions have provided -those who witnessed them with many interesting and happy -memories.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_276"></a>[276]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXIII">CHAPTER XXXIII<br /><br /> -THE EMPIRE 1884-1906</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">Before</span> it opened its doors as a regular theatre, with -the late H. J. Hitchins as Manager, on April 17th, -1884, the Empire had “played many parts.” The site had -been occupied by a royal residence which became in time -a picture, or exhibition gallery and a café chantant, before -being burnt down in 1865. Then the late John Hollingshead -and some friends proposed erecting a theatre on the site, but -the scheme fell through and the ruin remained ruinous for -some years, until it became for a time a panorama of Balaclava. -Then a theatre was started, to be called the Pandora, -but did not get finished under that title. Finally it opened -as the Empire in 1884, with “Chilperic,” a musical spectacle -in three acts and seven tableaux, founded on the opera -adapted by H. Hersee and H. B. Farnie, with music by -Hervé. The production included three grand ballets invented -and arranged by Monsieur Bertrand.</p> - -<p>The sensation of the third act was a “midnight review -and electric ballet of fifty Amazons, as invented by Trouvé, -of Paris (being the first time where three electric lamps are -carried and manipulated by one person, with the most -startling and gorgeous effect).”</p> - -<p>The dancers included Mlle. Sismondi, Mlle. Aguzzi and -Fräulein Hofschuller; and the costumes by Mons. and -Mme. Alias were after designs by Bianchini, Faustin and -Wilhelm, the last name being famous in association, from<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_277"></a>[277]</span> -the opening in 1884, with the many brilliant productions at -the Empire.</p> - -<p>It does not seem to be commonly known that while still -counted as a “theatre,” the Empire was already foreshadowing -its destiny as a home of English Ballet. The -production of “Polly” was followed by a real ballet, a version -of Coppélia—<em>not</em> that of Delibes—but one founded on -Hoffman’s famous story, with music by Léo; Delibes’ -“Sylvia” also being produced at about the same period. -Probably few people of to-day are aware that the famous ballet -“Giselle” was also given in these early days at the Empire, -in December, 1884. And again, on December 21st, 1885, -was produced “Hurly Burly,” a military pantomime ballet. -Yet again, on June 12th, 1886, came “The Palace of Pearl,” -in which there were a Moorish ballet, with a Mlle. Luna as -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première</i>, and a lace ballet, in which Mlle. Pertoldi was the -bright particular star. The Empire was afterwards occupied -for a time by the Gaiety Company in burlesque, while a -French company was occupying the Gaiety, and, later, by -the musical extravaganza, “The Lady of the Locket,” in -which Miss Florence St. John played the lead, and -Mr. Hayden Coffin, I believe, made his first appearance as -“Cosmo.” Mr. Edward Solomon’s opera, “Billee Taylor,” -was also mounted for a short run, as well as—on March 3rd, -1886—a version of “Round the World in Eighty Days,” -in which Miss Kate Vaughan and Mons. Marius appeared.</p> - -<p>Its career as a regular theatre not being as successful as -had been hoped, a fresh licence was obtained, and on -December 22nd, 1887, under the joint direction of Mr. -George Edwardes and the late Sir Augustus Harris—with -Mr. H. J. Hitchins as Manager—it started afresh as a theatre -of varieties, with Ballet as its chief attraction, and it at once -assumed an important place as one of the leading variety -houses of the world.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_278"></a>[278]</span></p> - -<p>At the beginning of the Empire’s prosperous career a wise -choice was made in the selection of the late Madame Katti -Lanner as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maîtresse de ballet</i>.</p> - -<p>Daughter of the famous Viennese waltz composer, Joseph -Lanner—who, when he died, was followed to the grave by -some ten thousand people—and herself a keen lover of music, -Mme. Katti Lanner had been in her earlier years a famous -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuse</i>, who had appeared as a child at the Vienna Opera-House, -and later made her world-tour, as great dancers did -then and do to-day.</p> - -<p>She told me, in the first of many pleasant interviews I -had with her in her retirement, how, as a young girl, she -had danced with Cerito, and with Fanny Elssler, and how -the latter had prophesied for her a successful career; and she -spoke with deep enthusiasm of the personal fascination, the -brilliant art, and the noble bearing of the great dancer who -was known to London of the ’forties as the “divine” Fanny.</p> - -<p>In the course of time Mme. Lanner came to settle in -London, and had produced ballets at Her Majesty’s—at -which she had also appeared—and at Drury Lane, before her -invaluable services were secured by the far-seeing management -of the Empire in 1887.</p> - -<p>She had already, some ten years before, established her -National School of Dancing; and with this to draw upon, -it was only natural that, from the first, her productions at -the Empire should be marked by a uniformly high standard -of technique. At no theatre or opera-house can a high -standard be maintained unless it can draw upon some such -school, either on the premises or off, where young talent is -fostered and developed, where consistent practice is kept -up under critical eyes, and where a uniform degree of technical -efficiency and a high sense of style are cultivated. So it has -been with Milan and Paris, Vienna and Petrograd; and -so it became when Mme. Lanner began her association<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_279"></a>[279]</span> -with that series of productions at the Empire of which it -may be truthfully said that each achieved both artistic and -financial success.</p> - -<p>The programme on the opening night, Thursday, December -22nd, 1887, included two ballets, “Sports of England” and -“Dilara.” The former—the costumes for which were designed -by Mr. Percy Anderson—was, as its title betokens, a representation -of the various British sports and pastimes, and -was naturally very popular with the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">habitués</i> of the Empire. -The second—the costumes of which were designed by Mr. C. -Wilhelm—was a brilliant spectacle, of Eastern character; -and both ballets, arranged by Mme. Lanner, with music by -Hervé, had a run of some months.</p> - -<p>They were succeeded by “Rose d’Amour” in May, 1888, -which those who remember it speak of to-day as one of -Mme. Katti Lanner’s greatest triumphs. It was notable, -too, for the appearance of such dancers as Mlle. Adèle Rossi—who, -I believe, had come from the Paris Opera—Mlle. -Santori, Mlle. de Sortis; Ænea, the flying dancer, and the -wondrous Mons. Cecchetti, who, gifted with amazing youth, -was appearing recently with the Russians at the Royal -Opera, Covent Garden. “Rose d’Amour,” like Darwin’s -poem of a century earlier, dealt with “the loves of the -plants,” or at any rate of the flowers, and the quarrels in -flowerland. It was a long and rather elaborate production, -with a prodigal array of lovely costumes designed by Mr. -Wilhelm; and it rather opened the eyes of Londoners as to -the possibilities of the art of Ballet. “Diana,” a graceful -idyll on classic lines—the scenario of which was suggested by -Mr. Wilhelm, and arranged by Mme. Lanner—followed on -October 31st of the same year, with that graceful dancer, -Mme. Palladino, and Signor Albertieri in the cast, and, -later, Mme. Malvina Cavallazzi, who appeared for the first -time in ballet skirts at the Empire, and for the last time in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_280"></a>[280]</span> -the same typical costume; her subsequent appearances -being usually in male character, of which she was a truly -fine exponent. “Diana” was followed by “Robert Macaire.”</p> - -<p>Early next year came the first London production of Paul -Martinetti and Hervé’s “A Duel in the Snow,” which was -less in the nature of a regular ballet than of pure pantomime, -was a finely dramatic effort well staged and acted. In the -spring of ’eighty-nine was produced another superb ballet, -“Cleopatra” (inspired by Sir Rider Haggard’s novel, then -appearing in serial form in the pages of the <cite>Illustrated -London News</cite>), which ran for some four months and was -immensely admired.</p> - -<p>In the autumn it gave place to a popular production, -dealing with the diversions, and bearing the title of “The -Paris Exhibition”; and in December of the same year, -on the eve of Christmas Eve, came a wonderful production, -“The Dream of Wealth,” by Mme. Katti Lanner, with music -by that fine composer—so long afterwards associated with -the Empire—Mons. L. Wenzel, and with costumes and -accessories designed “as before” by Mr. Wilhelm. The -cast included that superb mime, Signora Malvina Cavallazzi, -as a Miser; Signor Luigi Albertieri as the Demon of Avarice; -and dainty little Mlle. Bettina de Sortis as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première</i>, representing -“The Key of the Jewel Casket.”</p> - -<p>The same admirable trio were included in the new ballet, -“Cécile” (by Lanner, Wenzel, and Wilhelm, again), which -followed on May 20th, 1890, the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première danseuse</i> being -Mlle. Giuri, a dancer of exquisite finish and singularly <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">élégante</i> -style, as well as a most admirable mime. The period of the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i> was Louis-Seize, and the production was very -charmingly staged, one of the chief points being a wonderful -colour scheme of almost one tone, composed of white and -silver and mother-of-pearl. This was in the second tableau, depicting -a court in the palace of a Rajah who had very wrongly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_281"></a>[281]</span> -abducted a pupil from a French school! In this ballet that -delightful English dancer Miss Topsy Sinden first made her -London <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> as a tiny child, with her brother, Bert Sinden.</p> - -<p>The spring of next year was marked by the production -of “Orfeo,” the scenario of which was by Mr. Wilhelm, the -scenery by Telbin. It was an impressive example of classic -ballet. Mme. Cavallazzi was a superb exponent of the title-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i>, -Miss Ada Vincent was excellent as Eurydice, and good -support was given by Mlle. Adèle Rossi and Signor Cecchetti. -The autumn of the same year saw the advent of “By the Sea,” -perhaps the earliest of the “up-to-date” ballets; and on -December 22nd that of “Nisita,” the latter a romantic -ballet with an Albanian setting, a very pretty second tableau -showing a “Revel of the Fairies,” and with Mlle. Emma -Palladino as the handsome heroine Nita, and Mme. Cavallazzi -as the hero, Delvinos. The first night this was produced, -December 22nd, 1891, by the way, there was one of the very -worst fogs London has ever seen, so thick that you could not -see the drop curtain from the third row of the stalls! But -the innate brightness of the production overcame its gloomy -environment at birth and it ran for months.</p> - -<p>In May, 1892, came “Versailles,” another superb production -for the scenario of which, as well as of course the -costumes, Mr. Wilhelm was mainly responsible, though it -was as usual “choregraphically” arranged by Mme. Katti -Lanner, with delightful music by Mons. Leopold Wenzel. -This ran until September, when “Round the Town” (a -ballet the scenario of which was by Mr. George Edwardes and -Mme. Lanner) was staged, and proved so popular as a topical -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i> (not unlike our present day <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Revues</i>) that it held -the bill for some months. An interesting point in connection -with this ballet was that the late Miss Katie Seymour, one -of the very neatest English dancers that ever trod the London -boards, joined the cast after the production had run a little<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_282"></a>[282]</span> -time, and as a Salvation Lassie performed an eccentric dance -with Mr. Willie Warde, also an extremely able English dancer, -that was one of the successes of the theatrical season. In -1893, the theatre was closed from October 27th to November -2nd, owing to intervention by the County Council.</p> - -<p>One of the finest productions yet seen at a theatre which -by now had become famous for its ballets, was “Faust,” -first produced on May 6th, 1895. The scenario of this, as -well as the costume designs, were by Mr. Wilhelm, and it -was an ingenious variation of the Gounod version, the music -not by Gounod, but by Mr. Meyer Lutz and Mr. Ernest -Ford, the ballet being arranged as usual by Mme. Lanner. -Mme. Cavallazzi was superb as Faust; Miss Ada Vincent -was the Gretchen, Mlle. Zanfretta was a striking exponent of -Mephistopheles, and among the cast was Mr. Will Bishop, a -clever eccentric dancer, who was associated with the Empire -for several seasons. This was followed, in the January of 1896, -by a charming ballet entitled “La Danse,” in which the -history of dancing was illustrated and various dancers of the -older schools, such as Sallé, Taglioni and others, as well as -the modern, were typified. In October came “Monte Cristo”—another -superb production staged and designed by Mr. -Wilhelm, to whom I am indebted for many interesting details -of the Empire’s history. This brings to a close the record of -success from the opening of the Empire in 1887 to the close of -1896. This first phase was one of increasing triumph; a -second, more splendid still, was to come. We had seen -Ballet perfect of its kind. But yet, perfection was to be -crowned by the supremacy of terpsichorean and mimetic -art—the art of Adeline Génée.</p> - -<p>“Under One Flag,” a topical ballet in celebration of Queen -Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, in 1897, ran for some months. -Before the close of the year the Treasure Island tableau -in “Monte Cristo” was staged, and in this, on November 22nd,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_283"></a>[283]</span> -1897, a certain historic event took place—Mlle. Adeline -Génée made her London <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the Empire Theatre.</p> - -<p>One of her critics at the time wrote that: “Her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas -seuls</i> commanded encores which were thoroughly deserved. -The dancer is lissom to a degree and thoroughly mistress -of her art. With her terpsichorean ability she -has the advantage of a prepossessing personality, which -will assist in endearing her to the public.” So much -did her personality endear her to the public that Mlle. -Génée’s first engagement at the Empire <em>for six weeks extended -to over ten years</em>, with return visits after that!</p> - -<p>Looking back at the great dancers of the past, we see that -all illustrate the incalculable value of personality in art. -The technique of a Camargo or Sallé, Taglioni or Grahn, -Karsavina or Génée, has the same foundation—the traditional -“five positions,” which are to the Dance what the octave is -to the sister art of Music. Before a dancer can hope to -appear with success on any stage she must have acquired a -knowledge of those “five positions,” and their possibilities -of choregraphic combination. The ease and rapidity with -which she illustrates them, the fluidity of the phrases and -melodies of movement which she evolves from them, and the -qualities of “finish” and “style” are finally achieved only -by incessant practice. She must attain as complete a mastery -of the mechanism of her body as can be attained. No -technique in any art is acquired without labour; and no -success is won without technique. That much therefore can -be taken for granted in any great artist. But persistent -practice and the acquisition of a fine technique may still -leave a dancer merely an exquisite automaton if she has not -“personality”; a quality not readily defined, but which -undeniably marks her as different from others. Perhaps -that is, after all, the truest definition—a differentiation from -others.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_284"></a>[284]</span></p> - -<p>Endowed with the royal gift of personality, Mlle. Génée had -worked incessantly before she made her first appearance in -London at about the age of seventeen. Born in Copenhagen -of Danish parents, the famous dancer began her training -when only eight years old, under the tuition of her uncle and -aunt, Mons. and Mme. Alexander Génée, both of whom (the -latter as Mlle. Zimmermann) had won considerable reputation -as dancers, and producers of ballet, at various continental -opera-houses and theatres in the ’sixties and ’seventies. They -had appeared at Copenhagen, Vienna, Dresden, Munich, -Budapest, and at Stettin, where Mons. Alexander Génée -had a theatre for some years, and where Mlle. Adeline -made some of her earliest appearances as a child. Subsequently -she went to Berlin and to Munich, and it -was while dancing in the latter city that she was called -to London by Mr. George Edwardes on behalf of the -Empire management.</p> - -<p>Her first appearance here was emphatically a success. -But it was her performance as the Spirit of the “Liberty of -the Press” in the famous Empire ballet, “The Press” -(invented and designed by Mr. Wilhelm with the choregraphic -support of Mme. Lanner and music by Mons. Wenzel), -on February 14th, 1898, that first marked her—and for -many years to come—as a London “star.” The ballet gave -her scope for some wonderful <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas</i>, and proved immensely -popular. It was a novel idea, artistically carried out, and -illustrated the history and power of the Fourth Estate. A -number of charming coryphées were ingeniously attired as -representatives of the various newspapers, boys’ costumes -indicating the morning and girls’ the evening journals. The -venerable <cite>Times</cite> was typified by a man in the guise of Father -Time, with hour-glass and other symbols of his ancient office, -and accompanied by a retinue. Mme. Cavallazzi represented -Caxton, Father of the Printing Press; Mlle. Zanfretta, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_285"></a>[285]</span> -Spirit of Fashion; and there were typical costumes for <cite>The -Standard</cite>, <cite>The Daily Telegraph</cite>, <cite>The Globe</cite>, <cite>The Daily Mail</cite> -(then two years old!), <cite>The Illustrated London News</cite> (who -announced that she was “Established 1842”), <cite>The Illustrated -Sporting and Dramatic News</cite>, <cite>The Lady’s Pictorial</cite>, <cite>The -Sketch</cite>, <cite>The Referee</cite>, and others too numerous to name. So -popular did the ballet prove that this also ran for months, -and it was not until October of the same year that a new -production, “Alaska,” was staged, the scenario of which -was by Mr. Wilhelm, the choregraphy by Mme. Lanner, and -music by Mons. Wenzel.</p> - -<p>The production which a contemporary critic described as -“one of the most gorgeous ballets ever produced at the -Empire,” is another example of the influence of topical -events on the history of the Ballet, for it was due to the -discovery of the Klondyke goldfields, the first news of which -had come to us the year before, that is, in Jubilee year, but -the real wonders of which only began fully to reveal themselves -in the summer of 1898, when everyone talked and -dreamed of little else than “Klondyke”! The ballet opened -with a blinding snowstorm, and the scene, laid in the snow-bound -regions of the North-West, glowed, as the storm ceased, -with the grandeur of the Aurora Borealis. The story dealt -with the adventures of one Alec Wylie (Mme. Cavallazzi), -leader of an expedition to Klondyke, who, tempted by the -Demon Avarice, quarrels with and leaves for dead his partner, -Frank Courage, whose life is saved by the ice fairies and who -is vouchsafed a vision of golden realms by the Fairy -Good Fortune. The production was rich in striking -scenes and stage effects, and once again Mlle. Génée -further confirmed her growing capacity to “endear” herself -to London audiences by her performance as the Fairy -Good Fortune.</p> - -<p>On May 8th of the following year, 1899, “Round the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_286"></a>[286]</span> -Town Again,” by Mme. Lanner, Mr. Wilhelm and Mons. -Wenzel, was produced. This was entirely different from the -original “Round the Town,” and with a second edition, also -further altered, in January, 1900, ran until the end of August, -1900, that is, for fifteen months! Mlle. Génée, Mlle. Zanfretta -and Mr. Will Bishop were the leading dancers, with a change -of cast for a time when Mlle. Edvige Gantenberg took up -Mlle. Génée’s part of Lisette, a French maid, during the latter’s -absence on a brief holiday. A revised edition of “By the -Sea,” under the title of “Seaside,” came on in September, -1900, the cast including Mlle. Génée, Signor Santini, Mr. Will -Bishop and also Mr. Frank Lawton, whose whistling had so -long been one of the attractions, elsewhere, of the “Belle of -New York.”</p> - -<p>Next came a fascinating ballet “Les Papillons,” the -scenario and staging of which were by Mr. Wilhelm. Of -this an enthusiastic critic declared: “It is, indeed, a -beautiful butterfly ballet that the Empire Theatre is just -now able to boast. With it the management draws crowded -houses, and sends them away delighted—delighted with -the colour, exhilarated by the movement, charmed by the -fancy, and ready to sing the praises of all concerned in a -truly marvellous production, and particularly of Mr. Wilhelm, -whose designs have given further proof of the taste which -governs his fertile imagination and invention, and of Mme. -Katti Lanner, for whom the dances and evolutions mean -another veritable triumph.” Mlle. Adeline Génée, as lead, -played “Vanessa Imperialis,” the Butterfly Queen, who -was “discovered” at the opening of the ballet fast asleep -in the lovely realm over which she reigned. A glow-worm -patrol guarded her slumbers, which ended with the -coming of dawn, when she joined her subjects and the -flower-fays in dances, and the revels of a fairy midsummer’s -day dream.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_287"></a>[287]</span></p> - -<p>On November 6th of the same year followed “Old China,” -a delightful ballet, invented and designed by Mr. C. Wilhelm, -associated, as usual, with Mme. Lanner and Mons. Wenzel, -and with Mlle. Génée as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première danseuse</i>. The opening -scene showed a mantelpiece, backed by a great mirror, in -which the actions of a little Dresden China Shepherdess -(Mlle. Génée) and her two troublesome lovers, were exactly -repeated in the looking-glass, through which finally the -indignant damsel stepped—to the chagrin of her disconsolate -lovers—right into Willow Pattern Land, which formed the -second scene, and into which some particularly rich and -beautiful effects were introduced. “Old China” ran for -some months, and on May 28th of the following year was -succeeded by another “topical” ballet, “Our Crown,” -again the work of the accomplished trio, who had so long -contributed to the success of the Empire productions, and -were now receiving the brilliant assistance of the Danish -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première</i>, who had thoroughly established herself in popular -favour. It was, of course in celebration of that crowning of -the late King Edward which had been so unhappily postponed, -through his late Majesty’s illness on the very eve of what -should have been his Coronation. This, again, was a most -brilliant production, and the final tableau, practically a -“Staircase” scene, in which the great stage was built up -with groups representative of the jewelled products of the -various British colonies, rubies, emeralds, diamonds, pearls, -was magnificent. As in the case of the Victorian Jubilee -ballet of five years before, this was a conspicuous triumph in -the particularly difficult sphere of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballets d’occasion</i>.</p> - -<p>The first production of 1903 was also the first of what may -be called essentially the Génée ballets—ballets, that is, -which seemed more particularly than before, infused with -the personality of this accomplished dancer. Since her -London <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> in 1897 she had played the leading part, certainly,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_288"></a>[288]</span> -but now it seemed almost as if her personality coloured -the whole ballet itself, even as unquestionably her supreme -technique set an example and had its influence in raising the -already high standard of technique throughout the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">corps de -ballet</i>. The scenario and staging of “The Milliner Duchess” -were by Mr. Wilhelm, and the story was specially designed -to give Mlle. Génée an opportunity of further exhibiting her -gifts as an actress. Into a fashionable throng frequenting the -establishment of an up-to-date duchess who was running a -milliner’s business was introduced her demure little niece, -impersonated, of course, by Mlle. Génée; and her first -entrance, in a gown of primitively early-Victorian simplicity, -was charming in its hesitancy, and one realised that she was -something more even than a finished dancer, namely, a born -mime with a fine artistic appreciation of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">nuances</i> of -comedy.</p> - -<p>In her dance descriptive of the charms of country life, so -clever and so perfect was the combination of mime and dance -that a positive illusion was created; and only at the close -did one realise, suddenly, that it was veritably a song without -words. A step, a gesture, a little glance, and one could have -sworn one heard a poet’s lines! Popular as the dancer had -already made herself, her work in this particularly charming -ballet confirmed the growing opinion that here was a dancer -who was supreme in her art as a dancer-mime; one to be -reckoned among any gallery of the great artists of the -past.</p> - -<p>In the autumn of the same year was staged a ballet by the -same experienced trio, Wilhelm, Lanner and Wenzel, entitled -“Vineland,” which introduced to us some novel and sumptuous -colour schemes and gave us the sensation of Mlle. -Génée’s “champagne” dance, a piece of terpsichorean music -as sparkling as the most glittering of Offenbach’s operatic -melodies. Early next year there followed the lively, up-to-date<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_289"></a>[289]</span> -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i>, “High Jinks,” in which the leading parts -were played by Mlle. Génée, Mlle. Zanfretta, Miss Dorothy -Craske, and Mr. Fred Farren.</p> - -<p>An adaptation by Mr. Wilhelm from the popular Viennese -ballet, “Die Puppenfee,” under the English title of “The -Dancing Doll,” was produced on January 3rd, 1905, and -was notable, among other things, for Mlle. Génée’s impersonation -of an automaton in situations not very dissimilar -from those of “La Poupée,” and a notable point in -the production was a delightful eccentric dance by Miss -Elise Clerc and Mr. W. Vokes, as a pair of Dutch dolls. This -very successful ballet went into a second edition on April -3rd, and on June 30th the theatre was closed for redecoration.</p> - -<p>When it reopened on October 9th of that year the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">habitués</i> -found considerable alterations had taken place under the -direction of Mr. Frank Verity, <span class="allsmcap">F.R.I.B.A.</span>, all designed for -their increased comfort, while the decorative style, representative -of the true Empire period, had a note of distinction -hitherto lacking in some of the London vaudeville houses, a -note more in keeping with the demands of modern times. -The opening ballet, by Mr. C. Wilhelm and Mr. Sidney Jones, -was “The Bugle Call,” which had a well defined plot, and in -which Mlle. Génée played the part of a French bugler boy of -the late eighteenth century.</p> - -<p>On the afternoon of January 6th (1906) a version of -“Cinderella,” one of the most charming of Mr. Wilhelm’s -creations, was staged, originally with a view only to <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">matinée</i> -performances, but it proved so successful that it went into -the evening bill on February 5th. The creator of the ballet -had treated the age-long legend of Cinderella with that -respect for its mingled poetry and pathos which an artist of -sympathy must always feel for one of childhood’s most -appealing legends; and he provided Mlle. Génée once more -with an opportunity for proving her remarkable gifts as an<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_290"></a>[290]</span> -actress, fully in sympathy with the character and sufferings -of the little heroine she impersonated.</p> - -<p>On May 14th, Delibes’ classic example of Ballet in its ideal -form, namely, “Coppélia,” was produced specially for Mlle. -Génée, and gave her, as the heroine, Swanilda, fresh opportunity -for further revelations of her amazing accomplishments -as a dancer and for her expressive acting; in which, by -the way, she was admirably supported by Mr. Fred Farren -in the character of the old doll-maker, Coppélia; and by -Miss Dorothy Craske as Coppélia’s somewhat wavering -lover. The production was a great success. How should it -have been otherwise? Perfectly staged and perfectly performed, -it is, with its haunting Slav rhythms and flowing -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">valse</i> melodies, one of the most charming, and musically, -one of the most expressive ballets in the world’s <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">répertoire</i>.</p> - -<p>This was followed on August 6th by one of the most -exquisite productions the Empire had yet seen, a ballet by -Mr. C. Wilhelm, entitled “Fête Galante,” which had been -expanded from the opening scene of “Cinderella.”</p> - -<p>To see the “Fête Galante” was itself a liberal education -in the art of stage effect. It was an ideal realisation of the -art of Watteau, Lancret, and Fragonard. The very spirit -of the period was caught, and it was as if all that one had -learnt at secondhand of the people, the dress, the manners, -dances, arts and music of the “Grand Century” in France -had suddenly awakened into life, and become a living reality -of which one was a living part. Yet, paradoxically, it was -strangely dream-like still, even as are Watteau’s pictures.</p> - -<p>The scene represented a garden such as you see in -so many of his paintings, and those of his school, -primarily reminiscent of Pater’s “Conversation Galante” -and Watteau’s “Fête Galante,” “L’amour au Théâtre -Français,” and the “Terrace Party.” One of the young -Court ladies reminded one of the central figure in the “Bal<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_291"></a>[291]</span> -sous une Colonnade.” A minuet was in progress. All was -stately and dream-like, made the more so by the music.</p> - -<p>For all the gaiety of the huntsmen’s entrance it was -gaiety demure, as if restrained by an inherent sense of fitness -with stately surroundings; and so with the troupe of dancers, -introduced for the diversion of the Marquise Belle Etoile, and -the Court ladies and courtiers grouped about her. The mood -of all, demurely gay, or gaily demure, was suffused with a -stately languor, a dream-like grace that found an echo in -the subtle colour-harmonies of the old-world garden in which -the people moved.</p> - -<p>And when the opera-dancer, L’Hirondelle, and Passepied -the master of the revels, began their <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas de deux</i>, the climax -of exquisite illusion was reached, and Camargo was before us—the -Camargo of Lancret’s famous picture, with the soft, full -white skirts, trimmed with garlands of small pink roses and -falling almost to the ankle; Camargo with the red-heeled, -red-rosetted shoes; with blue shoulder-knot and powdered -hair adorned with pale blue ribbons.</p> - -<p>As the fête drew to a close the picture mellowed in the -amber light of a waning day; and, amid fallen leaf and -chestnut bloom, slowly marquise and prince, Court lady -and courtier, dancer and page, began in stately fashion to -dance, their shadows lengthening in the failing light, the -music growing slower and dreamier as, little by little, the -picture was re-formed into the likeness of the opening scene, -and the falling curtain brought one back into the world of -living things to-day.</p> - -<p>Another brilliant reconstruction of the Past was achieved -by Mr. Wilhelm in his creation of “The Débutante” -(November 15th, 1906), which revivified the men and maids -and <em>modes</em>, the dance of life, and the life of the dance, of that -strangely interesting period of the ’thirties and ’forties, the -days of Pauline Duverney, Leroux, Fanny Elssler, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_292"></a>[292]</span> -Taglioni’s earlier years. The scene represented the <cite>Salon de -Danse</cite> attached to an opera-house, the story dealing with the -refusal of a star to take up her part in a ballet which is on -the eve of production, her place being taken at the eleventh -hour by a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">débutante</i> (Mlle. Génée) with almost miraculous -abilities. For this production, and in order that the style of -the earlier dances should be represented on the stage with -regard for accuracy and tradition, Mme. Katti Lanner, who -had left the Empire in 1905, was induced to withdraw from -her retirement temporarily at the request of the Directors, -and out of personal friendship towards Mr. Wilhelm, with -whose artistic aims she had so constantly shown her sympathy. -Her reappearance to take another “call” proved -another personal triumph. The ballet was indeed a charming -work, fascinating to students of the dance and mime; and it -proved so successful that a new one was not required until -“Sir Roger de Coverley,” by Adrian Ross and Dr. Osmond -Carr, staged by Mr. Wilhelm, came into the bill on May 7th -in the following year. As its title betokens, it dealt with -the period of Queen Anne and showed a charming representation -of the life of old Vauxhall. This, too, ran for some -months and was succeeded on September 30th by “The Belle -of the Ball,” which delighted many old frequenters of the -Empire with its recollection of scenes from many of the -earlier operatic favourites of the ’sixties and ’seventies, such -as “Madame Angot,” “The Grand Duchess,” and other -light operas, coming up to more recent productions, such as -“The Belle of New York,” “The Geisha,” and others.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp53" id="i292a" style="max-width: 22.4375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_292a.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Mlle. Adeline Génée</div> -</div> - - -<p>The production marked the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> of that brilliant young -English dancer, Miss Phyllis Bedells, and also the end of -Mlle. Génée’s unbroken ten years’ reign at the Empire -Theatre, the tenth anniversary of her first appearance being -celebrated on November 22nd, when the house was packed -from floor to ceiling with a crowd whose growing enthusiasm<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_293"></a>[293]</span> -culminated in a perfect tornado of applause on the falling -of the curtain and something like a score of “calls”; the -dancer having achieved by her personality and technique -such a triumph as had not been known in London since the -great days of Taglioni and the famous <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Pas de Quatre</i> of the -’forties. She left to carry her influence to America, but there -were of course return visits which concern us not at present -in dealing only with what may be styled her ten years’ reign.</p> - -<p>But in watching that decade closely with all its procession -of successes, one thing there is that strikes one very forcibly. -It was only the natural corollary of the previous decade -before the advent of Mlle. Génée. For some twenty years -the artistic influence of one mind had been, never obtrusive, -but invariably evident; never obtrusive, that is, to the -detriment of that balance of the arts which makes a perfect -ballet; I mean the artistic influence of Mr. C. Wilhelm. -Before the coming of Mlle. Génée they had had some good -dancers and some great artistic successes; but there had -hardly been, perhaps, quite that unity and perfection of -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ensemble</i> which the coming of a dancer of superb technique -made possible, and which, it may be, enabled a designer of -ballet, already of great experience and inspired always by -high artistic motives—not only to aim at, but to <em>count on</em>, -achieving just the effect at which he aimed. Theatrical art -must always be a somewhat composite art, but its best -achievements come from a perfect blending of artistic sympathies, -forming a source of mutual inspiration. So, while -the personality and technical accomplishment of Mlle. Génée -must have proved a stimulus to the poetic imagination of an -artist like Mr. Wilhelm, so, too, the famous Danish <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuse</i> -could well afford to admit a debt of inspiration to the refined, -sensitive and poetic art of Mr. Wilhelm, who has provided so -invariably a worthy and gracious medium for her supreme -art as dancer-mime.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_294"></a>[294]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXIV">CHAPTER XXXIV<br /><br /> -THE EMPIRE 1907-1914</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">When</span> the news was first announced that an end was -to come to Mlle. Adeline Génée’s ten years’ reign -at the Empire and that the famous dancer was seeking, if -not new worlds to conquer, at least to conquer what was -once always spoken of as “The ‘New’ World,” many who -had followed the progress of Ballet in London must have -wondered where anyone could hope to find a successor to -her throne, and who would have the courage to accept an -offer thereof.</p> - -<p>But London theatrical managers are not lacking in -resource, or English girls in courage; and it was with real -pleasure that we heard that so worthy a successor had been -found as that graceful and essentially English dancer, Miss -Topsy Sinden, who had already been associated with the -Empire as a child some years before.</p> - -<p>Of Mlle. Génée’s triumph in “The Belle of the -Ball,” I have already spoken. Shortly after, the production -underwent a change, and the fact that the new -version was still in the bill on the following June 1st, -proves the popularity of the production and of the -Empire’s choice of Miss Sinden as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première danseuse</i>. Her -success was the more interesting in that in temperament and -in methods she was entirely different from the famous Danish -dancer. A typical English girl, with all the charm of looks -and manner implied thereby, she had studied not so much<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_295"></a>[295]</span> -the purely traditional French or Italian school of ballet-dancing—though -she had, of course, acquired that too—but -the English school; of which the late Miss Kate Vaughan -was, in her time, the finest exponent, and of which Miss -Sylvia Grey, Miss Phyllis Broughton, the late Miss Katie -Seymour, Miss Letty Lind, Miss Alice Lethbridge, and Miss -Mabel Love, may be taken as leading representatives during -the past twenty years.</p> - -<p>Miss Sinden had had long and invaluable stage experience -before becoming <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première danseuse</i> at the Empire; had -appeared in pantomime at Covent Garden, Drury Lane, at -the old “Brit,” and at Liverpool and elsewhere; had “done” -the Halls; had appeared at the Haymarket under Sir H. -Beerbohm Tree’s management; had appeared at the Gaiety -in “Cinderella Up-to-Date,” “In Town,” “Don Juan,” -“The Gaiety Girl,” and “The Shop Girl”; at Daly’s in -“The Greek Slave,” in “The Country Girl,” and other -productions; and always she won fresh distinction as one -of the most vivacious, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">piquante</i>, graceful and finished English -dancers the London stage has ever known.</p> - -<p>Her appearance in “The Belle of the Ball” was marked -by the most cordial welcome from the Press and the public, -and one of the first greetings she received on her return to -the Empire was a telegram from Brighton which ran as -follows: “My good wishes, and I hope you will do yourself -justice. You are one of the best dancers I know.—Adeline -Génée.” That Miss Sinden <em>did</em> do herself justice was seen in -the enthusiastic cheers and demands for <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">encores</i> which greeted -her at the close of her scenes on that “big night” of her -return to the Empire stage.</p> - -<p>“The Belle of the Ball” gave place to a revival of -“Coppélia” and—the return of Mlle. Adeline Génée. Many -as her triumphs had been during her ten years’ unbroken -reign, that Wednesday night, June 10th, 1908, must be<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_296"></a>[296]</span> -recorded in Mlle. Génée’s memory in letters of gold, for even -she can never have seen such a house, so crammed from floor -to ceiling with a distinguished audience, including King -George (then Prince of Wales), and been welcomed with such -thunderous cheering and applause as greeted her on her first -appearance through the little brown door of Swanilda’s -balconied house, when she floated down the stairs to the -centre of the stage, so lightly indeed that she seemed almost -to flutter before the storm of enthusiasm which welcomed -her return. And how she danced! Only her peer among -poets could describe it, and then he would probably feel -as Thackeray felt when endeavouring to do justice to Taglioni -in “Sylphide!”</p> - -<p>For some seasons past we have had the Russian ballet as a -standing dish, over which various epicures have gloated as if -no other fare had ever been. But it is interesting to note -that the first of “all the Russias” was Mlle. Lydia Kyasht, -who made her London <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> at the Empire, in some dances -with M. Adolph Bolm, on August 17th, 1908. For the -present, and to preserve historical order, let the fact be -merely recorded, leaving further reference thereto until the -time it becomes necessary to chronicle the handsome Russian -dancer’s later successes.</p> - -<p>On September 7th of that same year came the production -of one of the most perfect gems yet seen in the historic gallery -of Ballet, namely, “The Dryad,” a pastoral fantasy in two -tableaux, by that brilliant composer, Miss Dora Bright. -From time to time, in such productions as “The Milliner -Duchess,” “Coppélia,” and “The Débutante,” we had had -an opportunity of realising something of Mlle. Génée’s gifts -as an actress apart from her supremacy as a dancer, but it -was mainly as a dancer, surrounded by dancers, that we have -seen her. Now, however, we were to have a conclusive -revelation of the fact that had Mlle. Génée not elected to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_297"></a>[297]</span> -become a great dancer she could have achieved distinction -as an actress. The story, of which she was the heroine, gave -her an opportunity of proving that; and with herself in the -title-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i>, that artistic singer, Mr. Gordon Cleather, as a -shepherd, and with the support of wonderfully expressive -and beautifully orchestrated <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mimodrame</i> music, the sister -arts of dance, song, mime, and music, were brought together -to give us a balanced harmony of lovely and memorable -impressions.</p> - -<p>The fantasy told how a certain Dryad, fairest of the Wood -Nymphs, subdued all mortals to her by her loveliness and the -magic of her dancing, whom the implacable Aphrodite caused -to be imprisoned in an oak tree, only granting her freedom -to come forth once in every ten years between sunrise and sunset -until she should find a mortal faithful to her during the -allotted period. A shepherd, passing through the wood on the -night of her freedom, sees her dancing beneath the moon, -and is lured to love her and vows eternal constancy. When -the dawn breaks she bids him farewell and re-enters the tree, -which closes around her. After ten years have passed away, -the Dryad comes forth again seeking to allay the longing she -has kindled, but her lover had not been constant, and the -wood is empty. She dances through the night, deluding -herself with hope until the hour of her doom returns and she -is compelled to re-enter the tree.</p> - -<p>The Dryad, afire with joy at being released from the imprisoning -tree, and discovering the beauty of the sunlit, -flower-strewn forest glade; joyous in her love of the handsome -shepherd and his love returned; her sorrow at parting -to return to the tree; her deeper joy on her renewed release; -her alternating hope and fear as the concluding moment of the -ten-year tryst draws nigh; her eager search for her lover; -the shuddering tremors of doubt as she finds him not; her -triumphant happiness as she hears his voice; the heart-wringing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_298"></a>[298]</span> -suspense, and then the overwhelming despair, as -she finds he has forgotten her for another love and passes on -his way, leaving her solitary and doomed to be imprisoned -yet again within the tree, desolate amid autumnal desolation; -these, and a thousand more <em>nuances</em>, expressive of poetic -emotion, were conveyed with a sureness, a sensitiveness, a -depth of instinctive dramatic genius that astonished, delighted -and enthralled.</p> - -<p>So great was the success of “The Dryad” that Mlle. -Génée’s engagement was extended, but the strain of appearing -in both “Coppélia” and Miss Bright’s exquisite fantasy -proving too considerable, the famous dancer reserved her -strength for her final appearance in the latter, while Mlle. -Lydia Kyasht, then comparatively a new-comer to the -Empire audiences, took up the part of “Swanilda,” in -Delibes’ masterpiece with considerable success.</p> - -<p>Ere departing for a forty weeks’ tour of America, Mlle. -Génée gave a farewell “professional” <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">matinée</i> at the Empire, -at which everyone of note in “<em>the</em> profession” was present, -and gave her the same enthusiastic appreciation as had -always been accorded by the lay public.</p> - -<p>Following Mlle. Génée’s departure for America, and Mlle. -Kyasht’s appearance in “Coppélia,” came the production -on October 19th, 1908, of a ballet in five scenes by Lieut.-Col. -Newnham-Davis, entitled “A Day in Paris,” produced by -Mr. Fred Farren, with music by Mr. Cuthbert Clarke, the -entire production being designed and supervised by Mr. C. -Wilhelm, who was at his happiest in invention and control -of colour in the prismatic beauty of the final tableau of the -Artists’ Ball.</p> - -<p>On the occasion of her previous appearance Mlle. Kyasht’s -name had been printed in the programme as Mlle. Lydia -Kyaksht, and I remember well the humorous dismay the -late Mr. H. J. Hitchins expressed to me as he asked: “How<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_299"></a>[299]</span> -<em>can</em> one pronounce a name like that?” and the eagerness -with which he welcomed the suggestion that it would be easier -if the second “k” were omitted. Kyasht it became, and it -is as Mlle. Kyasht that we shall always remember the handsome -dancer who was first of the Russians to win a following -in London. She had, of course, received her training at the -Imperial Theatre, Petrograd, to which she had been -attached some time, appearing there for some eight months -each year, and at Monte Carlo and other fashionable centres -for the remaining months, before she made her London -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i>. She has little of that vehemence and abandon which -characterises so many of the modern Russian school, but she -has <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">au fond</i> the same technique, a finely formed and balanced -figure, and personal beauty, and her first appearances with -that fine dancer, M. Adolf Bolm, in national dances and -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas de ballet</i> evoked very cordial admiration.</p> - -<p>“A Day in Paris” was notable not only for the appearance -of the new Russian <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">première</i> in a couple of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas seuls</i> and an -extremely charming <cite>Danse Russe</cite>, but for the brilliant acting -and step-dancing of Mr. Fred Farren, who as a Montmartre -student freakishly officiating as “a man from Cook’s” to a -party of tourists, proved himself a born comedian; while in -association with that lithe and graceful dancer, Miss Beatrice -Collier, his <cite>Danse des Apaches</cite>—a dance without the charm -of beauty but undeniably clever—was one of the “sensations” -of the production, so much so that the dancers became -in much request for entertaining at social functions that -season, as Tango performers have been since. Another -member of the company, who, though but a child, achieved -a marked success, was Miss Phyllis Bedells, who did some -wonderful toe-dancing with, and without, a skipping rope. -The ballet was one of the liveliest and “jolliest” of many such -topical and essentially “modern” entertainments at the Empire, -and it ran from October 1908, well into the next summer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_300"></a>[300]</span></p> - -<p>Yet once again Mlle. Adeline Génée returned to the -scene of her former triumphs to achieve one more, this -time in the famous <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballet-divertissement</i> from the third -act of Meyerbeer’s opera, “Roberto il Diavolo,” which was -produced by her uncle, M. Alexandre Génée, on July 3rd, -1909, the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mise en scène</i> and costumes being designed and -supervised by Mr. C. Wilhelm. Once more we had an opportunity -of enjoying a perfect representation of one of the -classics of Ballet, in which Mlle. Adeline Génée appeared as -the Spirit of Elena the wicked abbess, who, with the spectres -of the dead and buried nuns, haunts a ruined Sicilian Convent. -It was a fine and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">spirituelle</i> performance, and a fitting crown -to what we may perhaps be allowed to call Mlle. Génée’s -Imperial career.</p> - -<p>This was followed on October 9th, 1909, by “Round the -World,” a new dramatic ballet in six scenes, by Lieut.-Col. -Newnham-Davis and Mr. C. Wilhelm, the entire production -being designed and supervised by the latter, and the dances -arranged by Mr. Fred Farren, who himself played the part -of a resourceful chauffeur, while Mlle. Lydia Kyasht impersonated -the lovely heroine, Natalia, a Russian gipsy -girl, and Miss Phyllis Bedells her younger brother, Dmitri. -The story concerned the winning of a wager by the hero, a -Captain Jack Beresford, (Mr. Noel Fleming), who has to -circle the world in a month; and the course of his adventures -took us from the grounds of the Monaco Club to the Place -Krasnaia, Moscow, on the occasion of a wonderfully realised -national fête, where he rescues Natalia and her brother -from Tzabor, a brutal proprietor of a troupe of gipsy -dancers. The third scene was on the Siberian railway; the -fourth a lovely scene at Tokio, in the Garden of Ten Thousand -Joys, where the hero is nearly poisoned; the fifth, ’Frisco, -in “One-eyed Jack’s” saloon, with a capital <cite>Duo Mexicain</cite> -for Mr. Fred Farren and pretty Miss Unity More; the sixth<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_301"></a>[301]</span> -and last scene being laid in the foyer of the Empire Theatre. -The production was a sort of cinema-ballet in the variety of its -scenes and the excitement of its story, and gave scope for a -number of attractive and characteristic dances from Mlle. -Kyasht, Mr. Fred Farren and Miss Phyllis Bedells. It proved -so popular that it ran on into 1910, when, on March 21st of -that year, it went into a second edition called “East and -West.”</p> - -<p>Mlle. Kyasht and M. Adolf Bolm, who, early in May, 1910, -appeared in a “Fantaisie Chorégraphique,” a series of -charming dance-idylls, produced by M. Bolm, are remarkable -for that high-voltage dancing, that volcanic energy and -rapidity yet grace of movement, characteristic of the Russian -school, some notable exponents of which were appearing -just about the same time elsewhere.</p> - -<p>The chief dance of the suite at the Empire was one in -which Mlle. Kyasht appeared as a beautiful Princess, and -M. Bolm as her enamoured slave—Mlle. Kyasht all charm -and poetic ecstasy, M. Bolm all fiery energy and terpsichorean -miracles, now whirling madly as the wildest of -Dervishes, now suddenly stopping, poised and posed like -some perfect example of classic statuary. The dancers -received excellent support from Miss Phyllis Bedells and -Mr. Bert Ford; the mounting and costumes were novel and -admirably designed; and the production generally was voted -a great success.</p> - -<p>In the following July came a delightful <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ballet-divertissement</i>, -“The Dancing Master,” by Mr. C. Wilhelm, adapted from -the first scene of his earlier success, “The Débutante,” the -period chosen—that of 1835—affording a delightful opportunity -for a quaint and picturesque <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ensemble</i> of “early-Victorian” -or slightly pre-Victorian character and costume. -Mr. Fred Farren repeated his excellent character-study -of M. Pirouette, the excitable <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître de ballet</i> at the Opera-House;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_302"></a>[302]</span> -Mlle. Kyasht made a handsome impersonation of -Mimi the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">débutante</i>; and Miss Phyllis Bedells added to -her laurels as Mlle. Lutine, the clever head pupil. On -August 8th of the same year Miss Bedells took up Mlle. -Kyasht’s part of Mimi during the latter’s absence on a -holiday, and made a great hit as a bewitching representative -of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">débutante</i>.</p> - -<p>On October 10th following Mlle. Kyasht and Mr. Fred -Farren appeared in another of Miss Dora Bright’s ideal little -fantasies, “The Faun,” in which the former played -Ginestra, a little flower-girl, and the latter appeared in -the title-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i> as a marble faun who comes to life when sprinkled -with water from a magic fountain. The production, designed -and supervised by Mr. C. Wilhelm, was enchanting in its -blending of legend and mystery, with a sunny naturalism in -presentation.</p> - -<p>It was a charming idyll, and provided an excellent opportunity -for clever acting by Mr. Fred Farren, who fully -realised the classic and poetic idea in his representation -of the Faun, while Mlle. Kyasht quite surpassed her former -work in her appealing and dramatic impersonation of the -bewitched Ginestra.</p> - -<p>A considerable contrast to the classic grace of this Tuscan -idyll was seen in the following month when “Ship Ahoy!” -a nautical one-scene <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i> by Mr. C. Wilhelm, with -music by Mr. Cuthbert Clarke, was staged by Mr. Fred -Farren, who also arranged the dances. It was a lively and -attractive production, with plenty of fun and a dash of -melodrama, the fun being contributed mainly by Mr. Fred -Farren as a dandy young officer on leave, and for all his -“dudism” wide-awake enough to frustrate the horrid -machinations of a treacherous Ayah (originally and admirably -played by Miss Beatrice Collier and later by Miss Carlotta -Mossetti) and her accomplice. The young officer’s lighter<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_303"></a>[303]</span> -moments were happily given up to entertaining the Anglo-Indian -passengers on H.M.S. <i>Empire</i> with step-dancing, -the nimbleness and neatness of which only Mr. Farren can -excel. Bright and charming dances were also contributed by -Miss Phyllis Bedells and Miss Unity More, while Mlle. Lydia -Kyasht distinguished herself as Léontine L’Etoile, a -French <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuse</i>; and a special word of commendation is -due to the freshness of invention and novelty of effect achieved -by the designer in dealing with the somewhat hackneyed -stage subject of life aboard ship. The final <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ensemble</i>, when -the lady passengers improvised fancy ball costumes from -the ship’s flag-lockers and danced beneath the soft glow of -the swinging lanterns was a particularly novel, pretty and -inspiriting picture.</p> - -<p>Once more we had a classic ballet when, on May 18th, -1911, Delibes’ “Sylvia,” which, originally in five tableaux, -was compressed by Mr. C. Wilhelm into one for production -at the Empire. With its poetic mythological story and -charming sylvan setting, “Sylvia”—first produced at the -Paris Opera on June 14th, 1876—has always been popular -on the Continent; and it is curious that London should have -had to wait some twenty-five years before again seeing a -ballet, selections from which had long been familiar as -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entr’acte</i>-music for theatre orchestras. Still, it was worth -waiting to see it so admirably staged.</p> - -<p>Another contrast followed in the extremely modern and -somewhat formless production, “New York,” an original -ballet in two scenes, by Lieut.-Col. Newnham-Davis, in which -seemingly every form of American eccentricity in dancing—including -the “Yankee Tangle!”—was introduced. There -was a dance of Bowery boys and girls; a “Temptation Rag,” -by Mr. Fred Farren; a Buck Dance, an “Octette Eccentric”; -a “Bill-poster’s Dance”; the aforesaid “Yankee Tangle,” -and other not particularly beautiful or edifying examples,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_304"></a>[304]</span> -though the staging of the “Roof Garden” scene gave one a -very agreeable scheme of warm crimson and rosy colour, and -a picturesquely conceived and dressed episode of Pilgrim -Fathers and Red Indians.</p> - -<p>Early in the next year, a brief but graceful “Dance -Episode” was staged, “The Water Nymph,” arranged by -Mlle. Kyasht, who followed on September 24th with another, -entitled “First Love,” in which she was supported by Mons. -Alexander Volinin. This was followed on February 11th, -1913, by another fanciful ballet-idyll, “The Reaper’s Dream,” -in which Mlle. Lydia Kyasht appeared as the “Spirit of the -Wheatsheaf,” seen and pursued in his dream by the reaper -(Miss F. Martell); while Miss Phyllis Bedells made a dazzling -personage as “Sun-Ray,” flitting in and out the autumn -cornfield, which formed the setting for some very pretty -dances by the three ladies and the Empire <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">corps de ballet</i>.</p> - -<p>One of the most artistic productions at the Empire in -quite recent years was certainly the choral ballet, in three -tableaux: “Titania,” which, adapted of course from Shakespeare’s -“Midsummer Night’s Dream,” was arranged and -produced by Mlle. Lydia Kyasht and by Mr. C. Wilhelm, -the latter of whom was, as usual, entirely responsible for -the pictorial side of the ballet. It is interesting to note that -this was not the first time a Shakespeare play had been so -treated. No less a person than the great Dryden had adapted -“The Tempest” at a time, shortly before the Great Fire of -London, when Sir William Davenant was producing “dramatic -operas” at a theatre designed by Wren, the Duke’s Theatre -in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, which he held under a patent granted -in 1662 by Charles II. These, as an earlier historian records, -were “all set off with the most expensive decorations of -scenes and habits, with the best voices and dancers.”</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp56" id="i304a-l" style="max-width: 23.4375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_304a-l.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><span class="pad70pc"><em>Dover St. Studios</em></span><br /> -Mme. Lydia Kyasht</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp57" id="i304a-r" style="max-width: 23.8125em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_304a-r.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><span class="pad70pc"><em>Hugh Cecil</em></span><br /> -Miss Phyllis Bedells</div> -</div> - - -<p>Then, too, it was but a return to early history to give us -vocal-ballet, for all the earliest ballets on the French stage<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_305"></a>[305]</span> -were always described as “opera-ballets,” long declamatory -and choral scenes being interspersed with dances. Lulli, -Rameau, Mouret, Campra and Monteverde were among the -composers of such ballets, many of which, musically at least, -seem wonderfully fresh to-day. This, however, is but a -digression. “Titania” at the Empire was a very graceful -and poetic production, quite fairy-like enough, one feels, to -have delighted even Shakespeare himself, with Mlle. Lydia -Kyasht as a truly regal-looking Titania, Mr. Leonid -Joukoff as a dignified Oberon, Miss Unity More as a -nimble Puck (a part later played by Miss Ivy St. Helier), -and Miss Phyllis Bedells as an enchanting “first fairy,” -Philomel. On Mlle. Kyasht’s departure for America the -part of Titania was taken up by Miss Phyllis Bedells, -who added yet another to her growing list of artistic successes. -The ballet, which was beautifully staged, gave us some -enchanting pictures, one of which, the apotheosis of the -Fairy Realm seen through a tangled hawthorn brake, lingers -hauntingly in one’s memory.</p> - -<p>A new edition of “The Dancing Master” was subsequently -staged and was notable for some brilliant dancing by Miss -Phyllis Bedells, and by Mr. Edouard Espinosa in the title-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i>, -by whom it was produced. Mr. Espinosa, by the way, forms -an interesting link with the historic past. As the son of -Mons. Leon Espinosa (1825-1903), an Officier D’Académie, -Mr. Edouard is heir of a great tradition, and sustains the -heritage most worthily. His father was a pupil of seven of -the great masters of the early nineteenth, namely, Coulon -(1820), Henri (1821), Albert (1829), Perrot (1831), Coralli -(1831), Taglioni (1834), and Petipa (1839), to most of whom -reference has already been made, and who were themselves, -variously, pupils of the previous generation—which included -Vestris, Noverre, Gardel, and Dauberval—who, in turn, -were tutored by Pécourt and Beauchamps in the reign of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_306"></a>[306]</span> -Louis-Quatorze. Mr. Edouard Espinosa himself is a fine -dancer and teacher of the classic and traditional school, -and is also one of the best informed on the history of -the dance.</p> - -<p>“Europe,” a topical and patriotic <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">divertissement</i>, invented, -designed and produced by Mr. C. Wilhelm (who, despite his -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">nom de théâtre</i>, has an English name and is essentially English -born and bred), achieved, on its first performance on September -7th, 1914, an instant success. It was worthy of the best -traditions of the Empire Theatre. The choice of such a theme -as the condition of Europe, just before and during the greatest -war in history, might have been called into question on the -score of taste, and in the hands of any but a fine artist might -have easily been trivialised. The subject was treated with -marked dramatic ability and poetic dignity, and the production, -passing from the comparative lightness of the first scene, -into the more serious note of the second, attained to a high -level of art in the patriotic symbolism of the third, and -offered a tableau worthy the brush of any English painter -of historical subjects. Since then we have seen “The -Vine,” an Arcadian dance-idyll, invented, designed and -supervised by Mr. C. Wilhelm, while it was produced, and -the dances were arranged, by Mr. Fred Farren. It was -superbly staged and proved one of the most original, picturesque -and dramatic productions ever seen at the Empire. -Miss Phyllis Bedell’s impersonation of the Spirit of the Vine -seemed to have in it something of Dionysiac fire and revealed -her not only as an exquisite dancer, but a sensitive and temperamental -actress. Miss Carlotta Mossetti, another singularly -expressive and sympathetic mime, exhibited a sense of -classic inspiration in her study of the young Shepherd tempted -by the Vine-Spirit; excellent work also being done by Miss -Connie Walter as the Shepherd’s unhappy wife, and “Little -June,” a lithe and clever little dancer, as the Spirit of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_307"></a>[307]</span> -Mountain Stream. The scenery, painted by Mr. R. C. -McCleery; the costumes, executed by Miss Hastings, were -well in keeping with the poetic character of the story, and -the entire stage effect achieved formed an exquisite setting -for the dancer-mimes who were to interpret the dramatic -little idyll.</p> - -<p>So runs, in brief, the chronicle of ballet at the Empire, one -which, if it is somewhat attenuated in later years by the -increasing emphasis of that somewhat casual type of entertainment, -the “Revue,” is nevertheless quite remarkable -when one remembers that of the sixty or more ballets produced -at the famous house in twenty-seven years all were -commercially as well as artistically successful, and that -the theatre has not received State-aid, as have the continental -opera-houses where Ballet has been a staple -attraction.</p> - -<p>Thoughtless folk, who know little or nothing of the hard, -unremitting toil which goes to make a dancer, or of the -artistic training, thought and feeling which go to make a -designer or producer of ballet, often speak lightly and slightingly -of a type of theatrical production in which are blended -colour, form, movement and music into a balanced harmony -of varied arts under the term the art of Ballet. They rank it, -usually, somewhere lower than Drama or Opera. But the -placing of a colour in a colour scheme requires quite as -delicate a taste as the placing of a word in a sentence, or a -chord in a phrase of music; the introduction of a dancer or a -group needs just as critical a care as the introduction of a -character in a play or opera; and the telling of the story, -albeit mutely mimed, may be just as dramatic in effect as in -any verbal drama. The art of Ballet is a complex and -beautiful art, at its best a very beautiful; and those who -are prone to dismiss it lightly as a thing that more or less -occurs of itself, and is of slight account as a vehicle for the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_308"></a>[308]</span> -deliberate expression of beauty, should rather feel proud to -think that at the Empire in London we have seen, in the -course of a quarter of a century, Ballet of such artistic value -as to place it among the few real art influences of nineteenth -and early twentieth-century London.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_309"></a>[309]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXV">CHAPTER XXXV<br /><br /> -FINALE: THE RUSSIANS AND—THE FUTURE</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1"><span class="smcap">It</span> is curious to recall the fact that a taste for dancing -has always been a characteristic of the Londoners, who -have supported really artistic ballet as often as they have -had an opportunity.</p> - -<p>The Elizabethan masques; the ballet dancers imported -by Rich in the reign of Anne; and by Garrick, later; by -Lumley at Her Majesty’s in the ’forties; the native productions -of Ballet at the Empire and Alhambra for over a -quarter of a century; and, since, the importation of Russian -ballet, first at various “vaudeville” theatres and then at -Covent Garden and at Drury Lane, have all met with enthusiastic -support, and the support has been as catholic as it has -been cordial.</p> - -<p>Dancers, of various schools, whether of the traditional -ballet “school,” or otherwise, have quickly found their way -into popular favour. Looking back over theatrical memories -of the past twenty years or so, dance lovers will recall with -pleasure seeing at the Palace Theatre that statuesque and -extremely graceful dancer, Miss Mimi St. Cyr, in a delightful -little miniature ballet, “La Baigneuse,” a dance-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">scena</i> -invented by Mr. George R. Sims, in which she lured to life -the fountain-statue of a piping faun. Some will recall also -a dancer of very different school, Miss Lottie Collins, whose -“Tarrara-boom-de-ay” was a sensation in its way. Then, -too, who that saw her could ever forget that electric dancer<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_310"></a>[310]</span> -hailing from Australia, Mlle. Saharet, who entered as on the -wings of a whirlwind and, seeming all compact of</p> - -<p>“Passion and power and pride incarnate in laughter,” -held us all spellbound and breathless with sympathetic -joy in her abounding vitality, stimulating and tonic as -champagne.</p> - -<p>In more recent times the sensational success of Miss Maud -Allan—who presented us with the somewhat mystical -definition of dancing as “the spontaneous expression of a -spiritual state”; and, subsequently, of Mme. Pavlova and -M. Mordkin; is too recent to need recalling, and too -evident to call for specific praise from me when so many -and abler pens have already exhausted their ink in regretting -they could not write in fire. Admirers, particularly feminine -devotees, flocked in hundreds to see Miss Maud Allan dance -in a manner which many doubtless thought wholly new to -London, though some might have recalled that it was somewhat -of the same school—though temperamentally very -different—as that of Miss Isadora Duncan, who had given -us dances of a rather similar order some ten years before, and -that they were akin to the mimetic dances of ancient days.</p> - -<p>Miss Allan achieved a remarkable flexibility of movement -that was seen to advantage in her dances to the music -of Chopin and other classic masters. Her interpretation of -the “Spring Song” of Mendelssohn was not wholly new to -those who had seen Miss Isadora Duncan’s exposition of the -same music some ten years before. Her “Salome,” a melodrama -in dancing, created a sensation, though somewhat -morbid in effect, and hardly of the same artistic interest as -some of her other achievements. Of her popularity there -was no doubt, and a photograph of one of the queues which -awaited any one of her performances, especially the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">matinées</i>, -would—if one exist—always be valuable to future historians -of our time as a mute but eloquent record.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_311"></a>[311]</span></p> - -<p>Mme. Pavlova, who also first appeared at the Palace -Theatre, is an extremely accomplished <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuse</i> who probably -has not troubled, and certainly has not <em>needed</em> to trouble -herself, about definitions of the dance, for she belongs to a -“school,” the basis of which was defined a century or more -ago, and she herself is one of its most recent and perfect -blossomings. Mons. Mordkin, nurtured by the same school, -is superb, and it was no wonder that the first appearance of -these two artistes in their wonderful <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas de deux</i>, “L’Automne -Bacchanale,” should have fired some of our finest dramatic -critics to expressions of almost frenzied admiration and -doubtless driven shoals of lesser men to the neighbourhood -of Hanwell in despair at the impossibility of finding suitable -adjectives for the new wonder that had come amongst us. -One can only deplore the fact that the harmony which made -possible the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas de deux</i> of the first season should have been, -even temporarily, broken, and permitted us only to enjoy -the work of both dancers subsequently in <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas seuls</i>, or in -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas de deux</i>—with other partners.</p> - -<p>One could hardly close a reference to the popular Palace—a -reference necessarily brief, as must be any concerning the -various “vaudeville” houses in a review covering so wide a field—without -a passing word of grateful praise to that bevy of -bright young dancers, the “Palace Girls.” As people of -catholic enough taste to enjoy <em>all</em> dancing that is good in -itself—from the vigorous cellar-flap of the street urchin to -the aerial <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pas</i> of a Pavlova—we may agree that, in a sense, -the Palace has been all the more attractive for the “Palace -Girls.” Somehow the modern comedic spirit appears to -express itself best in short skirts, shapely legs and a jolly -smile; and in their insouciante charm, their neatness, -agility, precision and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">enfantine</i> gaiety, the “Palace Girls” -always seemed to focalise the requirements of “vaudeville,” -and symbolise the attractions of music-hall modernity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_312"></a>[312]</span></p> - -<p>Then, at the London Hippodrome, in many a Christmas -entertainment, ingeniously arranged and gorgeously staged, -half pantomime, half ballet, we have seen regular feasts of -dancing and always with enjoyment. But apart from -the spectacular productions for which the Hippodrome -early became famous, many a delightful solo dancer and -dance-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">scena</i> have been viewed there. To have seen those -exquisitely dainty artists, the Wiesenthal Sisters, is to -have ineffaceable memories of a stage-art that seems strangely -enough to link up the classic simplicity of ancient Greece -with the Watteauesque artifice of the eighteenth century, -and yet again the clear-seeing artistry, the supreme and -joyous colour-sense of latter day decorative art. The tone -and hue of their chosen background, the simple yet daring -colour-scheme of their dress, the thoughtful, almost dreamy, -grace of their every pose and movement, the purely picture-like -effect of their whole performance, summed up the modern -spirit in art that is striving—perhaps as yet half-consciously—for -a revolt from old methods and stereotyped traditions -and for something simpler, clearer, more direct and, be it -said, more beautiful and vital than we have yet had; the -art, in fact, of the men to come rather than the men who -have been, albeit it has drawn inspiration from the eternal -past. The Wiesenthal Sisters were not mere “performers”; -they were poems.</p> - -<p>Elsewhere, at various houses, what other dancers have -we seen of individual distinction? Long remembered must -be the sensation caused by Miss Loie Fuller on her first -appearance in London some years ago, as the introducer -of a curious form of dance in which the stage effects she -achieved were the paramount attraction. And what effects -they were—kaleidoscopic, magic, wonderful! Just a woman, -with a brain and shapely form, a mass of filmy draperies -floated here and there, on which were shed the splendour<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_313"></a>[313]</span> -of changing coloured lights, so that she seemed now some -wondrous butterfly, now like a mass of cloud suffused with -the gold of dawn, now like a fountain of living flame! Yes, -Loie Fuller should have been an artist! Should have? <em>Is</em> -an artist, who has not painted pictures but has lived them.</p> - -<p>Then there was Miss Ruth St. Denis at the Scala—a -vision of all the poetry and the mystery of the East. Ruth -St. Denis in an Indian market-place representing a snake-dance, -making cobras of her flexible arms and hands! Ruth -St. Denis as a Buddhist acolyte in the jungle! Ruth St. Denis -in a “Dance of the Senses,” so significantly poetic and full -of strange allure. Always the glamour of the East, but without -its menace and without its vice; the East exalted and austere. -Moreau himself might have envied her those dreams of form -and colour she made manifest, and all who saw her surely -must have realised that Ruth St. Denis danced her lovely -pictures as an artist born.</p> - -<p>Yet another artist of marked individuality and intellectual -distinction, Miss Isadora Duncan, was really the first to appear -in London who showed any marked ability to break away -from the traditional schools of ballet and step-dancing, and, -casting back to the days of ancient Greece, began deliberately -to use posture and movement as a means of expressing poetic -ideas. I first saw her at her London <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i>, when she appeared -in a performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” -one of a series of Shakespearian revivals which Mr. F. R. -Benson was giving—on February 22nd, 1900—at the old -Lyceum.</p> - -<p>She had but lately arrived from America, and was fired -with an enthusiasm for the graceful dance of classic days, -an enthusiasm which found ample expression in her dance -as a wood-nymph in a Shakespearian production which -I still remember as one of the most beautiful I have seen. -Shortly after Miss Duncan gave a special <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">matinée</i> at the old<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_314"></a>[314]</span> -St. George’s Hall entitled, “The Happier Age of Gold,” at -which idylls of Theocritus, poems by Swinburne and other -poets of classic inspiration, were recited to music and were -either accompanied or followed by an appropriate dance -designed and performed by Miss Duncan, who also set herself -the task of interpreting well-known musical <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">morceaux</i> by -means of a dance.</p> - -<p>One of the items on her programme was Mendelssohn’s -“Spring Song,” which received a thoroughly graceful and -sympathetic interpretation. Miss Duncan has, of course, -appeared in London frequently since then, and all dance-lovers -will remember the extraordinary charm of the series -of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">matinées</i> which she gave at the Duke of York’s Theatre -at which she introduced a number of child pupils. There -has never been anything meretricious or pretentious about -the work of Miss Isadora Duncan. It has always been -marked by a sense of deep-rooted culture, classic dignity -and poetic charm, and to her, certainly, so far as London is -concerned, belongs the credit of having first introduced a -form of dancing which has only too often since been parodied -under the term of “classic dancing”; and even as she was -the first, so, in my humble judgment, she is the best and -truest exponent of a school which is justified by the beauty -of its results, and which is having, and is likely yet to have, -far-reaching influence.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp51" id="i314a" style="max-width: 21.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_314a.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><span class="pad70pc"><em>Dover St. Studios</em></span><br /> -Miss Isadora Duncan</div> -</div> - - -<p>Then again, the Coliseum, young as it is, has already -created dance traditions for itself, and of the best sort. Was -it not there first of all that we were enchanted with the -Russian ballet? They were not the first Russian dancers -seen in London, for Mlle. Kyasht and Mme. Pavlova had -preceded them; but they were the first collective example -of Russian ballet from the Moscow and Petrograd Opera-Houses, -and it was here we first saw Mme. Karsavina, one of -the most supremely finished and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">élégante</i> dancers it has been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_315"></a>[315]</span> -London’s good fortune to see. What lightness, what purity -and dignity of style, what perfect execution and perfect ease, -and what poetic charm!</p> - -<p>Her <em>variation</em> in the “Sylphide” was a revelation of -classic art of the Taglioni school, and howsoever some may -prefer one “school” to another there must always be much -to be said for a training which assists the evolution of such -artists, for at least it is a sure training with sure and gracious -results.</p> - -<p>There is something in tradition when all it said and done, -and one has to remember that while even an iconoclastic -“Futurist” cannot help creating tradition in attempting to -do away with it, and while pure ballet-dancing may not be the -one and only kind which can give delight, it must command -the respect that is due to any art which respects its own -traditions, and can produce such dancers as Mme. Karsavina -and those who were first associated with her at the -Coliseum.</p> - -<p>More recently, we were to see at the same house, “Sumurun!” -It was strange indeed to think that a London -audience could be held by some seven scenes of a play in -which not a word was spoken; it was a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tour de force</i> of the -art of miming, but then also it was a revelation of the art of -stage effect. The decorative scheme, with its simple lines -and ample space, was unlike anything that we had had -before—unless perhaps in the nobler art of Mr. Gordon -Craig—and the colour schemes, mostly of a curiously dry, -cool note, were a pleasant change from the traditional -attempts at a stage realism that is only too often too unreal.</p> - -<p>Since then too there was, of course, the appearance of that -dainty Dresden-china dancer, Mme. Karina in a graceful -little dance-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">scena</i>, “The Colour of Life,” the expressive music -of which was by Miss Dora Bright. Mme. Karina, another -dancer who hails from Denmark, won instant appreciation for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_316"></a>[316]</span> -the beauty of her work, and is indeed notable for her precision, -grace and distinction.</p> - -<p>Yet again has Mlle. Adeline Génée made welcome reappearances -at the Coliseum, especially in “La Danse”—first produced, -I believe, at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York—which -formed a series of representations of the dances and -dancers of the historic past—forming practically a collection -of little cameos of the dance, having a distinct educational -value and presenting a veritable re-creation of all the great -stars of Ballet in the past, from Prévôt to Taglioni; in all of -which the world-famous dancer exhibited the same high -qualities of artistry that she had ever done.</p> - -<p>But among the many dance productions seen at this handsome -house probably the two most satisfactory judged as -ballet were the production of Mr. Wilhelm’s “Camargo,” -with Mlle. Génée in the title-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rôle</i>; and M. Kosloff’s production -of “Scheherazade,” the two forming an outstanding contrast -in one’s memory. The former, with the quiet dignity, -soft light and sumptuous stage embellishments of furniture and -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">décors</i>, and the dream-like quality assumed by the characters -in this rich and harmonious setting. One found in it -something of that visionary quality which gave the peculiar -charm to the “Versailles” production which I spoke of in -referring to the Empire. The music and the acting were so -expressive that one did not miss the words, and yet half-consciously -one knew they were not there just because of the -dream-like atmosphere which the music itself so helped to -create.</p> - -<p>The royal grace and dignity of Louis-Quinze, the butterfly -vivacity of Camargo herself, and the more vital and quieter -actions of her young soldier friend for whose misdeeds she -pleads for pardon from the King, were all but dream figures -in a dream, and it was as if the veil of the past had been -suddenly drawn aside and one had a glimpse of a century<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_317"></a>[317]</span> -seen through the half light of early dawn. Once more Mlle. -Génée excelled herself in doing apparently impossible things -with consummate ease, and once more one was glad to -welcome the sensitive, expressive and scholarly work of so -accomplished a musician as Miss Dora Bright.</p> - -<p>There was nothing of the cool and dream-like quality, -however, about Mons. Kosloff’s “Scheherazade.” Exotic, -bizarre, palpitant with warmth and colour, the production -stormed the imagination with its extravagance of hue and -tone, even as the tangled rhythms and seductive melodies -of the music captured the hearing and through it subdued -the mind to a sort of dazzled wonder. It was a stupendous -achievement, the more so in that it was brief.</p> - -<p>At various times and at various places we have seen in -London during the past ten years or so every form of dance -and ballet it would seem could possibly exist. “Sand” -dances; “Buck” dances; “Hypnotic” dances; “Salome” -dances; “Vampire” dances; “Apache,” “Classic,” -“Viennese,” Turkish, Egyptian, Russian, “Inspirational” -dancers, and even English ballet-dancers in an all-British -ballet once at the handsome Palladium; and also at the Court -and Savoy, where Stedman staged some delightful ballets -performed, under the direction of Miss Lilian Leoffeler and -Mr. Marshall Moore, by English dancers. Not only at the -regular vaudeville houses and theatres, however, is to be found -genuine appreciation of the British dance and dancer. Elsewhere -an English school of dance has been founded, and that -in a form for which the English nation was famous in Shakespeare’s -time.</p> - -<p>Henley made his plea for “Gigues, Gavottes and Minuets,” -but there are many other lovely, or lovelier, examples of -old-world dance to old-world music, which scholarship has -revived and good taste has been eagerly accepting wherever -they were seen—<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Pavane</i>, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Chaconne</i>, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Coranto</i>, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Galliard</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_318"></a>[318]</span> -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bourrée</i>, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Rigaudon</i>, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Passepied</i>, and <cite>Sarabande</cite>. These, and -other ancient dances, were, as we know, the delight of the -Courts of Queen Elizabeth, of Charles II, of Anne, of -Louis-Quatorze—<cite>le Grand Monarque</cite>, of Louis-Seize and -Marie Antoinette. Many have been revived and performed -to the music of the harpsichord, violin, viola, viole-d’amour, -and ’cello; and the curious thing—or, rather, interesting -thing, for it really is not strange—is that both to scholars and -to those unlearned in their history, to cultured townsman or -woman, and to country lad and lass, to bored frequenters -of the West End drawing-room, and to those who find only in -their dreams relief from the sordidness of an East End environment, -this old-world dance and music make an instant appeal.</p> - -<p>I saw this put to the test once when, at a hall in the somewhat -dingy neighbourhood of Bethnal Green, a performance -of the “Ancient Music and Dances,” arranged by Miss Nellie -Chaplin, was received by an audience of East End work-people -with such whole-hearted enthusiasm that practically -every item in a programme often performed in West End -drawing-rooms and at Queen’s and Albert Halls, as well -as at Liverpool and Manchester, Guildford, Oxford and elsewhere, -was encored, and several were doubly and trebly so.</p> - -<p>A Galliard of the seventeenth century, an Allemande -by an English composer, Robert Johnson (1540-1626), -Handel’s Oboe Concerto (1734), a Sarabande by Destouches -(1672), “Lady Elizabeth Spencer’s Minuet” performed at -Blenheim in 1788—all these and other historically interesting -items were encored by the audience, not because of their -historic interest, but simply because of their joyousness and -charm; while a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bourrée</i> by Mouret (1742), and the fascinating -Old English dance, “Once I loved a maiden fair” (one of a -group including “Althea,” “Lord of Carnarvon’s Jig,” and -Stanes’ Morris-dance) had to be given three times. This was -all complimentary, of course, to the beautiful way in which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_319"></a>[319]</span> -the dances and music were performed; but it was an interesting -revelation of the eternal appeal to humanity, whatsoever -the degree of caste or wealth, of the really good thing in art, -and certainly the centuries are bridged with ease by the charm -and joyousness of these old-time dances to their appropriate -music, seen and heard more recently and to such advantage -amid congenial environment in “Shakespeare’s England” at -Earl’s Court.</p> - -<p>Veritably we seem to have seen every known form of -dance and type of dancer in London during the past twenty -years or so, and latterly we have had at the Royal Opera-House, -and, since, at Drury Lane, such a festival of ballet -as has not been seen in England since the ’forties of last -century, for here we have seen a galaxy of dancers from the -two great opera-houses of Russia, that of the Mariensky at -Petrograd, and that of the great theatre in Moscow, -where the traditional training for ballet has been kept up and -infused with a new artistic spirit such as is hardly to be found -in any other continental opera-house.</p> - -<p>Early in last century Carlo Blasis brought the Milan -school to perfection, and thence went teachers to Paris, -Vienna, Dresden, Moscow, Petrograd, wherever they went -carrying something of the artistic spirit and culture of -their master, one of the most versatile <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maîtres de ballet</i> there -has ever been, for there seems to have been scarcely an art -of which he did not know something, and of which he could -not say something worth hearing.</p> - -<p>But since those days probably nowhere quite as in Russia -has the ballet moved with the times and been so imbued -with the new artistic spirit which has been at work within the -past generation.</p> - -<p>Painter, musician, poet, dramatist, and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maître de ballet</i>, -are called upon to produce the homogeneous and individual -spectacle which we call the Russian ballet.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_320"></a>[320]</span></p> - -<p>One has to recall but a few examples from the Russian -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">répertoire</i> to note with what serious artistic purpose the -art of Ballet is studied by the representatives of the best -school. Glazounov’s “Cleopatra,” a “mimodrame” in one -act; “Les Sylphides,” a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rêverie romantique</i>, the music by -Chopin; Schumann’s exquisitely whimsical “Le Carnaval,” -made into a pantomime-ballet in one act; “Le Dieu -Bleu,” by that curiously interesting and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rêveur</i> composer -Reynaldo Hahn. These are among the productions which, -ranging over classic, poetic and romantic subjects, would -veritably have appealed to such artists of the Ballet as -Rameau, Noverre, Gardel and Blasis, not to mention other -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maîtres</i> of more recent times. And what dancers to interpret -them! M. Nijinsky, perhaps the best male dancer of our -time, so good that one’s usual objection to the male dancer -melted into admiration: Mme. Karsavina, Mlles. Sophie Fedorova -and Ludmilla Schollar were among the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">danseuses</i> who had -been seen in London previously, and were each in their degree -remarkable not only as dancers but as brilliant mimes. -There was not one among the extensive and interesting cast -who was not of Russia’s best, the best that is that can come -from the school where the traditional art of Ballet is understood -not to be the result of a mere few lessons in “dancing,” -but the result of a study also of all that is best in the traditions -of art and music and literature, from all of which the art of -Ballet draws its inspiration.</p> - -<p>Yet again, one must pay tribute to the Russian artists on -their masterly sense of stage effect, and for that supreme -sense of what the ballet should be, namely, a harmony of the -arts. One has but to contrast three such productions as -“Les Sylphides,” “Cleopatra,” and Schumann’s “Carnaval,” -to see a revelation of stage artistry which put to shame the -conventionality which, save in rare instances—and in English -ballet—had characterised the London stage so long.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_321"></a>[321]</span></p> - -<p>In “Les Sylphides” we had the very essence of that -spirit of romanticism in which cultured Europe was revelling -during the ’twenties and the ’thirties of last century, -a spirit which found expression in depicting the wildness -and grandeur of mountain scenery, in the cloud-like fantasies -of Shelley, in the poignant intensity of Byronic -passion, and the romantic glamour of Spanish and German -legend.</p> - -<p>In “Cleopatra” we had a glimpse of the pride and passion -of an imperious Queen, ruling over a nation whose own -passions were but subdued by tyranny, in a land where earth -itself seemed satiated with the fructifying influence of water -and a burning sun. From the first moment to the last the -stage was in a glow, and a red thread of tragedy deepened -to a climax of despair.</p> - -<p>What a change to turn from such a production to the -whimsies, romance and fantasy of such a thing as Schumann’s -“Carnaval!” Here was the obverse of the romanticism of -“Les Sylphides”; the undercurrent of mockery and poetic -cynicism so characteristic of Schumann’s own music in its -lighter moods, characteristic of Heine and of de Musset. -Here again one found a masterly idea in the audacious simplicity -of the stage setting. To see the great stage of Covent -Garden decorated with long curtains and two sofas of the -truly early-Victorian pattern—stiff, prim, unyielding, and -covered with striped repp—was a thing to take one’s breath -away, until, as the music began, little figure after little figure -slipped, like figures in a dream, between the curtains: -Pierrot, Pierrette, Harlequin—little men and women of the -’thirties mingling with these eternal characters of drama, to -make a series of pictures of wooings and repulses, of meetings -and partings, of provocations and denials, revealing the -comedy of life, seen as it were in a glass “not darkly,” but -as a dream far off and mistily; eminently unreal; yet, in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_322"></a>[322]</span> -some other world far, far away, in some mysterious land of -dreams, one felt such things perchance might be.</p> - -<p>“Le Sacre du Printemps” was an ambitious attempt at -primitivism—if one may use the word—but while disliking -its suggestion of megalomania and the formlessness of its -decoration, one could not but admire so audacious an -endeavour to break wholly with tradition; and it was redeemed -by the virility and fantastic, mocking humour and -scenic splendour of Rimsky-Korsakov and Michel Fokine’s -“Le Coq d’Or,” and still more by the beauty of Leon Bakst -and Tcherepinin’s “Narcisse,” and the poetic charm of “Le -Spectre de la Rose.”</p> - -<p>These, however, are but brief impressions of recent pleasures, -shared by many others who may have been differently impressed. -We have had many books and articles on the Russian -ballet—some perhaps a little over-enthusiastic—and it is not -my purpose to deal extensively with history so recent that -most readers can as readily give account thereof.</p> - -<p>When all is said, the significant fact remaining is—that -at this end of the history of an art some two thousand years -old we find most recently in popular favour not English ballet -as it was in the sixteenth-century days of the essentially -English Masque; not French as it was in the seventeenth and -eighteenth centuries; not Italian, as it was in the ’forties of -last century; nor English as we have seen it, at its best, at the -Empire and Alhambra in the past quarter of a century; but the -Russian ballet! the balance of the arts; which the Russians -have only been able to do <em>by sheer technical efficiency</em>—quite -apart from ideas or ideals expressed—in <em>all</em> the arts of which -ballet is composed, and which has enabled them to do -exactly that which they have set out to do. That, perhaps, -is the one thing that Russian ballet has shown us, which is of -the greatest value and significance for any lovers of the art in -any capital of the world.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i322a" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_322a.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><span class="pad70pc"><em>E. O. Hoppé</em></span><br /> -Mme. Karsavina and M. Adolf Bolm in “L’Oiseau de Feu”</div> -</div> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_323"></a>[323]</span></p> - -<p>One may ask, however, what is the position of England in -regard not only to ballet, but to the other arts? We have -State, and County Council Art and Craft schools; we have -the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College, the Guildhall -School, and numerous private schools and “academies” -where music and the dramatic arts are taught; all admirable -as far as they go. We have, as yet, no State-aided -theatre and no State-aided opera-house, to which, as on the -Continent, an academy for the study of the dance and ballet -is attached. Is it not strange that the richest city in the -world should be deficient in these things?</p> - -<p>It may be that there is greater vitality in the arts when -they are pursued only under the conditions of competitive, -private enterprise; but it is curious that in practically every -other country the dramatic arts have been fostered by the -State, and that we in this country seem ever to show a -greater welcome to foreign singers and dancers than we do to -our own.</p> - -<p>There is, of course, always a great danger that an institution, -secure in the support it receives from the State, may -become conventional; the spirit of its art may grow arid and -unprofitable, but at least it ensures a standard of technical -efficiency, and, if there be a vital spirit in the nation, that -spirit will show itself in the work of such an institution. -Russia has proved all this.</p> - -<p>Given a National Opera-House, to which were attached a -Royal Academy of Dancing, what might the future of -Ballet be in this country?</p> - -<p>The answer depends mainly, one feels, on the extent of the -possibilities to which the art of Ballet could be realised by -those who lead in the artistic expression of the national -spirit. The poet, the artist, the musician, the Master of -Dance, and the dancers—men and women—realising the -possibilities of the composite art of Ballet, might foreshadow<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_324"></a>[324]</span> -possibilities greater than any we have seen. Yet greater -possibilities might be foreshadowed of one who was all these -things; and could combine (as Mr. Gordon Craig would have -the master of the Art of the Theatre combine) <em>all</em> the arts of -the theatre.</p> - -<p>It would seem that now and then, through lack of technical -efficiency in one or other of the arts which go to the making -of ballet, that ballet itself has not always attained its highest -possible level in England.</p> - -<p>But without that basic technical efficiency in the living -material which he manipulates, how can the creator of the -ballet express himself? A standard of technique at least should -exist. That given, what might not yet be done with this art, -which history shows has always been so plastic in the hands -of the master-artist, so responsive to the artistic or national -moods of the people among whom it has been found.</p> - -<p>It has the value and significance of painting, together with -the vital and impressive effect of drama. It is not the art of -depicting reality; but the art of pictorial suggestion, giving -life and form to poetic ideas.</p> - -<p>At the Royal or Ducal Courts of earlier days the compliment -to monarch or to minister would be conveyed by means -of a courtly ballet, the story of which dealt outwardly perhaps -only with the doings of some mythic hero of the classic past. -But the art of Ballet always had greater possibilities than -courtly compliment, in that it is always a plastic vehicle for -the expression of all ideas; and, given the standard of efficiency -which makes production possible at all, it only becomes -a question of what theme shall be treated by this means rather -than by the arts of painting, or of music, or drama, or of -literature.</p> - -<p>On these two points—the standard of technical efficiency -attained by those associated in the production of ballet, and -on the choice of theme and manner of treatment by the artist-mind<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_325"></a>[325]</span> -ultimately responsible for the production, depends the -whole future of the art of Ballet. The spirit of the artist -and his means of expression; there lies the future.</p> - -<p>What shall be the technique of ballet, and to what extent -shall it be influenced by that of the dance?</p> - -<p>To-day, the forms of dancing are various, but there are -three main divisions: first, all popular forms of “step,” -or, to adopt an old and useful term, “toe-and-heel” dancing; -secondly, the traditional “toe”-dancing of classic ballet, -capable of every <em>nuance</em> of expression; and thirdly, the -various forms of rhythmic movement and effects of poise, -which seem to approach nearly to the ancient Hellenic ideal -of the Dance, and of which Miss Isadora Duncan was perhaps -the first exponent in England, as Mrs. Roger Watts is the -latest; while yet another phase of the same ideal is -seen in the Eurhythmic system of Jacques Dalcroze, -which has had, and will have, great influence in many -directions.</p> - -<p>We have seen on the London stage ballets in which the -dancing was almost wholly “step”-dancing, toe-and-heel—such -as “On the Heath,” at the Alhambra; we have seen -numberless ballets in which the traditional “toe”-dancing -was paramount, from “Coppélia” to “Roberto il Diavolo,” -or the later productions of the Russians; we have not yet -seen a ballet composed entirely, or even mainly on the lines -of the Hellenic revival, though we have had hints of it in -concerted dances by pupils of Miss Duncan and others, and -the complete thing may yet come, though, personally, I -question the advisability. We have already had some curious, -interesting, and not quite illogical attempts to suggest scenic -effect by means of living people performing appropriate and -rhythmic movements, as in the production of Mr. Reginald -Buckley’s poetic drama “King Arthur.”</p> - -<p>In one or other of these three divisions of the dance and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_326"></a>[326]</span> -the respective technical advance in each, lie the chief means -of artistic expression for the master of ballet in the future, -and it may be that the traditional “ballet”-dancing, with -its marvellous flexibility of expression, will, so long as the -present standard of technique is sustained, always maintain -its supremacy over the purely popular forms of dancing, and -the newer modes of rhythmic movement and gesture. It has -at least stood the test of time, as a definite and logical -medium of artistic expression.</p> - -<p>As to the master-mind that is to select one or other of -these forms of the Dance, and combine it with miming, music -and scenic effect to achieve a ballet that shall be the medium -of ideas, worthy to range as a work of art alongside the tried -masterpieces of painting, music, drama or literature, it may -be questioned if we shall see anything worthier than the past -has given us at its best. Some new Noverre or Blasis, -Wilhelm or Fokine may yet arise, of course; but until such -a one come forth we may be well content with the standard -which the Past has managed to achieve.</p> - -<p>To that standard this volume is a willing tribute; a -faithful record, which may have novelty for some, unaware of -days before their time; while for others, whose memory of -more recent—but yet receding!—events, grows dim, it may -come as a friendly reminder of pleasant hours spent, by writer -and by reader, in contemplating from the auditorium the -varied examples seen at London theatres of the protean Art -of Ballet.</p> - -<p class="pfs80 p3">THE END</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_327"></a>[327]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX</h2> -</div> - - -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Adam, Adolphe, composer, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Addison, Joseph, <a href="#Page_142">142-147</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ænea, dancer, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æschylus, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agoust, Louise, dancer, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Aguzzi, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Albert, Ferdinand, dancer, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Albert, Paul, dancer, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Albertieri, Luigi, dancer, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Albery, James, dramatist, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alembert, Jean le Rond d’, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alençon, Emilienne d’, dancer, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alexander, Appius, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alhambra, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252-275</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alias, M. et Mme., costumiers, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271-273</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Allan, Maud, dancer, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Allard, Marie, actress and dancer, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Allemande (Almain) dance, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">by Robert Johnson, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Almonti, brothers, dancers, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anderson, Percy, designer of costumes, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">André, dancer, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Angiolini, pupil of Noverre, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anka, Cornélie d’, singer, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="IArbeau">Arbeau</a>, Thoinot, author of <cite>Orchésographie</cite>, 1588, <a href="#Page_60">60-70</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arlequin. <em>See</em> <a href="#IHarle">Harlequin</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arnould, Sophie, dancer, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arundale, Grace, dancer, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arundale, Sybil, dancer, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Atellanæ</i>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Athenæus, quoted, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Auber, D. F. E., composer, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Audran, engraver, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Augier, Anne Catherine, married Auguste Vestris, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Austin, Esther, dancer, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Baif, author, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bakst, Leon, ballet producer, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ballard, French printer, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ballet Comique de la Royne, <a href="#Page_56">56-60</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70-73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ballet-ambulatoire, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Beatification of Ignatius Loyola, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Canonisation of S. Charles Boromée, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ballet in England from early 18th century, largely imported from France and Italy, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> -<li class="isub1">new spirit infused in first half of 19th century, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> -<li class="isub1">of small artistic value from 1850-1870, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> -<li class="isub1">revival as London institution at Alhambra and Empire, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> -<li class="isub1">all British ballet, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> -<li class="isub1">no State-aided training, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Heroic;</li> -<li class="isub2">eighty given in France from 1589-1610, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Pantomime, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Russian, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>;</li> -<li class="isub2">given first at Coliseum, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>;</li> -<li class="isub2">at Covent Garden, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>;</li> -<li class="isub2">at Drury Lane, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>;</li> -<li class="isub2">dancers from the Mariensky, Petrograd, and from Opera House, Moscow, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Savoy, Court of, <a href="#Page_89">89-91</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ballets:</li> -<li class="isub1">Acis and Galatea, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Aladdin, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Veil of Diamonds, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Alaska, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Alchemists, of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Alcibiade, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Algeria, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> -<li class="isub1">All the Year Round, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Alma, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Amour, Malade l’, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Amour Vengé, l’, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Amours Déguisés, les, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Antiope, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Asmodeus, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_328"></a>[328]</span>Astrea, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Automne Bacchanale, l’, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Babil et Bijou, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Bacchus et Ariane, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Baigneuse, la, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Bayadères, les, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Beatrix, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Beauties of the Harem, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Beauty and the Beast, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Belle au Bois Dormant, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Belle of the Ball, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Bivouac, the, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Bluebeard, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Britannia’s Realm, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> -<li class="isub3">Pas des Patineurs, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Bugle Call, the, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li> -<li class="isub1">By the Sea, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cadmus, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Caractères de la Danse, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Camargo, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Carmen, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Carnaval (Schumann), <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Carnaval de Venise, le, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cassandra, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Castor and Pollux, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cécile, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Chercheuse d’Esprit, la, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Chicago, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Chinois, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cinderella, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cinq Seul, le, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cinquantaine, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cleopatra, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cleopatra (Glazounov), <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cloches de Corneville, les, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Colour of Life, the (dance-<em>scena</em>), <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Coppélia, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Coppélia (Delibes), <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Coq d’Or, le, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cupid, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cupid in Arcadia (Comic), <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Dance Dream, the, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Dancing Doll, the, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Dancing Master, the, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Danse, la, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Day in Paris, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Day Off, a, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Débutante, the, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Débutante, the, new edition, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Demon’s Bride, the, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Devil’s Forge, the, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Diable au Violon, le, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Diana, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Dieu Bleu, le, <a href="#Page_319">319</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Dilara, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Don Juan, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Don Quixote, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Dream of Wealth, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Dryad, the, <a href="#Page_296">296-298</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Duel in the Snow, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Enchantment, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Endymion, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Entente Cordiale, the, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Eoline, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Europe, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Excelsior, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fairies’ Home, the, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fantaisie Chorégraphique, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Faun, the, <a href="#Page_302">302</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Faust, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Femina, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fernando Cortez, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fête Galante, la, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fêtes d’Adam, les, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fêtes de Bacchus et de l’Amour, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fêtes d’Hébé, les, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fêtes Vénitiennes, les (opera ballet), <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fidelia (le Violon du Diable), <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Filets de Vulcain, les, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fille du Bandit, la, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fille du Danube, la, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fille de Marbre, la, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li> -<li class="isub1">First Love, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Flora, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Flore et Zephire, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Gardes Françaises, les, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Gay City, the, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Gemma, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Giselle, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Gitana, la, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Golden Wreath, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Gretna Green, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Handy Man, the, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Happy Shipwreck, the, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Hertha, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Horoscope, the, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Hungary, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Hurly Burly, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Hvika, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Ideala, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Impatience, l’, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Inspiration, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Iphigénie en Aulide, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Irene, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Jack Ashore, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Japan, in, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_329"></a>[329]</span>Jugement de Pâris, le, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Pas des Déesses, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Lac des Fées, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Laura and Lenze, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Lydie, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Médée et Jason, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Melusine, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Memnon, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Milliner Duchess, the, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Mirza, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Monte Cristo, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Mountain Sylph, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Mystères d’Isis, les, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Nadia, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Napoli, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Narcisse, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Nations, Les, Parisian Quadrille, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> -<li class="isub1">New York, <a href="#Page_303">303</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Nina the Enchantress, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Ninette à la Cour, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Nisita, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Old China, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Ondine, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On the Square, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Or, Le Coq d’, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Orfeo, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Oriella, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Our Army and Navy, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Our Crown, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Palace of Pearl, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Papillons, les, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Paquita (Grisi), <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Paquita (Alhambra), <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Paris Exhibition, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Parisiana, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Peri, the, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Perseus, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Plaisirs, les, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Polly, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Premier, Navigateur, le, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Press, the, <a href="#Page_284">284</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Printemps, Le Sacre du, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Psyche (1787), <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Psyche (Alhambra), <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Puella, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Pygmalion, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Queen of Spades, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Raillerie, la, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Reaper’s Dream, the, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Réception d’une jeune nymphe à la cour de Terpsichore, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Red Shoes, the, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Rip van Winkle, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Roberto il Diavolo, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Robert Macaire, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Rose d’Amour, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Rose de Séville, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Rosière, la, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Round the Town, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Round the Town Again, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Round the World, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sacre du Printemps, le, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Salandra, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sal! Oh My! <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sappho and Phaon, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Scheherazade, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Seaside, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Seasons, the, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Ship Ahoy! <a href="#Page_302">302</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sicilien, le, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sioux, the (comic), <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sir Roger de Coverley, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sleeping Beauty, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Soldiers of the Queen, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Spectresheim, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Spectre de la Rose, le, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sports of England, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Swans, the, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sylph of the Glen, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sylphide, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sylphides, les, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sylvia, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Télémaque, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Temps, le, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Temps de la Paix, le <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Temptation, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Titania, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Tobacco, of (1650), <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Tribulations d’un Maître de Ballet, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Triomphe de l’Amour, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Triumph of Bacchus, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Triumph of Venus, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Two Flags, the, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Two Gregorys, the, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Under One Flag, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Versailles, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Vestale, la, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Victoria and Merrie England, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Village Festival, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Vincennes, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Vineland, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Vine, The, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Vivandière, la, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Water Nymph, the, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Wildfire, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Yolande, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Zanetta, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Zephyre, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ballon, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Baltasarini. <em>See</em> <a href="#IBeau">Beaujoyeux</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Banquet-ball, <a href="#Page_53">53-55</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_330"></a>[330]</span>Baron, author, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Basse-dance, <a href="#Page_63">63-66</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bathyllus, Roman actor, <a href="#Page_44">44-46</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Baudiery-Laval, maître de ballet, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Baudiery-Laval, Michel-Jean, dancer, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Baum, John, manager Alhambra, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Beauchamps, dancer, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109-111</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="IBeau">Beaujoyeux</a> (Baltasarini), designer of Ballet Comique de la Reine, 1581, <a href="#Page_56">56-60</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70-73</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Beaumont, Francis, dramatist, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Beaupré, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bedells, Phyllis, dancer, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299-305</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Belloni, actor, famed as Pierrot, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Beni Hassan, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Benserade, arranged ballet of “Cassandra” in which Louis XIV appeared, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Benson, F. R., <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bensusan, S. L., adapted ballet from his novel, <cite>Dede</cite>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Berein, Francis, theatrical mechanician, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Berend, Rosa, actress, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bergonzio di Botta, arranged the Banquet-ball, 1489, <a href="#Page_52">52-56</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bertin, Antoine, author, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bertrand, A., ballet master, <a href="#Page_255">255-258</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bessone, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bianchini, designer, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Biancolelli, Pierre-François (Domenique), actor, famed as Arlequin, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bias, Fanny, dancer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bigottini, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bishop, Will, dancer, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blande, Edith, actress, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blasis, Carlo, actor, dancer, writer, and Director of Imperial Academy of Dancing and Pantomime at Milan, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213-220</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blasis, Francesco, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blasis, Teresa, sister of Carlo, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blasis, Vincenza Coluzzi Zurla, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blasis, Virginia, sister of Carlo, prima donna, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blaze, Castil, writer on Paris Opera, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">quoted, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blondi, dancer, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Boileau, Nicolas, Sieur Despréaux, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bolm, Adolphe, dancer, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bonnet, author, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bordin, Maria, dancer, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bouffon, dance, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bourgeois, composer, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bourrée, dance, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Brancher, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Branle (bransle) dance, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bright, Dora, composer, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Brissac, Duc de, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Britta, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Brocard, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Broughton, Phyllis, dancer and actress, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Browne, William, poet, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Brutton, W. M., architect, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Buckley, Reginald, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bunn, manager Drury Lane, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Byng, G. W., musical director Alhambra, <a href="#Page_265">265-268</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272-274</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Cachucha, dance, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Calthrop, Dion Clayton, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Calverley, C. S., translation quoted, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Camargo, Marie-Anne de Cupis de, dancer, <a href="#Page_115">115-117</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156-162</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cambert, musician, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Campion, Thomas, poet and musician, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Campra, composer, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Canaries (Canary), dance, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Canova, sculptor, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Canterbury Music Hall, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Captain, The, conventional character of 18th century Italian comedy, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Caroso, author, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Carr, Osmond, Dr., <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Carville, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Casaboni, Josephine, dancer, <a href="#Page_264">264-266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Casati, M., ballet master, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cavallazi, Malvina, Mme., dancer, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cave, Joseph A., manager Alhambra <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cecchetti, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Celerier, director of Opera, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cerito, Fanny, dancer, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240-243</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245-247</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cerri, Cecilia, dancer, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chaconne, dance, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_331"></a>[331]</span>Chambers, Emma, actress, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chameroy, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chaplin, Nellie, reviver of ancient music and dances, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chapman, George, dramatist, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chevigny, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Choiseul, de, Archbishop of Cambrai, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Choiseul, Maréchal de, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cibber, Colley, quoted, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cinthio, character in French pantomime, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Clarke, Cuthbert, composer, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cleather, Gordon, singer, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Clerc, Elise, dancer and ballet producer, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Clermont, College of, ballets at, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Clotilde, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Clown, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cochin, C. N., engraver, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Coffin, Hayden, actor, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Coliseum, <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Collette, Charles, actor, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Collier, Beatrice, dancer, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Collins, Lottie, dancer, <a href="#Page_309">309</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Colonna, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Columbine, conventional character of 18th century Italian comedy, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Comedie Ballet, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Comelli, designer of costume, <a href="#Page_271">271-273</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantini, Angelo, actor, famous impersonator of Mezzetin, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Contredanse, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cook, Aynsley, actor, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cook, Furneaux, actor, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Coppi, Carlo, ballet producer, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cormani, Mme., dances arranged by, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cormani, Miss, dancer, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Corneille, Pierre, author, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Costa, Mario, composer, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Coulon, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Coulon, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Courante (Coranto) dance, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Covent Garden Theatre, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cracovienne, dance, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Craig, Gordon, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Craske, Dorothy, dancer, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crozat, patron of Watteau, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crystal Palace, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Curti, Alfredo, ballet master, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Dalcroze, Jacques, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dallas, John J., actor, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dance, older than drama, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> -<li class="isub1">early instinct of mankind, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> -<li class="isub1">ritual of, in Egypt, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> -<li class="isub1">sacred, secular, theatrical, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> -<li class="isub1">in Greece, <a href="#Page_31">31-40</a></li> -<li class="isub1">in Greek drama: <i>Emmeleia</i>, <i>Hyporchemata</i>, <i>Kordax</i>, <i>Sikinnis</i>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Pyrrhic, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li> -<li class="isub1">in honour of Jupiter, of Minerva, of Apollo, of Innocence to Diana, of Delos to Venus, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li> -<li class="isub1">in Eleusinian mysteries, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Collar, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> -<li class="isub1">individualistic, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dancing, value of personality in, <a href="#Page_283">283</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Daniel, Samuel, poet, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dauberval, dancer, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dauberval, Mme. (<em>née</em> Mlle. Theodore), dancer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Davenant, Sir William, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> - -<li class="indx">David, G. Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - -<li class="indx">David, Jacques Louis, painter, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Davies, Sir John, author of <cite>Orchestra, or a Poeme on Dauncing</cite>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dekker, Thomas, dramatist, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Delaborde, financier, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Delaplace, actor, played Scaramouche, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">de la Roque, Antoine, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">librettist of “Médée et Jason,” <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Delibes, composer, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dervieux, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Desaix, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Deshayes, M., dancer and producer of ballet, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Desmarets, composer, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Desmares, Mlle., Danish actress, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Desmatins, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Desnos, Bishop of Verdun, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Despréaux, Jean, dancer and poet, <a href="#Page_190">190-201</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Destouches, composer, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Didelot, M., ballet master, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Diderot, Denis, encyclopædist, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Doctor, The, conventional character of 18th-century Italian comedy, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_332"></a>[332]</span>Dolaro, Selina, actress and dancer, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dolivet, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dorat, poet, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dorival, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dowsett, Vernon, stage manager Alhambra, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Drama, early, <a href="#Page_25">25-29</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Drury Lane Theatre, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dryden, Alexander, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dumoulin, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Duncan, Isadora, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Duport, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dupré, Louis Pierre, dancer, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Duverney, Pauline, dancer, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Edelinck, engraver, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Edwardes, George, theatre manager, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Egville, d’, M., producer of ballet, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Elia, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Elliots, the, family of dancers, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Elssler, Fanny, dancer, <a href="#Page_210">210-212</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Elssler, Thérèse, sister of above, dancer, <a href="#Page_210">210-212</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Emmanuel, <cite>La Danse Grecque</cite>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Empire Theatre, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294-308</a></li> -<li class="isub1">closed, October 27 to November 2, 1893, by County Council, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Espinosa, ballet producer, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Espinosa, Edouard, dancer, actor and producer, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Espinosa, Judith, dancer, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eularia, character in French pantomime, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Euripides, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Fabbri, dancer, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fairs, Theatres of the, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128-130</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> -<li class="isub1">St. Germain, February to Easter, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> -<li class="isub1">St. Laurent, June to October, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Falcon, Mme., singer, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fandango, dance, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Farinis, the, gymnasts, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Farnie, H. B., librettist, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Farren, Fred, dancer, actor and producer, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299-304</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Faustin, designer of costumes, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Favart, Mme., dancer, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Favier, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fedorova, Sophie, dancer, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fernon, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ferrabosco, Alfonso, composer, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ferraris, Amalia, dancer, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ferté, de la, M., Director de l’Académie, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Feuillet, ballet master, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fleming, Noel, actor, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fletcher, John, dramatist, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fokine, Michel, ballet producer, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fontanes, President of the French Legislative Chamber, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ford, A. G., stage manager Alhambra, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ford, Bert, dancer, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ford, Ernest, composer, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Foucarts, the, gymnasts, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fouquet, Comptroller of Finances, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fragonard, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Francine, a director of Royal Academy of Dance and Music, Paris, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Francoeur, director of Opera, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fuller, Loie, dancer, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fuseli, Henry, painter, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Gaillarde (<em>cinq-pas</em>), dance, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Galeazzo, Duke of Milan, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gallini, director of Opera in London, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ganne, Louis, composer, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gantenberg, Edvige, dancer, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gardel, Maximilien, maître de ballet, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gardel, Pierre, brother of above, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Garrick, David, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gascoigne, George, poet and dramatist, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gautier, Théophile, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, quoted <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, quoted <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gavotte, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Geltzer, Catrina, dancer, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Génée, Adeline, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">début in London, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284-298</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Génée, Alexandre, uncle to Adeline, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gersaint, correspondent of Watteau, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_333"></a>[333]</span>Gherardi, Evariste, quoted, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gigue, dance, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Giles, Thomas, dance-master, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gillert, Mlle. T. de, mime, <a href="#Page_255">255-259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gilles. <em>See</em> <a href="#IPier">Pierrot</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gillot, Claude, engraver, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gilmer, Albert A., manager Alhambra, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Giuri, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Glazounov, composer, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Glover, James W., composer, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gluck, Christoph, composer, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Goncourt, Edmond, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Goncourts, de, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gorsky, Alexander A., ballet producer, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gosselin, Mlle., dancer, “the boneless,” <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grahn, Lucile, dancer, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244-248</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Granville, Violet, actress, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gregory, Nazianzen, quoted, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grétry, composer, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Greville, Eva, dancer, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grey, Miss Lennox, singer and actress, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grey, Sylvia, dancer, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grigolati troupe, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grimaldi, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grisi, Carlotta, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235-239</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grisi, Giuditta, singer, cousin of Carlotta, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grisi, Giulia, singer, cousin of Carlotta, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gueméné, Prince de, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Guerrero, Mme., dancer, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Guimard, Madeleine, dancer, “le squelette des Grâces,” <a href="#Page_179">179-195</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Haggard, Sir Rider, ballet founded on his <cite>Cleopatra</cite>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hahn, Reynaldo, composer, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hall, Edward, chronicler, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hamoche, actor, famed as Pierrot, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Handel, George F., composed “Terpsichore” for Mlle. Sallé, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hardouin, dancer, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="IHarle">Harlequin</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Harlequinade, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Harris, Sir Augustus, theatre manager, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hastings, Charles, quoted, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hawthorne, Ethel, dancer, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Haymarket Theatre (King’s), <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Heberlé, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Heinel, Mme., dancer, wife of Gaetan Vestris, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Henley, W. H., poet, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Henry, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hermitage, the, Petrograd, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Herne, Hieronimus, dance master, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Herodotus, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hersee, H., <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hertford House, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135-137</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hervé, composer, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hilligsberg, Mme., <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hippodrome, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hitchins, H. J., manager Empire, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hofschuller, Fräulein, dancer, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Holland, William, manager Alhambra, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hollingshead, John, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hooten, Miss, dancer, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Howell, James, business manager Alhambra, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hylas, roman actor, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Iliad, quotation from Book xviii, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Isabella of Aragon, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Isabelle, conventional character of 18th-century Italian comedy, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Italian comedians in Paris, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> -<li class="isub1">early troupe in 1576, <cite>Gli Gelosi</cite>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fiorelli’s Royal troupe, Palais Royal, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> -<li class="isub1">banished from France, 1679-1716, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> -<li class="isub1">at Theatres of the Fairs, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> -<li class="isub1">troupes of Mme. Jeanne Godefroy, Von der Beck, of Christopher Selles, of Louis Nivelon, of St. Edmé, of Constantini (known as Octave), <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Jacobi, G., composer, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jarente, de, Bishop of Orleans, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Johnson, Robert, composer, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jones, Inigo, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jones, Sidney, composer, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jonson, Ben, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Josset, Mlle. M. A., dancer, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Joukoff, Leonid, dancer, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_334"></a>[334]</span>Joyeuse, Duc de, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Julian the Apostate, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Julie, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jullienne collection of engravings after Watteau, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Justinian, Emperor, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Karina, Mme., dancer, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Karsavina, Mme., <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“King Arthur,” poetic drama, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kiralfy, Imre, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kiralfy, Bolossy, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kiralfy, Aniola, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kosloff, M., ballet producer, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kyasht, Lydia, dancer, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298-305</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Laborie, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">La Bruyère, quoted, <a href="#Page_105">105-106</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lafontaine, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">La Malaguenita, dancer, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lancret, Nicholas, painter, Louis XIV., <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lanner, Katti, Mme., maîtresse de ballet, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278-282</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> -<li class="isub1">her National School of Dancing, <a href="#Page_278">278</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lanner, Joseph, waltz composer, <a href="#Page_278">278</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lany, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lapierre, dancer, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Laporte, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> - -<li class="indx">La Salmoiraghi, dancer, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lau, Comtesse de, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lauri family, dancers, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Laverne, Pattie, singer, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lawton, Frank, whistler, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leandre, conventional character of 18th-century Italian comedy, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Le Basque, dancer, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Le Breton, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lecocq, composer, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ledoux, architect, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lee, Miss Rose, actress, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Le Fré, Albert, dancer, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Legallois, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Legnani, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leigh, Henry S., dramatist, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leoffeler, Miss L., dance-mistress and producer, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lenoir, architect, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Léo, composer, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leon, Virginia, dancer, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leonora, La Belle, dancer, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leotard, gymnast, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Le Peintre, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lepicq, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leroux, Pauline, dancer, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Le Sage, Alain, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leslie, Fanny, actress, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leslie, Fred, actor, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">L’Etang, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lethbridge, Alice, dancer, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><cite>Lettres sur la Danse, et sur les Ballets</cite>, by Noverre, published 1760, English translation 1786, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">quoted, <a href="#Page_174">174-178</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Levey, Florence, dancer, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ligne, Prince and Princesse de, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theatre, (Duke’s), <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lind, Jenny, singer, <a href="#Page_248">248</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lind, Letty, dancer, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Locke, John, author, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Longhi, Giuseppe, engraver, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Longus, vintage dance in his novel <cite>Daphnis and Chloe</cite>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Loseby, Constance, actress, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lovati, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Love, Mabel, dancer, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lucian, quoted, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lulli, Jean-Baptiste, composer, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lumley, manager of the Opera (Her Majesty’s), <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Luna, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lutz, Meyer, musician, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lycurgus, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">McCleery, R. C., scenic artist, <a href="#Page_307">307</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maccus, prototype of Punch, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Machiavelli, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Madrolle, French publicist, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maine, Duchesse du, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Majiltons, acrobatic dancers, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Malibran, Maria, singer, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Malter, the brothers, dancers, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Maneros,” <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Manzotti, ballet producer, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mapleson, manager Covent Garden, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marguerite of Lorraine, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maria la Belle, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marie, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marie Antoinette, Queen, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marinette, character in French pantomime, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marius, M., actor, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marmontel, Jean François, writer, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Martell, F., Miss, dancer, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Martinetti, Paul, ballet producer, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_335"></a>[335]</span>Marvin, Fred, actor, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mask first discarded by Gaetan Vestris in dancing, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Masque, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> -<li class="isub1">list of notable, 1585-1609, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Elizabethan, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Matachin, dance, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mathews, Julia, actress, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Matthews, Miss, dancer, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maupin, Mlle. de, dancer, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mauri, Rosita, dancer, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">May, Miss Alice, actress, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">May, Jane, Mlle., <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mazurka, dance, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Melville, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Menestrier, Abbé, quoted, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Méry, poet, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Meursius, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mezzetin, conventional character of 18th-century Italian comedy, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Miller, Mlle., dancer, later Mme. Pierre de Gardel, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Minuet, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Lady Elizabeth Spencer’s, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Molière, Jean Baptiste, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Monkhouse, Harry, actor, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Monteclair, composer, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Montessu, Mme. (<em>née</em> Albert), dancer, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Moore, Marshall, producer, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mordkin, dancer, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li> - -<li class="indx">More, Unity, dancer, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Moreau, Junior, engraver, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Morino, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_272">272-274</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Morisque dance (Morris), <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Morton, Charles, theatrical manager, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mossetti, Carlotta, dancer, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Motteaux, translator of Don Quixote, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Moul, Alfred, manager Alhambra, <a href="#Page_263">263-265</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mouret, composer, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">bourrée by, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Muller, Rosa, dancer, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Muller, Marie, dancer, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Musetto, dance, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mystery plays, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Napoleon and Bigottini, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Netscher, Theodore, painter, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Newnham-Davis, Lieut.-Col., <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nijinsky, dancer and ballet producer, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ninon de l’Enclos, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nivelon, dancer and mime, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Noblet, Alexandrine, dancer, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Noblet, Lise, dancer, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nodier, Charles, author, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nourrit, Adolphe, writer, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Noverre, Jean Georges, ballet master and writer on the dance, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">quoted <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171-178</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nuittier, maître de ballet, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Octave, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Octavie, conventional character of eighteenth-century Italian comedy, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Offenbach, Jacques, composer, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Opera—National. <em>See</em> <a href="#IRoyal">Royal Academy of Dance and Music</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Operas (opera-bouffe, etc.):</li> -<li class="isub1">Belle Hélène, la, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Billee Taylor, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Callirhoé, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Chilperic (musical spectacle), <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Créüse l’Athénienne, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Don Juan, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fatinitza (comic), <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Faust-Up-to-Date (comic), <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Favorita, la, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fille de Mme. Angot, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fille du Tambour-Major, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fledermaus, die, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Geneviève de Brabant, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Grand Duchess, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Lady of the Locket (extravaganza), <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Muette di Portici, la, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Orphée aux Enfers, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Petite Mademoiselle, la, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Poule aux Œufs d’Or, la, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Princesse de Carisme, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Princesse de Trebizonde, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Roi Carotte, le, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Whittington, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Zingaro, le, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">“Palace Girls,” <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Palace Theatre, <a href="#Page_309">309</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Palladium Theatre, <a href="#Page_310">310</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Palladino, Emma, dancer, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_336"></a>[336]</span>Panorama of Balaclava, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pantaloon (Pantalon), <a href="#Page_121">121-123</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pantin, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pantomime, English, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> -<li class="isub1">French, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Italian, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Roman, <a href="#Page_41">41-46</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pantomimes:</li> -<li class="isub1">Arlequin, Emperor in the Moon, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Jason, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Man of Fortune, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Proteus, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Sorcerer, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Enfant Prodigue, l’, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cause of Woman, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Columbine, Advocate, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Divorce, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On the Roofs (pantomime ballet), <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Rothomago (Fairy Spectacle), <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sculptor and the Poodle (musical), <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sumurun, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Where’s the Police? <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pappus, forerunner of Pantaloon, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pascariel, character in French pantomime, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><cite>Pas de Quatre</cite>, 1845, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Passacaille, dance, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Passani, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Passepied, dance, <a href="#Page_115">115-117</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pater, Jean Batiste, painter, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Paul V, Pope, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Paulton, Harry, actor, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pavane, dance, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pavlova, Anna, dancer, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pécourt, dance master, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pedrolino. <em>See</em> <a href="#IPier">Pierrot</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pérignon, Mme., dancer, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Perregaux, banker, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Perrin, Abbé, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Perrot, dancer, husband of Carlotta Grisi, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Perrot, maître de ballet, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Persiani, Mme., singer, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pertoldi, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Peslin, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Petipa, dancer, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Philips, Ambrose, poet and dramatist, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Phrynichus, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Picard, comic poet, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Piccinni, composer, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="IPier">Pierrot</a> (Pedrolino, also Gilles), <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pitteri, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pius IV, Pope, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plato, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plutarch, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Poisson, family of Parisian actors:</li> -<li class="isub1">Raymond, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Paul, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> -<li class="isub1">François, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pollini, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Pomp” Thyrennian, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pomponette, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Porpora, manager of Haymarket Theatre, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Porro, dancer, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pratesi, M., ballet master, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Prévôt, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115-118</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Price, Lilian, dancer, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pugni, composer, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Punchinello, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pylades, Roman actor, <a href="#Page_44">44-46</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Quinault, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Rameau, Jean Philippe, composer and writer on music, quoted, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ravelli, director of opera in London, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rebel, composer, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Reece, Robert, author, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Reichstadt, Duc de, l’Aiglon, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx">René, King of Anjou, inaugurated procession of Fête Dieu, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rheims College, ballet at, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Riccoboni, <cite>Histoire du Théâtre Italien</cite>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rich, Christopher, owner of Lincoln’s Inn Theatre, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rich, John, son of above, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Richards, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rigaudon (Rigadoon) dance, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Righton, Edward, actor, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rimsky-Korsakov, composer, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rivani, theatrical mechanician, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Riviere, Jules, conductor, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_337"></a>[337]</span>Roffey, Mme., dancer, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roland, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ronald, Landon, composer, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rosa, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rosati, Caroline, dancer, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rosi, G., Signor, actor and dancer, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ross, Adrian, librettist, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rosselli, actor, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rossi, pupil of Noverre, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rossi, Adèle, dancer, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rossi, ballet master, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roy, M., eighteenth-century poet, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="IRoyal">Royal Academy of Dance and Music</a>, Paris, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Imperial academy in 1807, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Opera, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Opera National, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Théâtre des Arts, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Théâtre de la République et des Arts, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roze, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Russell, Howard, costume designer, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ryan, T. E., scenic artist, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ryley, J. H., actor and singer, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Sacchini, Antonio, composer, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Saharet, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_310">310</a></li> - -<li class="indx">St. Cyr, Mimi, dancer, <a href="#Page_309">309</a></li> - -<li class="indx">St. Denis, Ruth, dancer, <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li> - -<li class="indx">St. Helier, Ivy, dancer, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - -<li class="indx">St. John, Florence, actress, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">St. Leon, musician and ballet master, husband of Fanny Cerito, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sallé, Marie, Mlle., dancer and mime, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150-155</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158-160</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sallé, brother to above, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sampietro, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">San Carlo Theatre, Naples, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sangalli, Rita, dancer, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Santini, Signor, dancer, <a href="#Page_271">271-273</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Santley, Kate, actress and dancer, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Santori, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sarabande, dance, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">by Destouches, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Saulnier, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Savoy, Court of, ballets at, <a href="#Page_89">89-91</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93-98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scala, Flaminio, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scala Theatre, London, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scapin, conventional character of eighteenth-century Italian comedy, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scaramouche, conventional character of eighteenth-century Italian comedy, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sceaux, pantomime at, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Schneitzhöffer, composer, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Schollar, Ludmilla, dancer, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scott, George, manager Alhambra, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scott, Sir Walter, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Seale, Julia, Miss, dancer, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Serpette, Gaston, composer, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Seymour, Katie, dancer, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sims, G. R., <a href="#Page_309">309</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sinden, Bert, dancer, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sinden, Topsy, dancer, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sirois, picture dealer, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sismondi, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Skelley, Marjorie, dancer, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Slack, Edith, dancer, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Slater, C. Dundas, manager Alhambra, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Slaughter, Walter, composer, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Smith, Bruce, scenic artist, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Smith, E. T., director of Alhambra, <a href="#Page_252">252</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Smith, Miss Winifred, author of <cite>Commedia dell’ Arte</cite>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Soldene, Emily, actress, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Solomon, Edward, composer, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sophocles, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><cite>Sophonisbie</cite>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sortis, de, Bettina, dancer, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Soubise, Prince de, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sourdeac, Marquis de, director of ballet, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><cite>Spectator, The</cite>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142-147</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">quoted, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Staël, Mme. de (Mlle. Delaunay), <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stafford, Audrey, dancer, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">State-aided Opera and Ballet, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stedman, ballet producer, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Steele, Richard, writer, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Steps of dances recorded, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Storey, Fred, actor, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stoyle, J. D. (Jimmy), actor, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Strange, Frederick, manager Alhambra, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Subligny, Mlle., dancer, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112-115</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_338"></a>[338]</span>Sullivan, Sir Arthur, composer, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Suppé, F. von, composer, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Tabourot, Jehan. <em>See</em> <a href="#IArbeau">Arbeau</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Taglioni, Marie, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207-209</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222-234</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244-247</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Taglioni, Louise, aunt to Marie, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Taglioni, Louise, niece to Marie, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Taglioni, Philip, ballet master, father of Marie, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tambourin, dance, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><cite>Tatler, The</cite>, quoted, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Taylor, Miss Daisy, dancer and actress, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tcherepinin, ballet producer, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Telbin, scenic artist, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Telestes, actor, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thackeray, W. M., <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Théâtre des Arts. <em>See</em> <a href="#IRoyal">Royal Academy of Dance and Music</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Théâtre de la République et des Arts. <em>See</em> <a href="#IRoyal">Royal Academy of Dance and Music</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thebes (Egypt), <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theocritus, Idyll xviii, <a href="#Page_33">33-34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodora, Empress, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thespis, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thévenard, dancer, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thorwaldsen, sculptor, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tissot, quoted, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><cite>Togatæ</cite>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tolstoy, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Training of dancers, Milan, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Petrograd, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">general, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tree, Sir H. Beerbohm, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Trenchmore, dance, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tresca, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Trianon, Petit, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Valenciennes, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vanloo, Charles André, painter, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vaughan, Kate, dancer, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vaux-le-Vicomte, Château, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Verity, Frank, architect, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Véron, manager of Paris opera, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vesey, Clara, actress, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vestris, Auguste Armand, son of Marie Auguste, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vestris, Charles, nephew of Marie Auguste, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vestris, Gaetan Appolino Baltazar, <a href="#Page_164">164-169</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vestris, Marie Auguste, son of Gaetan and Marie Allard, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168-170</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vicenti, de, M., dancer, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Victoria, Queen, dolls, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vigarani, theatrical mechanician, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vincent, Ada, dancer, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vismes, de, Director of Opera, Paris, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Voisins, Gilbert, Comte de, married Marie Taglioni, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vokes, W., dancer, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Volinin, Alexander, dancer, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Volta, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Voltaire, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Wallace Collection, Hertford House, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Walse, la, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Warde, Willie, dancer, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Watteau, Antoine, <a href="#Page_125">125-141</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Amour au Théâtre Français, l’, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Amour au Théâtre Italien, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Amusements Champêtres (Chantilly), <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Arlequin et Colombine (Hertford House), <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Arlequin Jaloux, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Assemblée dans un Parc (Berlin), <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Bal sous une Colonnade (Dulwich), <a href="#Page_135">135-137</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Champs Elysées, les (Hertford House), <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Charmes de la Vie, les (Hertford House), <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Comédiens Italiens, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Concert, le (Hertford House), <a href="#Page_135">135-137</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Danse, la (Potsdam), <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Départ des Troupes, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Desmares, Mlle., <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Embarquement pour l’Ile de Cythère, l’ (Louvre), <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fête Galante (Dresden), <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fêtes Vénitiennes, les (Edinburgh), <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Gamme d’Amour, la, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Gilles (Louvre), <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Gilles et sa Famille (Hertford House), <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Indifférent, l’ (Louvre), <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_339"></a>[339]</span>Jaloux, les, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Joueur de Guitare (Musée Condé), <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Jupiter et Antiope (Louvre), <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Leçon de Musique, la (Hertford House), <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Menuet, le (Petrograd), <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Mézzetin, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Poisson en habit de Paysan, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Surprise, la (Buckingham Palace), <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Terrace Party, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Watts, Dr. Isaac, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Watts, Mrs. Roger, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Weaver, John, author of <cite>An Essay towards a History of Dancing</cite>, and <cite>History of Pantomimes</cite>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">quoted, <a href="#Page_145">145-147</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wenzel, L., composer, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284-288</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Weston’s Music Hall, Holborn, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wiesenthal Sisters, dancers, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wilde, William, manager of Alhambra, <a href="#Page_252">252</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wilhelm, C., <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279-282</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284-292</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wilmot, Maud, dancer, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wilson, Charles, stage-manager, Alhambra, <a href="#Page_265">265-267</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Woodford, H., Secretary and Treasurer, Alhambra, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Yarnold, Fred, dancer, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Zacharias, Pope, bull suppressing “baladoires,” <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zanfretta, Mlle., <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zimmermann, Mlle. (Mme. Alexander Génée), dancer, <a href="#Page_284">284</a></li> -</ul> - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<p class="pfs70 p10 pb10">PRINTED BY<br /> -WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON, LTD.<br /> -PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND</p> - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<div class="footnotes"> -<h2 class="nobreak pfs90" id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES:</h2> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> <cite>Exodus</cite>, XV. 20.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> I <cite>Samuel</cite>, XXI. 11.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> II <cite>Samuel</cite>, VI. 14.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="center bold">Transcriber’s Note</p> - -<ol> -<li>Minor French language errors and punctuation errors have silently been -corrected.</li> - -<li>Inconsistencies in hyphenation and spelling such as -“ballet-dancers/ballet dancers” and “terre-à-terre/terre à terre” -have been maintained.</li> - -<li>Em-dashes within the Index have been removed in order to improve -readability.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn12a">Page 12</a>: “PRÉVOT” changed to “PRÉVÔT”.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn12b">Page 12</a>: “LÉON” changed to “LEON”.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn22">Page 22</a>: “evolutions du labyrinth” changed to “evolutions du labyrinthe”.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn43">Page 43</a>: “tours de forces” changed to “tours de force”.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn69a">Page 69</a>: “d’Escosse estoiet” changed to “d’Escosse estoient”.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn69b">Page 69</a>: “Je prie Deu” changed to “Je prie Dieu”.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn94">Page 94</a>: “La Vaisseau” changed to “Le Vaisseau”.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn102">Page 102</a>: “vous addresses” changed to “vous adresser”.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn109">Page 109</a>: “Choregraphy” changed to “Choreography”.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn168">Page 168</a>: “choregraphic” changed to “choreographic”.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn192">Page 192</a>: “Madaleine” changed to “Madeleine”.</li> - -</ol> -</div> - -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ART OF BALLET***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 63550-h.htm or 63550-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/3/5/5/63550">http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/5/5/63550</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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