La Fille Mal Gardee |
Born in France in 1742,
Jean Dauberval made his
debut at the Paris
Academie (now Opera)
and became noted for his
pantomimic dance
ability; in 1773 he was
made an assistant ballet
master. In 1783 he went
as a dancer to Bordeaux,
where he later served as
ballet
master.
A leading pupil of the
choreographer
Jean-Georges Noverre,
Dauberval did much to
disseminate his teacher's
ideas on the ballet
d'action (ballet with
a plot). Dauberval's
pupils included Charles
Didelot, sometimes called
the "father of the Russian
ballet," and Salvatore
Vigano, who introduced the
dance-drama into
Italy.
Among the several ballets
that Dauberval
choreographed, the best
known is La Fille Mal
Gardee, in which Mlle
Theodore, Dauberval's wife
and one of Noverre's
favourite ballerinas, created
the leading role of Lise.
La Fille Mal Gardee was
both one of the first comic
ballets and one of the first to
include realistic rather than
mythological or idealistic
characters. With Vincenzo
Galeotti's Whims of Cupid
and the Ballet Master, it is
one of the two oldest ballets still
in the repertoire of
contemporary companies;
although Dauberval's original
choreography was lost, there are
several more recent versions
based on the original scenario,
notably those by Lev Ivanov and
Marius Petipa, and by Frederick
Ashton. |
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