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La Sylphide (English: The Sylph; Danish: Sylfiden) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836.
Jun 16, 2009 · “La Sylphide,” with its ethereal heroine dancing on point and its human hero forever trying to grasp her, changed ballet at its Parisian premiere in 1832.
Oct 29, 2023 · La Sylphide is arguably one of the first ballets to introduce this concept that would be repeated in Giselle and Swan Lake. (Think 20+ female members of the corps all in white, bell-shaped skirts typically embodying a supernatural figure.)
Jul 6, 2024 · The Classical Girl examines the 1832 ballet, La Sylphide, the earliest important classical ballet in the repertoire, and why it mattered, then and now.
- Really want to be sylph-like…? A sylph, like the one our hero James is bewitched by, is a mythological spirit of the air. As far as we know, the term first appears in the 16 Century works of a Swiss physician, alchemist and astrologer called Paracelsus.
- In a land, far, far away. The story is set in Scotland. Why? Because back in the 1800s, Scotland was thought of as an exotic, faraway land. And it must be said, the ethereal mists of the Highlands certainly spark the imagination – and perfectly suit this ballet’s supernatural themes.
- The beauty of youth. Bournonville himself originally wanted to do a revival of Taglioni’s 1832 version of the ballet. The only reason Bournonville came up with his own take on La Sylphide was because the Paris Opera demanded too much money for the score by Jean-Madelina Schneitzhoeffer.
- Fantastic tales and where to find them. The story of La Sylphide is loosely based on the obsessive stories of the French writer Charles Nodier. He introduced a younger generation of Romanticists to gothic literature, vampire tales and conte fantastique (meaning ‘fantastic tales’, a bit like science fiction).
Jul 1, 2017 · The epitome of the romantic ballet, La Sylphide offers a perfect demonstration of the steps of the classical school. The highly stylized positions are illustrated by perfectly rounded low ports de bras. The Scottish Pas de deux is an invitation to dance.
People also ask
Is La Sylphide a white ballet?
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Who choreographed La Sylphide?
The day that La Sylphide was revived at the Paris Opera. On June 9th 1972, Pierre Lacotte recreates Philippe Taglioni’s version of La Sylphide.
