Jean-Georges Noverre

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Recommended: History of dance

Jean-Georges Noverre
Ballet is a form of theatrical dance that has existed for approximately 400 years. This form of dance is very difficult to learn and perform because it is based on specific steps that have been passed down from previous generations. These steps have to be performed with precision according to established standards set by the choreographer. Ballet artistically communicates the story of man’s emotions, beauty, and traditions. All forms of communication evolves over time, ballet is no exception. The ballet of today is not the ballet of yesterday. Jean-Georges Noverre’s revolutionary thinking transformed the ballet of yesterday into the modern ballet we know today.
Jean-Georges Noverre was born April 29, 1727 in Paris, France. He received a liberal education and was on a path to a military career, but that was not Noverre’s passion in life. His passion was dance. Noverre received his dance training from Jean (le Petit), Marcel and Louis (le Grand) Dupre (Lee, 2002). In 1743 Noverre became a dancer at Paris Opera Comique, and he produced his first ballet with there in 1749. His first choreographic success was in 1754 at the performance of his Les Fetes Chinoises. This performance was a Chinese themed ballet. By the invitation of David Garrick, an English actor, Jean-George’s Les Fetes Chinoises was presented in London at Drury Lane in 1755 (Anderson, 1986). This showing caused Noverre to not be well received due to his French heritage because England and France were on the verge of war. Noverre produced Medee et Jason and Psyche et l’ Amour at Stuttgart from 1760-1767. These productions led to Noverre being appointed ballet master at the Paris Opera in 1776 (Encyclopedia B, 2012). From the year...

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...lways be remembered for his revolutionary theories. The theories transformed ballet from a mere series of conventional dances into the graceful art form performed today that speaks to the heart and emotions. Noverre’s contributions to dance are celebrated every year on his birthday, April 29, as International Dance Day.

References
Anderson, J. (1986). Ballet and modern dance: a concise history. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Company.
Chazin-Bennahum, J. (1983). Cahusac, Diderot, and Noverre: Three revolutionary French writers on the eighteenth century dance. Theatre Journal, 35(2), 168-178. doi:10.2307/2307147
Encyclopedia, B. (2012). Noverre, Jean-Georges. Britannica Biographies,1.
Lee, C. (2002). Ballet in western culture” a history of it origins and evolution. Great Britain: Routledge.
Noverre, J. (1997). Chambers Biographical Dictionary (Bio Ref Bank).

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