The Dance (by An Antiquary): Historic Illustrations of Dancing from 3300 B.C. to 1911 A.D.Anonymous
History
The Dance (by An Antiquary): Historic Illustrations of Dancing from 3300 B.C. to 1911 A.D.
Anonymous
Dance -- History
Having made a great Parisian reputation, she came to London in 1833,
and from that date until 1837 held the town, when she married Mr.
Stephens Lyne Stephens, M.P., a gentleman of considerable wealth, but
was left a childless widow in 1861, and retired to her estate at
Lyneford Hall, Norfolk, living in retirement and spending her time in
good works. She is said to have spent L100,000 in charities and
churches, and that at Cambridge, dedicated to the English martyrs, was
founded, completed, and endowed by her. She led a blameless and
worthy life, and died in 1894. Her portrait by Mlle. Taglioni (fig.
64), her co-celebrity, married Count Gilbert de Voisins, a French
nobleman, in 1847, and with her marriage came an ample fortune;
unfortunately the bulk of this fortune was lost in the Franco-German
war. With the courage of her character the Countess returned to London
and gave lessons in dancing, etc., in which she was sufficiently
successful to obtain a fair living. She died in 1884 at 80 years of
age. Of the other celebrities of the period--Carlotta Grisi, Ferraris
(fig. 65), and Fanny Ellsler (fig. 63)--some illustrations are given;
besides these were Fanny Cerito, Lucile Grahn, a Dane, and some others
of lesser notoriety performing in London at this great period of the
ballet.
[Illustration: Fig. 68.--Mlle. Sophie Fedorova.]
The recent encouragement of the classic ballet has introduced us to
some exquisite dancers: amongst these are Mlle. Adeline Genee (fig.
66) and Mlle. Anna Pavlova (fig. 67); the latter, with M. Mordkin and
a corps of splendid dancers, are from Russia, from whence also comes
the important troupe now at the Alhambra with Mlle. Geltzer and other
excellent dancers. The celebrated company at Covent Garden, and Lydia
Kyasht at the Empire, are also Russian. It is not surprising that we
get excellent dancing from Russia; the school formed by Peter the
Great about 1698 has been under State patronage ever since.
Notices of all the important dancers from Italy, Spain, Paris, or
elsewhere, performing in England in recent years, would occupy
considerable space, and the reader can easily obtain information
concerning them elsewhere.
That the technique and speed of the classic dance has considerably
increased is historically certain, and we must hope that this speed
will not sacrifice graceful movement. Moreover, technique alone will
not make the complete fine-artist: some invention is involved.
Unfortunately, some modern attempts at invention seem crude and
sensational, whilst lacking the exquisite technique desirable in all
exhibitions of finished art.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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