Open AccessMarie Sallé and the Development of the Ballet en action
Author(s) -
Sarah McCleave
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of the society for musicology in ireland
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1649-7341
DOI - 10.35561/jsmi03071
Subject(s) - ballet , action (physics) , art , character (mathematics) , literature , humanities , key (lock) , art history , dance , computer science , physics , geometry , mathematics , computer security , quantum mechanics
This article identifies the role played by acclaimed dancer and choreographer Marie Sallé (1707-56) in the development of the ballet en action. This is done by making a lexicographical study of key terms (particularly action, character, and intrigue) found in the writings of contemporaries who praised the dancer, such as revolutionary choreographer Jean-Georges Noverre and critic Louis de Cahusac. This lexicographical study is then applied to some of Sallé’s important creative works of the mid-1730s, including Handel’s Terpsichore (London, 1734), a revival of André Campra’s L’Europe galante (Paris, 1736), the ‘Ballet des Fleurs’ from Rameau’s Les Indes galantes (Paris, 1735) as well as Bacchus and Ariadne (London, 1734).