Romantic ballet

The Romantic era marked the rise of the ballerina as a central part of ballet, where previously men had dominated performances. There had always been admiration for superior dancers, but elevating ballerinas to the level of celebrity came into its own in the nineteenth century, especially as female performers became idealized and objectified.^[2] Marie Taglioni became the prototypical Romantic ballerina, praised highly for her lyricism. The movement style for Romantic ballerinas was characterized by soft, rounded arms and a forward tilt in the upper body. This gave the woman a flowery, willowy look. Leg movements became more elaborate due to the new tutu length and rising standards of technical proficiency. Important Romantic ballerinas included Marie Taglioni, Carlotta Grisi, Lucille Grahn, Fanny Cerrito, Pauline Leroux and Fanny Elssler. The plots of many ballets were dominated by spirit women—sylphs, wilis, and ghosts, who enslaved the hearts and senses of mortal men and made it impossible for them to live happily in the real world.

While ballerinas became increasingly virtuosic, male dancers became scarce, particularly in Paris (although they were still common in other European areas, such as Denmark).^[3] This led to the rise of the female travesty dancer - a female dancer who played male roles. While travesty dancing had existed prior to the romantic period it was generally used in tableau and walk-on (marcheuse) parts. Now it became a high-status occupation, and a number of prima ballerinas made their names by dancing en travestie. Fanny Elssler and her sister both played travesty parts.^[4] The most well known travesty dancer was Eugénie Fiocre, who was the first dancer to play Frantz in Coppélia, as well as a number of ballerina roles.^[5]

The ballets of the Romantic era were largely written and choreographed by men, thus the role of women in these ballets is largely reflective of the Romantic view and status of women in general. Emphasis on the sensuality and innocence of women through the roles of supernatural and weightless characters revealed the desire of men to both protect and exploit the opposite sex. The role of the female enchanter was a staple of the romantic era and it greatly outnumbered the roles of male enchanters in ballets. The Romantic age was consumed with beauty and the mysterious dichotomy of the sexual and spiritual facets of femininity. Despite the growing importance of females in ballet, women benefitted little socially, as the era was still defined by widely accepted patriarchal notions.  As a result of the idealized women presented on stage and the men in the plots willing to die for them, young dancers often found themselves to be exploited by men in society who wished to preserve the idea of femininity they were presented through romantic storylines.^[6]

The costume for the Romantic ballerina was the romantic tutu. This was a full, white, multi-layered skirt made of tulle. The ballerina wore a white bodice with the tutu. In the second acts of Romantic ballets, representing the spiritual realm, the corps de ballet appeared on stage in Romantic tutus, giving rise to the term "white act" or ballet-blanc. The inclusion of gas lights and the romantic tutu in romantic ballets resulted in a sense of eeriness among theatergoers of the era due to the revelation of the dancer’s silhouetted legs through the thin fabric. Prior to the 19th century tulle was hand woven, meaning the creation of each costume was time-consuming and costly. The invention of the bobbinet machine in 1808 streamlined the production of tulle, allowing for larger scale production of the romantic costumes that construct the era’s signature look.

The end of the Romantic era saw a shift in the shape of tutu from the bell shaped full skirt of the romantic tutu to the short and stiff skirt that characterized the classical tutu. The shortening of the tutu came as a direct result of the increasing intricacy and difficulty of ballet steps. By the 1870s, the length of tutu had changed from mid-calf to above the dancer's knee. Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake in the late 1870s debuted an even shorter tutu, built with hoops and 10 layers of netting to maintain its flat, wide shape. The classical tutu soon became the most well known shape of skirt, used by prima ballerinas to show off their skill and strength.^[7]

The Romantic era marks the first time that dancers began to incorporate pointe work into their classwork and performances beyond the elementary poses and tricks meant to dazzle the eyes of an audience. Pointe shoes were initially implemented to give the effect of the dancer floating. The first use of pointe shoes in performance is attributed to Marie Taglioni in La Sylphide. Contrary to the hard shank and box of modern pointe shoes, Taglioni’s pointe shoes were the typical ballet shoes of the era with extra darning around the side and tips of the shoes to create extra padding for her toes. Due to the lack of support in the shoes, ballerina’s could not remain on pointe for long periods of time.^[8]

Ballet Technique from the Baroque era to the Romantic era is represented by a fluid shift in movement, with steps from the Baroque era being both lost and reimagined.^[9] The era saw pointe work become increasingly prevalent in class work, though the technique was not deemed to be particularly revolutionary. Records of classwork from the era refer to pointe work in a casual manner, indicating that pointe work was believed to be a natural extension of past ballet technique rather than a new phenomenon. With the introduction of pointe work into classes came an increased emphasis on strengthening of the feet for both male and female dancers.^[9] Exercises such as coupes were first taught during this era to prepare dancers for the strength needed to dance on unblocked pointe shoes. These exercises have since evolved alongside modern technique and taken on new meanings.^[10]

Romantic ballet owed much to the new developments in theatre effects, particularly gas lighting. Candles had been previously used to light theatres, but gas lighting allowed for dimming effects and other subtleties. Combined with the effects of the Romantic tutu, ballerinas posing en pointe, and the use of wires to make dancers "fly," directors used gas lighting to create supernatural spectacles on stage.