Auguste Vestris and the Expansion of Technique

At the end of the eighteenth century, ballet was split between those supporting tours de force and those who believed that “difficulties,” as they were called, should be avoided in favor of a more expressive, refined, graceful, and artless style of execution. Though the controversy neared its most intense period in 1800, as early as 1760 Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810) was pleading, in his extremely influential Lettres sur la danse , that his fellow artists renounce entrechats and cabrioles , abandon tours de force , which he considere to be meaningless. Ironically, 1769 was the year of birth of the man whose brilliance would make tours de force de rigueur for audiences and performers. Auguste Vestris (1760–1842) would overwhelm the dance world with his spectacularly athletic technique; his approach to dancing would be emulated by his fellow dancers as they tried to perform increasingly elaborate beats, greater numbers of pirouettes and tours en l'air , and higher leg elevations. The opposition of those seeking abstract dancerly qualities and those demanding feats of athletic virtuosity was the major controversy of the first three decades of the nineteenth century

Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Ballet · Dance · Opposition (politics) · Period (music) · Pleading · Political science · Style (visual arts) · Visual arts · Diversity and Impact of Dance · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law · Physical education and sports games research

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  J Chapman, John V Chapman•Dance Chronicle•1989

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  J Chapman, John V Chapman•Dance Chronicle•1987

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