«La Sylphide» is a ballet with a beautiful but complex history. The premiere took place on March 12, 1832, in Paris, on the stage of the Royal Academy of Music and Dance. The performance, which told the story of an immortal daughter of the air, destroyed by her love for a peasant, turned out to be a reaction of the dancing people to Romanticism—a belated but extraordinarily vivid one. The Italian choreographer Filippo Taglioni created the title role for his daughter Maria. Awkward, stooped, and unattractive, she bore no resemblance to the heroines of the then‑dominant «Anacreontic» ballets, which demanded that ballerinas embody the forms and grace of ancient statues.
But her intelligent, caring, and strict father honed his daughter’s technique to such an extent that she could balance on the tips of her toes for minutes without her partner’s support, and she jumped so high, lightly, and silently that she created the illusion of floating. Taglioni the father came up with a new type of costume for Maria: gauzy, semi‑transparent skirts and a special type of footwear, which is now called pointe shoes. And the celebrated tenor Nurri, who was in love with the ballerina, composed a story about an ideal being that perishes from the touch of rough hands.
«La Sylphide» is a ballet with a beautiful but complex history. The premiere took place on March 12, 1832, in Paris, on the stage of the Royal Academy of Music and Dance. The performance, which told the story of an immortal daughter of the air, destroyed by her love for a peasant, turned out to be a reaction of the dancing people to Romanticism—a belated but extraordinarily vivid one. The Italian choreographer Filippo Taglioni created the title role for his daughter Maria. Awkward, stooped, and unattractive, she bore no resemblance to the heroines of the then‑dominant «Anacreontic» ballets, which demanded that ballerinas embody the forms and grace of ancient statues.
But her intelligent, caring, and strict father honed his daughter’s technique to such an extent that she could balance on the tips of her toes for minutes without her partner’s support, and she jumped so high, lightly, and silently that she created the illusion of floating. Taglioni the father came up with a new type of costume for Maria: gauzy, semi‑transparent skirts and a special type of footwear, which is now called pointe shoes. And the celebrated tenor Nurri, who was in love with the ballerina, composed a story about an ideal being that perishes from the touch of rough hands.
«is a ballet with a beautiful but complex history. The premiere took place on March 12, 1832, in Paris, on the stage of the Royal Academy of Music and Dance. The performance, which told the story of an immortal daughter of the air, destroyed by her love for a peasant, turned out to be a reaction of the dancing people to Romanticism—a belated but extraordinarily vivid one. The Italian choreographer Filippo Taglioni created the title role for his daughter Maria. Awkward, stooped, and unattractive, she bore no resemblance to the heroines of the then‑dominant «Anacreontic» ballets, which demanded that ballerinas embody the forms and grace of ancient statues.
But her intelligent, caring, and strict father honed his daughter’s technique to such an extent that she could balance on the tips of her toes for minutes without her partner’s support, and she jumped so high, lightly, and silently that she created the illusion of floating. Taglioni the father came up with a new type of costume for Maria: gauzy, semi‑transparent skirts and a special type of footwear, which is now called pointe shoes. And the celebrated tenor Nurri, who was in love with the ballerina, composed a story about an ideal being that perishes from the touch of rough hands.
