Charles-Louis Didelot (28 March 1767,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

- 7 November 1837,

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

) was a French dancer, the creator of the

ballet shoe A ballet shoe, or ballet slipper, is a lightweight shoe designed specifically for ballet dancing. It may be made from soft leather, canvas, or satin, and has flexible, thin full or split soles. Traditionally, women wear pink shoes and men wear wh ...

s and a

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. The son of Charles Didelot, the dance-master of the King of Sweden, he studied dance with his father, who was an instructor in dance at the Swedish Opera, and debuted as dancer in the theatre of

Bollhuset Bollhuset, also called (The Big Ball House), (Ball House Theater), and Gamla Bollhuset (Old Ball House) at various times, was the name of the first theater in Stockholm, Sweden; it was the first Swedish theater and the first real theater buildin ...

1786. He then studied in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

with

Jean Dauberval Jean Dauberval, a.k.a. Jean D’Auberval, (born Jean Bercher in Montpellier, 19 August 1742 – Tours, 14 February 1806), was a French dancer and ballet master. He is most noted for creating the ballet, ''La fille mal gardée'', one of the ...

. He followed his study with

Jean-Georges Noverre Jean-Georges Noverre (29 April 1727 19 October 1810) was a French dancer and balletmaster, and is generally considered the creator of ''ballet d'action'', a precursor of the narrative ballets of the 19th century. His birthday is now observed as ...

, under whose lead he debuted in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1788. When the Russian Imperial ballet needed a new chief choreographer, the former Imperial choreographer Charles Le Picq proposed inviting Charles Didelot. He arrived in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in 1801 at the invitation of the director of the

Imperial Theatres Imperial Theatres of Russian Empire ( rus, Императорские театры Российской империи) was a theatrical organization financed by the Imperial exchequer and managed by a single directorate headed with a director; was ...

and made his debut as the first dancer. His career as a dancer ended in 1806, following an accident to his leg and the death of his wife, Rose, a brilliant ballerina. From then on, Didelot taught dance, having an important influence over the development of

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

. He received great acclaim for his choreography in ''Flore et Zéphire'' in 1796. This production featured dancers on wires (flying machines) in order to create the illusion of weightlessness.Charles Didelot - Adults in Ballet
Accessed September 23, 2012. He became the first choreographer who brought a ballerina posing on the pointe (via his "flying machine") - in 1815 in the ballet'' Flora and Zephyr'' (1815,

), the main parts:

Geneviève Gosselin Geneviève-Adélaïde Gosselin (1791 – 1818, ) was a French ballet dancer known for being the first dancer en pointe. Biography Early life Geneviève Gosselin was the daughter of a ballet master and was also the eldest sister of three other f ...

- '' Flora'',

Albert (dancer) François-Ferdinand Decombe (15 April 1789, Bordeaux - 18 July 1865, Fontainebleau) was a French ballet dancer and ballet master, under the stage name Albert. Albert débuted aged 14 at the Théâtre de la Gaîté, before being taken on by the ...

-'' Zephyr'', it was not dancing on the pointe, but it was the first release on the pointe (Geneviève Gosselin). Didelot raised Russian ballet to an unprecedented height, and due to Didelot Russian ballet developed to achieve global importance. He delivered more than 40 full ballets, not counting dances and fragments in other representations. In the 1830s a foolish quarrel with the Director of the Imperial Theatres (prince ) led to Didelot's departure from the Imperial troupe; the Frenchman Alexis-Scipion Blache took his place as chief choreographer.

Works

;

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

, Saint Petersburg * December 8, 1824: ' to music (together with , after 1821 ballet by ) * See :Ballets by Charles Didelot

Works

References

See also