Lucile Alexia Grahn-Young (30 June 1819 – 4 April 1907) was the first internationally renowned
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
ballerina and one of the popular dancers of the
Romantic ballet
The Romantic ballet is defined primarily by an era in ballet in which the ideas of Romanticism in art and literature influenced the creation of ballets. The era occurred during the early to mid 19th century primarily at the Salle Le Peletier, Thé ...
era.
Grahn studied from a young age at the
Royal Danish Theatre School in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
,
Denmark
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, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
under the tutelage of
August Bournonville
August Bournonville (21 August 1805 – 30 November 1879) was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the nep ...
. She officially debuted in 1834 at the theater and took on the leading role of Astrid in Bournonville's ''
Valdemar'' in 1835. Soon the relationship between Bournonville and Grahn began to sour as she yearned to dance with the famed
Paris Opera Ballet
The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...
. Grahn reportedly changed some of the steps in ''Valdemar'' to show off her footwork, prompting Bournonville to make a formal complaint to the theatre directors.
In 1836, she created the title role in Bournonville's ''La Sylphide''.
She eventually received royal permission to leave; after her departure in 1836, she never returned to Denmark.
In 1839, Grahn had overstayed the terms of her formal leave, and was dropped from the Royal Danish Ballet's rolls. She had been appearing with the Paris 'Opera' Ballet; from 1839 to 1845, extending her audience base, Grahn danced in several cities, including
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 ...
,
St. Petersburg, and
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. In 1845, her place among the accepted soloists of her day was acknowledged when she was invited to dance Perrot's ''
Pas de Quatre
''Grand Pas de Quatre'' is a ''ballet divertissement'' choreographed by Jules Perrot in 1845, on the suggestion of Benjamin Lumley, Director at Her Majesty's Theatre, to music composed by Cesare Pugni.
On the night it premiered in London (12 Ju ...
'' alongside the already famous dancers
Fanny Cerrito,
Carlotta Grisi, and
Marie Taglioni.
[ As the least well-known of the four, Grahn agreed to dance first.]Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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, postal ...
, Germany in 1848 and became so fond of the country that she built a home in Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
.Friedrich Young Friedrich may refer to:
Names
* Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich''
* Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich''
Other
* Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Year ...
. She became ballet mistress from 1858 to 1861 in Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
, Germany and from 1869 to 1875 at the Court Opera in Munich. She died in Munich in 1907, and left her generous estate to the city.[
]
See also
* Women in dance
References
"The International Dance Encyclopedia," articles on 'Lucille Grahn' and 'Auguste Bournonville,' (Vol II, pp. 503–08) Oxford University Press, 1998.
External links
Andros on Ballet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grahn, Lucile
Prima ballerinas
Danish ballerinas
Ballet mistresses
1819 births
1907 deaths
Royal Danish Ballet dancers
19th-century Danish ballet dancers