Sophie Marguerite Daguin (26 March 1801 – 13 March 1881) was a French
ballet dancer
A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...
and
choreographer
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...
. She spent her career in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, where she became a star ballerina and
ballet mistress
A ballet master (also balletmaster, ballet mistress, ''premier maître de ballet'' or ''premier maître de ballet en chef'') is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In mo ...
of the
Royal Swedish Ballet
The Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Gustav III of Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian ...
, and the principal of the ballet school.
Life
Sophie Daguin was born in Paris, France. After six years education under
Didelot in her hometown Paris, she was employed in the Ballet of the
Royal Swedish Opera
Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Location and environment
The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...
in
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, where she made a successful debut in ''
La fille mal gardée
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
*"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...
'' by
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 m ...
in 1815.
She was a premier dancer in 1820–43, ballet master for the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1827–30, principal for the Ballet School in 1830–56 and
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...
dancer in 1843–56.
In 1827 she was appointed the first female ballet master of the Royal Ballet, though she did not hold this position alone but shared it jointly with
Per Erik Wallqvist. She left her position before him to become the principal of the ballet school in 1830. Among her students were
Charlotta Norberg
Maria Charlotta "Charlotte" Norberg also known as ''Charlotte Törner'' (27 December 1824 in Stockholm – 25 February 1892 in Stockholm) was a Swedish Ballerina and ballet teacher. She was a star of the Royal Swedish Ballet in the mid 19th-centur ...
and
Thérèse Elfforss.
Until her forties, she was considered one of the greatest dancers in
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, and she is referred to as the primadonna of the Royal Swedish Ballet in the 1830s, alongside
Adolfina Fägerstedt
Adolfina Fägerstedt (31 August 1811 – 1902), was a Swedish ballerina. She was considered as one of the leading members of the Royal Swedish Ballet in the 1830s and 1840s.
She became a student of the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1821, a figurante ...
,
Carolina Granberg and
Charlotta Alm.
[Nils Personne: ]
Svenska teatern : några anteckningar 7. Under Karl Johanstiden : 1835-1838
'
She was seen as a role model in her role interpretations. In her own choreographs, such as ''Max och Emma'' (Max and Emma) (1842), she introduced traditions from Paris.
Sophie Daguin never married. During this epoch, unmarried women where formally minors who needed a guardian to manage their finances, but the law allowed for unmarried women to apply for
legal majority
The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when a person ceases to be considered a minor, and assumes legal control over their person, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the ...
, and Sophie Daguin successfully did so in 1832.
Among her parts where the main part in the ballet ''Jenny'' or ''Engelska inbrottet i Skottland'' (The English burglary in Scotland), her part in the operas ''Den lilla slavinnan'' (The Little Slave) and ''
Fra Diavolo'', in ''Dansvurmen'' (The Dance Craze) by
Selinder, ''Hemkosten'' (The Return) by Bournonville, ''Le Lac des fées'' by
Filippo Taglioni
Filippo Taglioni (aka Philippe Taglioni; 5 November 1777 – 11 February 1871) was an Italian dancer and choreographer and personal teacher to his own daughter, Romantic ballerina Marie Taglioni. (He had another child who also danced ballet ...
and as the abbess in the famous ballet in the convent scene in ''
Robert av Normandie'', and in 1836 she studied the part of Fenella in ''
Den stumma från Portici'' by
Daniel Auber
Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire.
Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally whe ...
for
Johanne Luise Heiberg
Johanne Luise Heiberg (; née Pätges; 22 November 1812 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish actress of the 19th century. She is most famous for her work at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, where she achieved great success. Though she was cl ...
in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
.
See also
*
Elisabeth Soligny
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth''
* Princess Elizabeth (d ...
References
* Österberg, Carin et al., ''Svenska kvinnor: föregångare, nyskapare''. Lund: Signum 1990. ()
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daguin, Sophie
Dancers from Paris
1801 births
1881 deaths
French ballerinas
Immigrants to Sweden
19th-century Swedish ballet dancers
19th-century French ballet dancers
Ballet mistresses
French ballet masters
Royal Swedish Ballet dancers