The first soloist of a second outline: Dancer of the St. Petersburg ballet company Eugène Huguet

Abstract

A French dancer Eugène Huguet (1821–1875) devoted more than twenty years to Russian ballet. He was engaged to the St. Petersburg ballet troupe as a leading soloist, at the end of his performing career he taught at the Theater School. Huguet took part in almost every iconic St. Petersburg premiere of the 1850s, but until now he has practically not come to the attention of researchers (with the exception of minor mentions in the studies of V. M. Krasovskaya and Yu. I. Slonimsky). In this article, written on the materials of the periodical press and the personal file of the artist, stored in the Russian State Historical Archive, an attempt is made to review and analyze the performance activities of Eugene Huguet in St. Petersburg. The author sees the reason for the lack of attention to the figure of Eugene Huguet in the view of the ideal dancer of the era of romanticism, which has been established in ballet studies, which implies a harmonious combination of high performing technique and acting skills. Meanwhile, Huguet, who performed in divertissement numbers, was “simply” a virtuoso dancer and partner of a ballerina.