Louise Croisette as the first performer of the role of La Sylphide in Russia

Abstract

French ballerina Louise Croisette performed in St. Petersburg in the 1830s and 1840s, but her work is a “blank spot” and has not been studied at all by ballet historians. The dancer arrived in Russia from Paris at the invitation of the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters and for many years was one of the leading ballerinas of the St. Petersburg troupe. Occupying the position of the first pantomime dancer, she successfully performed in a diverse repertoire, demonstrating a wide artistic range. She successfully performed in the preromantic ballets of Charles Didelot (Zephyr and Flora), in the pantomime of Antoine Titus (Caesar in Egypt, Kia King), Alexis Blache (Don Juan). But her main artistic achievements are her participation in the St. Petersburg premieres of romantic masterpieces: the opera Robert le Diable and the ballets La Sylphide and La Révolte au sérail. Louise Croisette’s work in St. Petersburg is a “bridge” that connected the brightest achievements of the Charles Didelot Ballet Theater with the choreographic breakthrough in the romantic La Sylphide. Croisette, who performed in Maria Taglioni’s ballets before Taglioni arrived in St. Petersburg, became the «forerunner» of romantic choreographic ideas on the Russian ballet stage. For the first time, the article examines the biography and work of the ballerina Louise Croisette.