Romantic ballet
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The Romantic period in ballet occurred in the early to mid 1800's, and roughly corresponds to Romanticism movements in art and literature. Like these movements, Romantic ballets focused on the conflict between man and nature, society and supernatural.
Romantic ballets were usually set in two acts: the first representing daylight and civilization, the second taking place at night in the spiritual realm, and ending in tragedy. The two narrative ballets from this era that have survived are La Sylphide (1832) Giselle (1841).
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Cult of the ballerina
The Romantic era marked the rise of the ballerina as a central part of ballet, where previously men had dominated performances. This began when Marie Taglioni darned her slippers and became the first woman to perform en pointe, dancing on the tips of her toes at the debut of La Sylphide. She also shortened her skirt for the event, revealing ballerina's ankles for the first time. This was not only to display her primitive pointework, but other virtuoso footwork as well.
Taglioni became the prototypical Romantic ballerina, praised highly for her lyricism. The movement style for Romantic ballerinas was characterized by soft, rounded arms and a forward tilt in the upper body. This gave the woman a flowery, willowy look. Leg movements became more elaborate due to the new tutu length and rising standards of technical proficiency. Important Romantic ballerinas included Carlotta Grisi, the first "Giselle", Lucille Grahn, Fanny Cerrito, Marie Taglioni and Fanny Elssler.
see also: Cult of the ballerina
Design and scenography
Romantic Tutu
The costume for the romantic ballerina was the Romantic tutu. This was a full, white, multi-layered skirt made of tulle. The ballerina wore a white bodice with the tutu. In the second acts of Romantic Ballets, representing the spiritual realm, the corps de ballet (female chorus of the ballet) appeared onstage in Romantic tutus, giving the name to the term "white act" or "ballet blanc".
Special Effects
Romantic ballets owed much to the new developments in theater effects, particularly gas lighting (Limelight). Candles had been previously used to light theaters, but gas lighting allowed for dimming effects and other subtelties. Combined with the effects of the Romantic tutu, ballerinas posing en pointe, and the use of wires to make dancers "fly," directors used gas lighting to create supernatural spectacles onstage.