Knowra Ballet blanc Ballet blanc Ballet blanc is a classical ballet style in which a corps of female dancers wears white Romantic tutus, creating an image of ethereal, supernatural beauty.
La Sylphide : A ballet first performed in 1832 in which a Scottish farmer falls in love with an elusive supernatural sylph. Its 1832 staging helped establish the white Romantic tutu and supernatural heroine as defining imagery.
Romantic tutu : A bell-shaped ballet skirt made of soft tulle, usually extending from the waist to the calf or ankle. Its pale, translucent layers give the corps the characteristic floating silhouette.
Romantic ballet : A nineteenth-century ballet movement centered on emotion, supernatural themes, and the contrast between earthly and ideal realms. Ballet blanc developed within its fascination with spirits, moonlit settings, and ethereal heroines.
Wilis : In Giselle, the Wilis are spirits of women who died before marriage and dance men to death. Their white costumes embody the style’s supernatural and potentially dangerous femininity.
Giselle : A Romantic ballet about a young woman who dies of heartbreak and joins the Wilis, spirits of betrayed brides. Its second act turns a corps of white-clad Wilis into the classic ballet-blanc vision.
Corps de ballet : The ensemble of dancers in a ballet company who perform as a coordinated group. Repeated formations make the dancers appear as a unified supernatural presence.
Marie Taglioni : An Italian-Swedish ballerina celebrated for her performances in the early Romantic era. Her role in La Sylphide helped popularize the white costume and light, elevated style.
Sylph : A sylph is an elemental spirit of the air in Western folklore and Romantic literature. The sylph became a model for ballet blanc’s otherworldly female figures.
Swan Lake : A ballet about Princess Odette, transformed into a swan by a sorcerer’s curse. The white swan corps scenes are among the most recognizable examples of ballet blanc.
Ballet pointe technique : A ballet technique in which dancers support their weight on the tips of their toes in pointe shoes. Pointe work helps create the impression of weightlessness associated with many ballet-blanc scenes.
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