Marie-Anne de Camargo after Nicolas Lancret

Marie Anne de Cupis de Camargo (15 April 1710 in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

– 28 April 1770 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

), sometimes known simply as La Camargo, was a French dancer. The first woman to execute the '' entrechat quatre'', Camargo was also allegedly responsible for two innovations in ballet as she was one of the first dancers to wear slippers instead of heeled shoes, and, while there is no evidence that she was the first woman to wear the short calf-length ballet skirt, the now standardized ballet

tights Tights are a kind of cloth garment, most often sheathing the body from the waist to the toe tips with a tight fit, hence the name. They come in absolute opaque, opaque, sheer and fishnet styles — or a combination, such as the original concep ...

, she did help to popularize these. She is said to have been as strong as the male dancers.

Early life

Camargo was born on 15 April 1710, and

baptised Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

the same day, in Brussels, the daughter of Ferdinand Joseph de Cupis and Marie-Anne de Smet. She had two younger brothers, Jean-Baptiste (1711–1788) who later became a composer and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist, François Cupis de Renoussard (1719–1764), a composer and cellist, and a sister, Madeleine. Her father, who was of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

ancestry, earned a meagre living as violinist and dancing-master, and from childhood she was trained for the stage. At ten years of age, she was given lessons by Françoise Prévost (1680–1741), then the first dancer at the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

, and at once obtained an engagement as ''premiere danseuse'', first at Brussels and then at

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

Career

She made her Paris debut on 5 May 1726 at the

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...

in ''Les Caractères de la Danse''. The piece was choreographed by her teacher Françoise Prévost to music by Jean Ferry Rebel. Prévost herself originated the role, and subsequently taught her popular solo to both Camargo and her other student,

Marie Sallé Marie Sallé (1707–1756) was a French dancer and choreographer in the 18th century known for her expressive, dramatic performances rather than a series of "leaps and frolics" typical of ballet of her time. Biography Marie Sallé was a promine ...

. Camargo dazzled audiences with her stunning technique and spritely energy, performing entrechats and cabrioles with brilliant execution. She became the first woman to execute the

entrechat Because ballet History of ballet, became formalized in France, a significant part of ballet terminology is in the French language. A À la seconde () (Literally "to second") If a step is done "à la seconde", it is done to the side. 'Second posi ...

quatre, and she at once became the rage. She popularized two innovations to ballet, changing from heeled shoes to slippers, and she was one of the first ballet-dancers to shorten the skirt to what afterwards became the regulation length. Every new fashion bore her name; her manner of doing her hair was copied by all at court; her shoemaker — she had a tiny foot — made his fortune. Her increasing popularity at the Paris Opera inspired jealousy in Prévost, who demoted her to the corps de ballet. However, a later incident involving a missing male dancer saw Camargo unexpectedly step into his place and improvise a brilliant solo. This feat secured her status as a principal ballerina. She had many titled admirers whom she nearly ruined by her extravagances, among others Louis de Bourbon, Count of Clermont. At his wish she retired from the stage from 1736 to 1741, resuming her dancing career from 1741 to 1751. After finally retiring, she received a government pension. In her time she appeared in 78

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

s or operas, always to the delight of the public.

Nicolas Lancret Nicolas Lancret (; 22 January 1690 – 14 September 1743) was a List of French artists, French painter. Born in Paris, he was a brilliant depicter of light comedy which reflected the tastes and manners of French society during the Régence, regen ...

painted a famous portrait of her that exists in several versions including works now held at the Wallace Collection, London,Wallace Collection on-line:''Mlle de Camargo Dancing''
/ref> and at the

National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

(shown right). In them she wears heeled shoes and is poised ''à demi point''. A ballet, '' Camargo'', based on the incident when she and her sister Madeleine were abducted by the ''Comte de Melun'' in May 1728 was created by

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (; born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa; 11 March 1818) was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. He is considered one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history ...

and the composer

Léon Minkus Ludwig Minkus (), also known as Léon Fyodorovich Minkus (23 March 1826, Vienna – 7 December 1917, Vienna), was an Austrian composer of ballet music, a violinist and teacher of music. Minkus is noted for the music he composed during his caree ...

for the Russian

Imperial Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet () is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's ...

, premiering December 19, 1872 with the famous ballerina,

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, as Marie Anne Camargo. The work was later revived in 1901 for the Russian

Lev Ivanov Lev Ivanovich Ivanov (; 2 March 1834, Moscow – 24 December 1901, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Mariinsky Ballet, Imperial Ballet. As a performer with the Mariinsky Ballet, ...

for

Pierina Legnani Pierina Legnani (30 September 1863 – 15 November 1930) was an Italian ballerina considered one of the greatest ballerinas of all time. Biography Legnani was born in 1863, in Milan and originally studied with famous ballet dancer Caterina B ...

. After the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, however, the ballet was never performed again.

Death

She died on 28 April 1770, thirteen days after her 60th birthday, in Paris.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Camargo, Marie Anne De Cupis De 1710 births 1770 deaths French ballerinas Entertainers from Brussels Belgian emigrants to France Dancers from Paris French people of Spanish descent 18th-century French ballet dancers Camargo

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References