Jean Dauberval, a.k.a. Jean D’Auberval, (born Jean Bercher in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, 19 August 1742 –

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

, 14 February 1806), was a French dancer and

ballet master A ballet master (also balletmaster, ballet mistress, ''premier maître de ballet'' or ''premier maître de ballet en chef'') is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In mo ...

. He is most noted for creating the ballet, ''

La fille mal gardée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

'', one of the most enduring and popular works of the ballet repertoire. Dauberval was trained at the school of 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 ...

where he studied under the great

Jean-Georges Noverre Jean-Georges Noverre (29 April 1727 19 October 1810) was a French dancer and ballet master, and is generally considered the creator of ''ballet d'action'', a precursor of the narrative ballets of the 19th century. His birthday is now observed a ...

. He was appointed ''premier danseur'' of the ballet of the Académie Royale de Musique in 1763, and, in 1771, he was named

. From 1781 until 1783, he was engaged as ''Maître de Ballet'' to the Académie, and in 1783–84 season in London's King's Theatre. In 1783, Dauberval moved to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, where he accepted the post of ''maître de ballet'' to the

Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation) ...

, a position he held until 1791. In 1789, Dauberval created his most enduring ballet, ''La Fille mal gardée'', in which his wife, the dancer Marie-Madeleine Crespé, who is known to history as Madame Théodore, created the role of Lison. (The role is known as "Lise" today.) Charles Didelot sometimes referred to as the ''father of the Russian ballet'', and Salvatore Vigano who in Italy, introduced dance-drama were Dauberval's pupils. During his time, he was admired most for his ability to integrate dramatic action into dance.

Noted works

*''The Pastimes of Terpsicore'' (1783, King's Theatre, London) *''Friendship lead to Love'' (1783, King's Theater, London) *''The Slaves of Conquering Bacchus'' (1784, King's Theater, London) *''Le Réveil du bonheur'' (1784, King's Theater, London) *''Orpheo'' (1784, King's Theatre, London) *''The Four Ages of Man'' (1784, King's Theatre, London) *''Pygmalion'' (1784, King's Theatre, London) *''Le Déserteur, ou La Clémence Royale'' (1784, King's Theatre, London) * ''Le Page inconstant'' (1787, based on '' La Folle Journée, ou Le Mariage de Figaro'' by

Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French playwright and diplomat during the Age of Enlightenment. Best known for his three Figaro plays, at various times in his life he was also a watchmaker, invent ...

, Grand-Théâtre, Bordeaux) * ''Psyché et l'Amour'' (1788, Grand-Théâtre, Bordeaux) * ''

La Fille mal gardée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

'' (1789, Grand-Théâtre, Bordeaux) *''Amphion et Thalie, ou L’Élève des Muses'' (1791, Pantheon Theatre, London) *''Telemachus in the Island of Calipso'' (1791, Pantheon Theatre, London) *''Le Triomphe de la Folie'' (1791, Pantheon Theatre, London) *''Le Siège de Cythère'' (1791, Pantheon Theatre, London) *''La Fontaine d’amour'' (1791, Pantheon Theatre, London) *''L’Amant déguisé'' (1791, Pantheon Theatre, London) *''La Fête villageoise'' (1791, Pantheon Theatre, London)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dauberval, Jean 18th-century French ballet dancers French male ballet dancers French ballet choreographers 1742 births 1806 deaths People from Montpellier Paris Opera Ballet étoiles Paris Opera Ballet artistic directors French ballet masters