Louis-Jacques-Jessé Milon (18 April 1766 – 26 November 1849)Life dates are according to Babsky 1998, p. 422, who also says that there is some uncertainty: he may have been born in 1765 or 1769, and may have died in 1845. was a French ballet dancer, choreographer, and ballet master.Babsky 1998, pp. 422–423.

Life

Born in Saint-Martin de Caux, his widowed mother brought him to Paris, where they lived near the

Boulevard du Temple The Boulevard du Temple (), formerly nicknamed the "Boulevard du Crime", is a thoroughfare in Paris that separates the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, 3rd arrondissement from the 11th arrondissement of Paris, 11th. It runs from the Place de la Répu ...

. The Théâtre des Élèves pour la Danse de l'Opéra opened there not long after their arrival, and Milon's interest was piqued. He was soon filling in as a Saracen on the city walls in the five-act pantomime ''La Jérusalem délivrée''. By the age of fourteen, he was playing pantomime and comedy and dancing at the Variétés Amusantes.Guest 2001, pp. 62–72. Later he began studying dance at the

Paris Opera Ballet School 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 ...

, joining the ''corps de ballet'' of the school's parent company in 1787 and making a favorable impression as the Grand Cousin in

Maximilien Gardel Maximilien Gardel (18 December 1741, in Mannheim – 11 March 1787, in Paris) was a French ballet dancer and choreographer of German descent. He was the son of Claude Gardel, ballet master to King Stanisław Leszczyński, and elder brother by 17 ...

's ''Le déserteur'' on 16 January 1788 and as the Mentor in

Pierre Gardel Pierre-Gabriel Gardel (; 4 February 1758, in Nancy, France – 18 October 1840, in Paris) was a French ballet dancer, ballet master, violinist, and composer., 2007. He was the son of Claude Gardel and the younger brother of Maximilien Gardel, s ...

's '' Télémaque'' on 23 February 1790.Pitou 1985, vol. 2, pp. 364–365. He became ''double'' in 1791 and was only promoted to ''replacement'' in the ''noble'' genre in 1799, before retiring as a dancer in 1800. He created his first ballet, ''Pygmalion'', at the

Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique The (, literally, Theatre of the Comic-Ambiguity), a former Parisian theatre, was founded in 1769 on the boulevard du Temple immediately adjacent to the Théâtre de Nicolet. It was rebuilt in 1770 and 1786, but in 1827 was destroyed by fire. A ...

in 1799 with his sister-in-law,

Émilie Bigottini Émilie Bigottini (16 April 1784, in Toulouse – 28 April 1858, in Paris) was a French dancer of Italian ancestry. The daughter of Francesco Bigottini, a famous harlequin at Paris's Comédie-Italienne, she joined the Opéra ballet at age 17 a ...

, as the star. It was so successful, that he was invited to stage it at the

Opéra This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most co ...

, where it was first presented on 20 August 1800. After successfully creating ''Héro et Léandre'' at the Opéra on 31 December 1799,Pitou 1985, vol. 2, p. 584. he became assistant ballet master to

, with whom he worked in great harmony. Their collaboration, ''Les Noces de Gamache'', with a libretto by Milon based on comic episodes from Cervantes's novel ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'', premiered on 18 January 1801 and was retained in the repertory until 1841. He continued to teach and created many other works for the company until his retirement in 1826. Many of his ballets were also produced in the main stages of Europe. In parallel to his choreography career, he was also the last "Grand Professeur" of

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

at the Opéra. He died in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

in 1849. Though not revolutionary, his works were well in line with the tastes of the time and perfectly legible for audiences. With Bigottini, Milon put on pieces full of fantasy and humour as well as melodramas, with the latter having great success right up until the rise of

romantic ballet The Romantic ballet is defined primarily by an era in ballet in which the ideas of Romanticism in art and literature influenced the creation of ballets. The era occurred during the early to mid 19th century primarily at the Théâtre de l'Acadé ...

around 1830.

Selected works

* 1799 : ''Pygmalion'' * 1799 : ''Héro et Léandre'' * 1801 : ''Les Noces de Gamache'' * 1803 : ''Lucas et Laurette'' * 1813 : ''L'Enlèvement des Sabines'' * 1813 : ''Nina ou la Folle par amour'' * 1815 : ''L'Épreuve villageoise'' * 1816 : ''Le Carnaval de Venise'' * 1820 : ''Clari ou la Promesse de mariage''

References

;Notes ;Sources * Babsky, Monique (1998). "Milon, Louis" in Cohen 2004, vol. 4, pp. 422–423. * Cohen, Selma Jeanne, editor (1998). ''International Encyclopedia of Dance'' (6 volumes). Oxford: Oxford University Press. (hardcover). (2004 paperback edition). * Guest, Ivor (2001). ''Ballet under Napoleon''. Alton, Hampshire, UK: Dance Books. . * Pitou, Spire (1983–1990). ''The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers'' (3 volumes). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Milon, Louis 1766 births 1849 deaths French ballet masters French male ballet dancers French ballet choreographers 18th-century French ballet dancers 19th-century French ballet dancers Paris Opera Ballet étoiles