Suzanne Théodore Vaillande Douvillier (28 September 1778 – 30 August 1826) was a French

ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...

mime A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

. Known as Madame Placide during the early years of her career, she is considered by some historians as the first trained ballerina to dance in the United States.

Early life

Suzanne Theodore Vaillande was born in

Dole, Jura Dole (, sometimes pronounced ) is a commune in the eastern French department of Jura, of which it is a subprefecture (''sous-préfecture''). History Dole was the capital of Franche-Comté until Louis XIV conquered the region; he shifted t ...

, France, on September 28, 1778. It is believed that her birth was illegitimate; her mother was Marie Reine Vailland (sic) but her father is unknown.Encyclopædia Britannica "Suzanne Douvillier"
/ref> Due to a lack of extant records knowledge of her childhood is almost entirely bereft of even the vaguest detail - all that is known is that she was educated 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 ...

and therefore it has been conjectured that her early ballet training was at the Paris Opera. As she entered her teenage years the French Revolution was underway, and she arrived in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

(Saint-Domingue), then part of the

French West Indies The French West Indies or French Antilles (, ; ) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, including the islands of Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Les Saintes, Ma ...

, around 1790; it was there that she encountered Alexander Placide, primarily a 'theatrical figure' though impressively multitalented, accomplished in such diverse activities as fencing, acrobatics, and the directing of plays. He would become a major professional (and, to some extent, romantic) partner and influence in her career.

Career

In 1791 the duo moved to America after the Santo Domingo rebellion. Her debut came on January 25, 1792, at the John Street Theatre in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, in The Bird Catcher, a piece generally regarded as the first ever ballet performed in New York. She was billed as Madame Placide, though they were unmarried at the time. They remained there for some months, performing many ballets and pantomimes together. For the later part of 1792 they moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, then in 1793 to Newport,

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, where they were joined by Louis Douvillier. In 1794 they moved south to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. By then she was the most popular and talented dancer in America, and in 1796 became the first female choreographer in the United States by choreographing the ballet Echo and Narcissus, at the age of just 18. In June 1796 tensions between Douvillier and Placide came to a head - they had a duel over the affections of Vaillande. Despite the fact that Placide won, Douvillier married Suzanne and in 1799 they settled in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. She then started choreographing often, though continued dancing. In 1808 she became the first female to perform as a male in America; the opposite was quite widespread, though at the time this act was considered amazingly daring. In 1813 she started set design, and is said to be a pioneering female in this respect also.

Later life

Her face became disfigured in later years, according to actor

Noah Ludlow Noah Miller Ludlow (1795–1886), was an American actor and theatre manager. He was the leader of a theatre company touring Louisiana (where he introduced English language theatre) and Alabama and Mississippi, where he introduced theatre. In Ne ...

.Ludlow, Noah, 1880, Dramatic Life as I Found It Her final performance was in ''Don Juan'' in 1818; in it, she wore a mask which concealed this. She died in New Orleans in 1826 at the age of 48, outliving her husband by five years. The couple are buried in St. Louis Cemetery, New Orleans. She is seen as a pioneer in both the advancement of women's roles in society and in choreography.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douvillier, Suzanne 1778 births 1826 deaths 18th-century American people 18th-century French ballet dancers 18th-century French women 19th-century American ballet dancers 19th-century French ballet dancers 19th-century American women American ballerinas American choreographers American mimes French ballerinas French women choreographers French choreographers French emigrants to the United States French mimes People from Dole, Jura Artists from New Orleans People from Saint-Domingue Dancers from Louisiana

Early life

Career

Later life

See also

References