Ballet in Transition: 1789-1840
(Edmund Fairfax)

While broad dance-history surveys not uncommonly state that the art of ballet underwent significant changes during the years 1789-1840, there has been, however, little attempt to discern what specific changes affected the technique and style of dance in French theaters, changes which, in turn, were widely imitated in other theaters. This illustrated presentation will attempt to fill the void in part, discussing the dissolution of the old system of distinct dance styles, which informed stage-dancing in the eighteenth century before the French Revolution; the emergence of a new blended style under the influence of the superstar dancer Auguste Vestris during the Revolution; and finally the advent of a reactionary style associated with the age of Romantic ballet and specifically with Marie and Philippe Taglioni. The presentation will look at some specifics in technique and choreography, notably height of leg-extensions, port de bras, pointe-work, step innovation, and the formation of enchaînements.

 

Edmund Fairfax, Toronto, Canada

Edmund Fairfax is an independent dance historian specializing in eighteenth‑century ballet. His groundbreaking study The Styles of Eighteenth‑Century Ballet (Scarecrow Press) appeared in 2003. He is currently working on completing a major study to be called The Technique of Eighteenth‑Century Ballet, as well as a reconstructive study, with a critical edition of the score, of Maximilien Gardel=s 1777 pantomime ballet La chercheuse d=esprit (with Mojca Gal), one of the “classics” of the period. His comprehensive research overturns a number of antiquated notions concerning early ballet. From 2003 to 2008 he was an assistant and adviser to the dance company Ballet Espressivo in Toronto. His choreography in the eighteenth‑century style has appeared on stages in Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Greece, most recently at the Potsdam Early Music Festival (2024) and the Athens World Congress of Dance Conference (2025). He studied classical ballet in Toronto, where he lives, and has an academic background in English literature and music history (University of Regina) and theoretical linguistics (University of Toronto), with special interest in the history of the early Germanic languages, particularly Gothic and Old English.