Books

Stuttgart: et se vend a Lyon, chez Aimé Delaroche,, 1760. The magnum opus of the man Garrick called "the Shakespeare of the dance" First edition of the work that popularized the importance of dramatic motivation in European ballet and became the authoritative work on ballet d'action. Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810) is credited with turning ballet from an operatic interlude into an independent art form. He developed his expertise at the courts of Frederick II, Maria Theresa, and Marie Antoinette, for whom he worked as ballet master of the Paris Opera. In the course of his career, he choreographed over 150 ballets. He collaborated with Garrick, Mozart, and Voltaire, who wrote of the Lettres that "you shed a great deal of light on all the arts. Your style is as elegant as your ballets have imagination" (quoted in Chazin-Bennahum, p. 94). Two issues of the first edition were issued, simultaneously, in Stuttgart and Lyon. This, the Stuttgart issue, omits the "Avec approbation et…

One of the most important works in the history of ballet, providing insight into the art form's aesthetics and principles.