2 3 Throwback Thursday and Marie Camargo | Ballet Webb

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Throwback Thursday and Marie Camargo




Throwback Thursday and Marie Camargo
Marie Anne de Cupis was born in 1710.  She took the name of her Spanish mother’s family – Camargo.  She changed the course of ballet in more ways than one.  She made her debut in Paris in 1726 and instantly became known as a virtuoso, especially for her jumps.  She is said to be the first person to have performed the entrechat quatre.
This expertise in petit allegro probably caused her next two innovations:  changing from heeled shoes to soft slippers, and the one she is most remembered for:  shortening her skirt so her footwork would be more visible.  Thus began the trend toward shorter and shorter skirts until we reached the classical tutu style known today.
Camargo was so famous in her day that chefs created dishes named for her, painters painted her, two operas were written about her; and in 1930 The Camargo Society was formed in London.   

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Dance History Factoid #19 
“Marie Camargo is credited with shortening the dance skirt.”

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Quote of the Day:

“If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything.  You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.”
-Michael Crichton

 

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