Lure of Perfection
Regular price
€192.20
18th century cultural studies
A01=Judith Bennahum
Act III
Auguste Vestris
Author_Judith Bennahum
Ballerina's Body
Ballerina’s Body
ballet
Bosom Friends
Cabinet Des Estampes
Category=ATQ
Category=ATX
Corps De Ballet
Counter Clockwise
De La Tour Du Pin
Du Pin
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
evolution of women's dance attire
French Revolution fashion
gendered movement constraints
Green Sickness
historical embodiment
jean-georges
Julien Offray De La Mettrie
La Belle
La Fille Mal
La Sylphide
Le Devin Du Village
Le Radeau De La Meduse
Louis XVIII
madame
marie
Marie Taglioni
noverre
performance studies research
Petit Trianon
Pierre Gardel
Robert Le Diable
romantic
Romantic Ballerina
Romantic Ballet
Romantic era aesthetics
shoes
sylphide
taglioni
toe
Toe Shoe
Young Man
Product details
- ISBN 9780415970372
- Weight: 580g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 23 Oct 2004
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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THE LURE OF PERFECTION: FASHION AND BALLET, 1780-1830 offers a unique look at how ballet influenced contemporary fashion and women's body image, and how street fashions in turn were reflected by the costumes worn by ballet dancers. Through years of research, the author has traced the interplay between fashion, social trends, and the development of dance. During the 18th century, women literally took up twice as much space as men; their billowing dresses ballooned out from their figures, sometimes a full 55 inches, to display costly jewelry and fine brocade work; similar costumes appeared on stage. But clothing also limited her movement; it literally disabled them, making the dances themselves little more than tableaux. Movement was further inhibited by high shoes and tight corsets; thus the image of the rigidly straight, long-lined dancer is as much a product of clothing as aesthetics. However, with changing times came new trends. An increased interest in natural movement and the common folk led to less-restrictive clothing. As viewers demanded more virtuosic dancers, women literally danced their way to freedom.
THE LURE OF PERFECTION will interest students of dance and cultural history, and women's studies. It is a fascinating, well-researched look at the interplay of fashion, dance, and culture-still very much a part of our world today.
Judith Chazin-Bennahum is Chair of the Dept of Theatre and Dance at the University of New Mexico. She is a past president of the Society of Dance History Scholars, and has authored and edited several books on dance history. She began her career as a performing dancer, dancing in companies headed by Antony Tudor, Pearl Lang, and Alexandra Danilova, and was invited by George Balanchine to perform with the New York City Ballet on their first Russian tour.
