April 10
Born Today:
Monsieur Albert
Born François-Ferdinand Decombe, Monsieur Albert (c.1787-1865), known as simply Albert, danced during a time when male dancers were revered more than female dancers. He joined the Paris Opera in 1808 upon the recommendation of fellow dancer Auguste Vestris (1760-1842) and appeared in Flore et Zéphire (1815) by Charles Didelot (1767-1837), a ballet featuring dancers harnessed to wires in order to fly them in the air onstage. He also danced in ballets by choreographers Pierre Gardel (1758-1840) and Jean-Louis Aumer (1774-1833) and he was considered a danseur noble type - a tall and well proportioned dancer with a refined and elegant movement quality that was generally cast as a prince or nobleman. In comparison, his contemporary, Antoine Paul (1798-1871), better known as Paul, was considered a demi-caractère type, a dancer short in stature specializing in jumps. Monsieur Albert also choreographed ballets including Cendrillon (1822) and La Jolie Fille de Gand (1842) and his most famous pupil was choreographer Arthur Saint-Leon (1821-1870), the creator of one of the oldest ballets, Coppélia (1870).
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Movies: Small Town Girl released in 1953, Newsies released in 1992