Letters on Dancing and Ballets

work by Noverre

Also known as: “Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets”

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June 30, 2026

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Letters on Dancing and Ballets is a seminal work by Jean-Georges Noverre, published in 1760. This treatise revolutionized ballet production by advocating for ballet d'action, which emphasized dramatic motivation and storytelling over mere technical display. Noverre believed that dance should express emotions and narratives, a significant departure from the overly ornate and virtuosic style prevalent at the time. His ideas championed a more natural and expressive form of ballet, influencing choreographers across Europe and laying foundations for modern ballet.123

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Jean-Georges Noverre
…French choreographer whose revolutionary treatise, Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets (1760), still valid, brought about major reforms in ballet production, stressing the importance of dramatic motivation, which he called ballet d’action, and decrying overemphasis on technical virtuosity. His first choreographic success, Les Fêtes chinoises (1754), attracted the…
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…French choreographer whose revolutionary treatise, Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets (1760), still valid, brought about major reforms in ballet production, stressing the importance of dramatic motivation, which he called ballet d’action, and decrying overemphasis on technical virtuosity. His first choreographic success, Les Fêtes chinoises (1754), attracted the…
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dance
The debate in the West
…et sur les ballets (1760; Letters on Dancing and Ballets) Jean-Georges Noverre, the great French choreographer and ballet master, deplored this development. He argued that dance is meaningless unless it has some dramatic and expressive content and that movement should become more natural and accommodate a wider range of expression:…
Read More
…et sur les ballets (1760; Letters on Dancing and Ballets) Jean-Georges Noverre, the great French choreographer and ballet master, deplored this development. He argued that dance is meaningless unless it has some dramatic and expressive content and that movement should become more natural and accommodate a wider range of expression:…
Read More