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Jean-Georges Noverre
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Jean-Georges Noverre
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Jean-Georges Noverre
Jean-Georges Noverre Jean-Georges Noverre, frontispiece from his Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets (1760).

Jean-Georges Noverre

French choreographer and dancer
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Quick Facts
Born:
April 29, 1727, Paris, France
Died:
October 19, 1810, Saint-Germain-en-Laye (aged 83)
Subjects Of Study:
ballet
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Jean-Georges Noverre (born April 29, 1727, Paris, France—died October 19, 1810, Saint-Germain-en-Laye) was a distinguished 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 attention of David Garrick, who presented it in London in 1755. After producing such masterpieces as Medée et Jason and Psyché et l’Amour (at Stuttgart, 1760–67), he was appointed ballet master at the Paris Opéra in 1776.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.