Interview with Filippo Taglioni

(NOTE: "S" stands for Student of SCPA and "F" stands for Filippo Taglioni)

S: Hello Mr. Taglioni. How are you today?

F: I am eccellente. Thank you.

S: I am a student of SCPA and I'm also a real fan of yours.


F: Oh! how sweet is that. Thank you.


S: You are very welcome. Do you think you could please give me a few minutes of your valuable time to answer a few questions about you and your career? 

F: That would be my pleasure.

S: Great!  lets get started then… so where are you from and how would you describe it?

F: I was born in Milan, Italy and I lived in different Italian cities (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2012). I would describe the place in which I was born as “Large, lively and industrious” (ITALIA. Italian Tourism Official Website). But really my home has always been all of Europe, because life and my career took me many times through places like France, Sweden, Demmark, Germany and Austria (Andros, 1993).

S: What could you tell us about your family?

F: My family… oh what a crew of ballerini di talento! My dad, Carlo Taglioni was a dancer and choreographer and my mom, Maria Petracchi Taglioni was also a dancer. My brother and I we both made our spots as choreographers. My brother, Salvatore Taglioni is most recognized by choreographing scores of ballets for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. Then there are my kids Marie and Paul who were both trained by me. Marie is known for her career as a dancer and Paul for his career as a choreographer. (New York Public Library)

S: What events in your early life made you interested in the arts?

F: I think that more than an event that influenced me into dancing was la mia famiglia. As I told you before both of my parents were in the dance industry (New York Public Library), and you know kids… they always want to be like their parents, if not ask my daughter Marie (laughs). I also think that what was going on in my time period influenced my as I choreographer.

     It was just after the French Revolution when the middle class was gaining power. This new middle class wanted to experience what the art world had to offer. They also wanted to escape from the world, and I had the supernatural and exoticness that they were looking for. Many times I’ve been call “father of the Romantic ballet” because I was the major choreographer of my times (Wish Upon a Ballet, 2009).

S: What role did mentors play in helping you develop the interests and talents you have as an artist?

F: Mentors were crucial and my mentors were always my parents. Both of them were amazing dancers and my brother and I always wanted to be like them so we followed their steps. My dad was a "grotesque" dancer and choreographer which is a type of dance that includes humor, unnatural shapes, and sometimes described as vulgar and bizarre (Kisselgoff, 1984); active in the late 1700s, and my lovely mom, Maria Petracchi Taglioni, also a dancer, remained a presence in the ballet world for four generations (New York Public Library).

S: What was the world of art like in your particular art field when you entered it?

F: It was definitely changing. The revolution not only renovated the French government but also the people. The leaders of the new government wanted to erase all links with old ways of life, and artists were not the exception (Ramirez et.al., 2008). After the French Revolution the middle class was rapidly growing. This group of people wanted to know about arts, and at the same time they found in arts a shelter from all the problems and fighting (Wish Upon a Ballet, 2009). There is when Romanticism was born. Young artists in every category rejected the classical ideas of order, coordination and stability. They wanted too feel free to express themselves in an unprompted and singular way.  Dancers, poets, writers turned to nature as a source of inspiration (Victoria and Albert Museum).

    This whole movement known as the Romanticism significantly changed my art field, which is obviously dance. The themes of the ballets started to be about man versus nature, the supernatural and exotic lands, because that’s what most people wanted to see (Wish Upon a Ballet, 2009). My daughter Marie was the first to dance on point (dancing on the tip of the toes) or at least the first one on doing a whole ballet on point, and then it became a rule for all ballerinas. Also male dancers were not longer the stars of ballets. The crowds wanted to see beautiful ballerinas dancing on their toes (Victoria and Albert Museum).

S: How did the major cultural situations of the time impact your work?

F: Well… the time that I spent dancing for the Paris Opera Ballet was a time for change in France. The French Revolution completely transformed French society. As I told you before, all the connections with the old ways were erased. Religion was being replaced with worshiping the revolution. Even a new metric system replaced the old ways of weights and measures, and a new calendar stated that they didn’t want to have any type of ties with the past (Ramirez et.al., 2008). These changes influenced my work because I felt like I wasn’t an exception for these changes and that I also had to do things differently than before.

S: How did economic situations of the time impact your work?

F: One of the causes of the French Revolution was the financial crisis. France was in deep debt but the king was not willing to give up his luxuries. At the same time a hailstorm, a drought and the terrible winter ruined the harvest. French people were cold and hungry which made them really angry and led to revolution (Ramirez et.al., 2008). This influenced my career because French Revolution is pretty much what made me the type of supernatural and exotic choreographer I was (Wish Upon a Ballet, 2009).

S: How did political situations of the time impact your work?

F: Well… As I just told you the French Revolution really influenced my work because even when it was a political issue, (dethrone the king and end just the injustices) it became part of us (Ramirez et.al., 2008). To me it made me want to change the way we saw ballet and make it exotic. My ballet “La Sylphide” is about a Scottish farmer whom on the morning of his wedding day falls in love with a vision of a magical sylph, or spirit (Bedinghaus, 2012). This ballet exhibits the supernatural and the exoticness that characterizes me (Ballet Bag, 2009).

S: What were your major accomplishments and the methods you used in your art?

F: The biggest accomplishment I got I think was my daughter Marie. I trained her really hard, six hours a day every day. I used on her a method much like the Cecchetti method that who was to acquire many years later. I wanted her to have a modest, bright, gentle style and emphasize elevation and pointe work. We continued to perfect Marie's technique, and when she was ready I took her back to Paris.

     After Marie’s debut she became so popular that we were able to negotiate a six-year contract for both of us. The glorious opening of “La Sylphide” (which I choreographed for her) made her the prima ballerina of the romantic period and me the most notable choreographer (Andros, 1993).

S: What were the key opportunities you had that led to turning points in your life and art?

F: Oh that’s my favorite question so far. So I danced in several Italian cities before I got to France and danced for the “Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris” or Paris Opera Ballet (Andros, 1993). Once there, I studied with some interesting people like Giovanni Coralli Peracini, who later on with the help of Jules Perrot, created the Romantic ballet “Giselle” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2012).

     Even though I loved to be part of the Opera I wanted more for myself, and I knew that Auguste Vestris controlled the Opera completely. Everything changed the day that I was asked to take the position of principal dancer and ballet master at the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm. I was more than happy to accept, of course. There I met a beautiful dancer who became my wife and mother of the kids that gave me more accomplishments than in any other time of my life (Andros, 1993).

S: What hardships or roadblocks did you have to overcome in order to be an artist?

F: Not to be arrogant, but I was born an artist (laughs). Of course getting to the top wasn’t easy at all. To become a dancer was hard work, dancing is a competitive environment we all know that. But I think that the hardest part of my career was taking my daughter Marie to the top (Andros, 1993). I took training on myself putting her through six hours of severe practice of movements, steps, an body shapes that developed strength, flexibility, balance and coordination; day and at night. She was so exhausted every day that someone had to undress her and put her into bed! (Sanderson). It wasn’t easy… but we succeed!

S: Who are people that you admire both in the arts and beyond and why do they inspire you?

F: Other than my parents, who always inspired me, I really admire my daughter. I admire her because she was strong. She made it through the arduous practice, the critics and of course me (laughs). I was really strict, my critics were harsh and my approval was extremely hard to gain, and yet she still made it. Also while other dancers had been en pointe before, none of them had been able to sustain the painful position for as long as Marie. Again… she was strong (Bradley, 2002).

S: Do you have any personal stories that best illustrate how you became successful in the arts?

F: Something I’m never going to forget is when a cold-hearted Ballet teacher cruelly rejected my beautiful daughter Marie at a gentle young age of 6. He rejected her because he felt that my daughter was too “unattractive” to become a dancer. I mean she might have had a pale complexion, very thin body and not the most beautiful features in the world but that does not make her unattractive doesn’t it? Anyways… he also dared to call her an ugly duckling and a hunchback (Bradley, 2002).

     I was so outraged and angry that I just took Marie under my own training. I promised to myself I was going to make her the most beautiful dancer the world had ever seen. And that’s exactly what happened. Some days I still wonder if that M. Coulon or whatever his name was… swallowed his words after realizing that the “hunchback” he once rejected had became the prima ballerina of the romantic ballet (Bradley 2002).

S: Well I believe we are done for today… thank you very much Mr. Taglioni

F: Is that it? Oh… time flies (laughs). You are welcome amore.

Cited works.

·      "Ballet." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 29 Feb 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/50559/ballet>.

·      "Milan." ITALIA. Italian Tourism Official Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb 2012. <http://www.italia.it/en/discover-italy/lombardy/milan.html>

·      Andros, Dick. "The Taglioni Family." Andros on Ballet. N.p., February 1993. Web. 29 Feb 2012. <http://michaelminn.net/andros/biographies/taglioni_family/>.

·      "Romanticism: The Taglioni Family." New York Public Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb 2012. <http://legacy.www.nypl.org/research/lpa/italiandance/web4.html>.

·      "1800s and the Romantic Ballet." Wish Upon a Ballet. N.p., 2009. Web. 29 Feb 2012. <http://www.wish-upon-a-ballet.com/the-1800s-and-the-romantic-ballet.html>.

·      Ramirez, Susan, Peter Stearns, and Sam Wineburg. WORLD HISTORY. Human Legacy. United States of America: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2008. 192-207. Print.

· "Romantic ballet." Victoria and Albert Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb 2012. <http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/romantic-ballet/>.

· "La Sylphide." The Ballet Bag. N.p., April 2009. Web. 29 Feb 2012. <http://www.theballetbag.com/2010/02/10/la-sylphide/>.

·      Sanderson, Lisa-Anne. "Dancer on Wings: Marie Taglioni." Life in Italy . N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb 2012. <http://www.lifeinitaly.com/heroes-villains/marie-taglioni.asp>.

·     Bradley, Cheryl. "Classical ballet: Ballerinas in the limelight since the 19th century." Helium. Helium, Inc, 2002. Web. 29 Feb 2012. <http://www.helium.com/items/237131-classical-ballet-ballerinas-in-the-limelight-since-the-19th-century/print>.

·      Kisselgoff, Anna. "DANCE VIEW; GROTESQUE IMAGERY HAS COME TO DANCE." The New York Times. N.p., 15 apr 1984. Web. 11 Apr 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/15/arts/dance-view-grotesque-imagery-has-come-to-dance.html?pagewanted=all>.

·      Bedinghaus, Treva. "La Sylphide A Romantic, Supernatural Ballet." About.com. The New York Times Company, 2012. Web. 11 Apr 2012. <http://dance.about.com/od/reviewsandrecommendation1/a/La_Sylphide.htm>.