Noverre, Jean-Georges

Noverre, Jean-Georges

(born April 29, 1727, Paris, Fr.—died Oct. 19, 1810, Saint-Germain-en-Laye) French dancer and choreographer. His treatise Letters on Dancing and Ballets (1760) stressed the need for unified dramatic structure by integrating story, music, choreography, and set design, as opposed to the loosely connected episodes of the dance suite that then prevailed. This innovative approach—called ballet d'action, or “ballet with a story”—brought major reforms in ballet production. His invention of ballet d'action was challenged by Gasparo Angiolini, who had developed a simpler approach to the new form. In 1776 Noverre became ballet master of the Paris Opéra.