Le Ballet de la Nuit and La Sylphide are beautiful productions. Each graceful in their own right. However, in comparison, they show grace in different ways. The Ballet de la Nuit, choreographed in 1653 by Jean-Baptiste Lully, was strong and grandiose. Where La Sylphide was powerful in its extreme delicacy, choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Each dance bears witness to its times. That of Lully is grandiose; a demonstration of power. Down to the smallest choreography and costumes, Le Ballet de la Nuit tells the story of the rising sun, Louis XIV. It is a ballet constructed to show Louis' rise to power as king to become the absolute monarch of France. This is done in his dress and posture. The king dressed as a sun and wearing red-soled leather heels is placed center stage slightly above the rest of his comrades. Just as the planets revolve around the sun, the other dancers revolve around Louis. A demonstration of how it should and will be time for Louis to rise to power. La Sylphide tells another story and with as much grace and strength as the Ballet de la Nuit. A lover falls in love with a beautiful fairy but despite his best efforts, he cannot catch her, thus causing her death. He loses his original lover to his best friend, leaving him alone and at the mercy of nature. A true tragic romance. Like Le Ballet de la Nuit, La Sylphide owes a large part of its narrative to costumes and choreography. Much of the choreography is pantomime to tell the story using costumes, set changes and special effects. Historically, La Sylphide is the ballet that professionalized dance on point, to dance ballet on tiptoe. This in itself is a feat of great strength used to communicate delicacy and beauty. At the time, women's rights were gaining popularity and being a dancer was a gateway to independence. the aspirations of women coincided with the birth of the individual; freedom of life and the search for happiness. In La Sylphide, although the main character James is a man, he does not have a happy ending. If this were the case, the fairy, or Sylph, would not have died and his bride would not marry another. The women, although depicted almost as child-like and small, are also presented as forces of nature. The sylph, like a child, begs James to give her the scarf with which he will use to capture her, not knowing that it will detach her wings. When he captures her and removes her wings, he strips her of her magic and ends up killing her. rather than being his possession, she is released towards the sky, as inaccessible as ever. Taglioni shows that in this right, women are not objects and cannot be captured as such. Echoing the aspirations and ideas of the women's rights movement. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized document from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Paper EssayIn their own way, ballet told the stories of what was to come. The Ballet of the Night predicts the reign of Louis XIV. That he would be the light of France and chase away the darkness. With it came achievements such as Versailles, as it was the pinnacle of absolute monarchy. In La Sylphide, the same can be said of the first messages on women's rights..