Romantic ballet

The invention of gas lighting enabled gradual changes and enhanced the mysteriousness of many ballets with its softer gleam.

Additionally, technical advancements in production of tulle facilitated the popularization of romantic tutus, a costume that became synonymous with the era.

The Romantic era marked the rise of the ballerina as a central part of ballet, where previously men had dominated performances.

There had always been admiration for superior dancers, but elevating ballerinas to the level of celebrity came into its own in the nineteenth century, especially as female performers became idealized and objectified.

The movement style for Romantic ballerinas was characterized by soft, rounded arms and a forward tilt in the upper body.

The plots of many ballets were dominated by spirit women—sylphs, wilis, and ghosts, who enslaved the hearts and senses of mortal men and made it impossible for them to live happily in the real world.

Emphasis on the sensuality and innocence of women through the roles of supernatural and weightless characters revealed the desire of men to both protect and exploit the opposite sex.

Despite the growing importance of females in ballet, women benefitted little socially, as the era was still defined by widely accepted patriarchal notions.

Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake in the late 1870s debuted an even shorter tutu, built with hoops and 10 layers of netting to maintain its flat, wide shape.

[6] The Romantic era marks the first time that dancers began to incorporate pointe work into their classwork and performances beyond the elementary poses and tricks meant to dazzle the eyes of an audience.

[8] Exercises such as coupes were first taught during this era to prepare dancers for the strength needed to dance on unblocked pointe shoes.

Combined with the effects of the Romantic tutu, ballerinas posing en pointe, and the use of wires to make dancers "fly," directors used gas lighting to create supernatural spectacles on stage.