Petit, Roland

Petit, Roland
born Jan. 13, 1924, Villemomble, Fr.

French dancer and choreographer.

He danced with the Paris Opéra Ballet (1940–44) and then formed several companies, with which he toured Europe and the U.S. His dramatic ballets combined fantasy with elements of contemporary realism and included The Strolling Players (1945), The Young Man and Death (1946), and Carmen (1949). He choreographed dances for films in the 1950s, and he later staged revues featuring his wife, Zizi Jeanmaire. From 1973 to 1997 he was director of the Ballet de Marseille.

* * *

▪ French dancer and choreographer
born Jan. 13, 1924, Villemomble, France

      French dancer and choreographer whose dramatic ballets combined fantasy with elements of contemporary realism.

      Trained at the Paris Opéra Ballet school, he joined the company in 1940 but left in 1944 to create and perform his own works at the Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt, in Paris. In 1945 Petit was instrumental in creating Les Ballets des Champs-Elysées, where he remained as principal dancer, ballet master, and choreographer until 1947. In 1948 he formed the Ballets de Paris de Roland Petit (1948–50, 1953–54, 1955, and 1958), which made several tours of Europe and the United States. Dancers who rose to prominence in his companies include Jean Babilée, Colette Marchand, Leslie Caron, and Renée (“Zizi”) Jeanmaire, whom he married in 1954.

      His choreography was often angular or acrobatic and was considered theatrical in its use of mime dance, occasional singing, and props such as cigarettes and telephones. His works included the realistic ballet Les Forains (1945; “The Strolling Players”), a study of indigent circus performers; the imaginative creation La Croqueuse de diamants (1950; “The Diamond Cruncher”), whose heroine eats the gems her associates steal; and L'Oeuf à la coque (1949; “The Soft-Boiled Egg”), in which the leading female dancer hatches from an egg in hell. Carmen (1949) was one of Petit's most popular ballets; the choreography was passionate and erotic, and Jeanmaire became famous for her interpretation of the title role. Le Jeune Homme et la mort (1946; “The Young Man and Death”) and Les Demoiselles de la nuit (1948; “The Ladies of the Night”) were among his other popular ballets.

      Petit staged several music hall revues for his wife and choreographed the dances for the films Hans Christian Andersen (1952), The Glass Slipper (1955), Daddy Long Legs (1955), Anything Goes (1956), and others. The ballet film Black Tights (1962) consisted of Petit's works La Croqueuse de diamants, Cyrano de Bergerac, A Merry Mourning (originally presented in 1953 as Deuil en 24 heures, “A 24-Hour Mourning”), and Carmen. Petit also staged several of his ballets for Sadler's Wells Ballet (now the Royal Ballet), for the Royal Danish Ballet, and for other troupes. From 1970 to 1975 he owned and operated the Casino de Paris, producing revues starring Jeanmaire. In 1973 he became director of the Ballet de Marseille. He choreographed a modern version of Coppélia in 1975 and a new Phantom of the Opera for the Paris Opéra Ballet in 1980.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Petit, Roland — (1924 )    dancer, choreographer    Born in Paris, Roland Petit, who began his career at the Paris Opéra, where he studied under serge lifar, served successively as the lead of the Ballets des Champs Elysées (1945) and the Ballets de Paris (1948) …   France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present

  • Petit, Roland — (n. 13 ene. 1924, Villemomble, Francia). Bailarín y coreógrafo francés. Después de bailar en el ballet de la Ópera de París (1940–44), formó varias compañías con las que realizó giras por Europa y EE.UU. En sus ballets dramáticos, entre ellos The …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • PETIT (R.) — PETIT ROLAND (1924 ) Chorégraphe et danseur français né à Villemomble. C’est en 1934 que Roland Petit entre à l’Opéra de Paris, où il reçoit l’enseignement de Gustave Ricaux et de Serge Lifar. Promu grand sujet, il danse pour la première et… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Roland — puede referirse a: ● El caballero franco medieval Roldán cuya gesta se relata en el Cantar de Roldán. ● El misil Roland antiaéreo de fabricación francesa. ● Roland de Gilead (Roland Deschain), hijo de Steven, protagonista de la saga de Stephen… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Roland Petit — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Petit. Roland Petit Roland Petit …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Roland — /roh leuhnd/, n. 1. Italian, Orlando. the greatest of the paladins in the Charlemagne cycle of the chansons de geste, renowned for his prowess and the manner of his death in the battle of Roncesvalles (A.D. 778), also for his five days combat… …   Universalium

  • Petit chelem de tennis — Grand Chelem Open d Australie Roland Garros Wimbledon US Open En tennis, le petit Chelem consiste pour une joueuse ou un joueur à remporter, la même année, trois des quatre tournois du Grand Chelem. Sommaire 1 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Roland Petit — Petit, 2009 Roland Petit (* 13. Januar 1924 in Villemomble im Département Seine Saint Denis im Nordwesten von Paris; † 10. Juli 2011 in Genf[1]) war ein französischer …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Roland Petit — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Coreógrafo y bailarín francés, Roland Petit nació el 13 de enero de 1924 en Villemomble, France. Su madre, Rose Repetto, es la causante de su afición a la danza clásica. Petit se formó en la Escuela de Ballet de la… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Roland Emmerich — Données clés Naissance 10 novembre&# …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”