Both Ballet de la Nuit and La Sylphide are beautiful productions. Each graceful in its own way. Yet in comparison they show grace in separate ways. Le Ballet de la Nuit, choreographed in 1653 by Jean-Baptiste Lully, was strong and grand. 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 Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Every dance is a testimony of the times. Lully's is great; a demonstration of power. Down to the last piece of choreography and dress 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 stance. The sun-clad King wearing red-soled leather heels is positioned center stage slightly above the rest of his castmates. Just as the planets revolve around the sun, the other dancers orbit around Louis. A demonstration of how it should and will be the time for Louis to come to power. La Sylphide tells a different story and with the same grace and strength as Ballet de la Nuit. A lover falls in love with a beautiful fairy but, try as he might, he cannot capture her, resulting in her death. He loses his original lover to his best friend, making him alone and at the mercy of nature. A true tragic love story. Like Le Ballet de la Nuit, La Sylphide owes much of its narrative to its costumes and choreography. Much of the choreography is pantomime to tell the story aided by costumes, set changes and special effects. Historically La Sylphide is the ballet that professionalized dancing on point, to dance ballet on tiptoe. This in itself is a feat of great strength used to communicate delicacy and beauty. At that time, women's rights were gaining more and more popularity and being a dancer was a gateway to independence. women's aspirations coincided with the birth of the individual; freedom of life and the pursuit of happiness. In La Sylphide, although the main character James is a man, he is not granted a happy ending. If this were the case, the fairy, or Sylph, would not have died and her betrothed would not marry another. The women, although portrayed as almost childlike and small, are also shown as forces of nature. The sylph like a child begs James to give her the scarf with which he will capture her, without knowing that he will tear off her wings. When he captures her and frees her from his wings, he takes away her magic and ultimately kills her. instead of being his possession, she is released into heaven, unattainable as ever. Taglioni shows that in this law women are not objects and cannot be captured as such. Echoing the aspirations and ideas of the women's rights movement. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Personalize essayIn their own way, the ballet told the stories of what was to come. Le Ballet de la Nuit predicted the reign of Louis XIV. That he would be the light of France and chase away the darkness. With him came conquests like Versailles, because it was the pinnacle of absolute monarchy. In La Sylphide the same can be said of the initial messages on women's rights.