Jean-Baptiste Lande French dancer, choreographer, teacher Date of Birth: 04.05.1697 Country: France

1. Biography of Jean-Baptiste Landé
2. Early Career
3. Establishment of the Imperial Ballet School
4. Career Highlights

Biography of Jean-Baptiste Landé

Jean-Baptiste Landé was a French dancer, ballet master, and teacher who came to Russia in the 1730s and became the founder of Russian choreographic art. He was born on May 4, 1697, in Bordeaux, France, into a family of dance teachers.

Early Career

Landé performed in Paris, Dresden, and Copenhagen. He served as a dance teacher at the Swedish court and, from 1723, directed the French ballet in Stockholm. In the 1730s, he started working in the Russian Empire, teaching ballroom dancing to Empress Anna Ioannovna. From 1734, he also taught dance at the Noble Cadet Corps. In 1736, Landé presented a divertissement in Francesco Araja's opera "The Power of Love and Hate" (choreography by Fossano) at the court. The ballet performances by the cadets were successful, but after completing their course, they left the corps.

Establishment of the Imperial Ballet School

In late 1737, Landé submitted a note suggesting the creation of a permanent troupe consisting of peasant children, and soon he was accepted into the court service "to teach theatrical dancing" to Russian students. The court dance school, known as the "Dancing School of Her Imperial Majesty," was founded in St. Petersburg on May 4, 1738. The school was located in the Old Winter Palace (later the site of the Hermitage Theatre) and had a three-year training program. Landé's students included the first Russian ballet artists N. Choglokov, T. Bublikov, A. Toporkov, I. Shatilov, N. Tulubev, S. Chelyshkin, A. Samarin, A. Strel'nikova, A. Sergeeva, A. Timofeeva, E. Zorina, A. Nesterov, as well as the French dancer T. Lebrun (Thomas Le Brun). Nesterov and Lebrun later assisted Landé in teaching.

Career Highlights

In 1742, Landé's students participated in the coronation celebrations of Empress Elizabeth, performing Fossano's ballets "The Golden Apple at the Feast of the Gods" and "The Joy of Nations on the Appearance of Astrea on the Russian Horizon and the Restoration of the Golden Age." In 1744, Landé taught dance to Princess Sophie Friederike Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst, who would later become Empress Catherine II the Great. Jean-Baptiste Landé passed away on March 9, 1748 [February 26, 1748] in St. Petersburg.