Resituating Noverre within Enlightenment Encyclopedias

How do ideas, theories, and definitions move across time? How do words attain social and cultural traction? How are practices learned or passed along? Some kinds of knowledge are often taken for granted, as if they have always been around. Take, for example, Jean-Georges Noverre. Generally, Noverre is credited with ushering in ballet as a lauded eighteenth century art form and practice with the publication of his ballet theories and training methods in Les Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets (1760). In Theories of Ballet in the Age of Encyclop edie, Olivia Sabee disrupts the standard narrative around Noverre’s status as the bearer of eighteenth century ballet. She does so by tracing Noverre’s writings on ballet within “enlightenment encyclopedia editors’ attempts to define ballet and dance” and situates ballet “within Enlightenment encyclopedia publishing in Francophone Europe’’ (p. 3). Sabee narrates the historical shift of ballet from being a popular object of inquiry to a “less compelling object of inquiry for intellectuals” (p. 4) during the eighteenth century. By doing so, Noverre’s work is seen not as a singular event, but as a movement of ideation that involves other writers and editors. The book is a technical feat in locating how knowledge of ballet and definitions change within texts and across contexts. Sabee accomplishes this feat by highlighting the work of referencing, citing, and borrowing, and offers insights for readers interested in Noverre’s writings, early ballet history, and Enlightenment encyclopedia publishing. Sabee analyzes the circulation of Noverre’s ideas and the consequences of such circulation, making Theories of Ballet in the Age of Encyclop edie a valuable resource for scholars focused on dance, documentation, and communication.