Jean Coralli

Jean Coralli, original name in full Giovanni Coralli Peracini (born January 15, 1779, Paris, France—died May 1, 1854, Paris), French dancer and choreographer who was ballet master of the Paris Opéra and who, with Jules Perrot, created the Romantic ballet “Giselle”.

Coralli received his early training in Paris from Pierre Gardel or Jean-François Coulon and made his debut at the Paris Opéra in 1802. In 1806–07 he produced five ballets at the Court Opera in Vienna, and in 1808 he was appointed principal dancer at La Scala in Milan.

Coralli spent the rest of his career in Paris. In 1825 he became ballet master at the Porte-Saint-Martin Theatre, a commercially run house with a reputation as an alternative arena for dance.

In 1831, following the privatization of the Opéra after the Revolution of 1830, Coralli succeeded Jean-Louis Aumer as ballet master, a post he was to hold until 1850. His appointment coincided with the most brilliant phase of the Romantic ballet, and, while he never composed for the renowned Marie Taglioni (who danced exclusively in her father’s ballets), four of the nine ballets he produced during his engagement were created for her great rival, Fanny Elssler, and another two were created for Carlotta Grisi.

Source: Encyclopeadia Universalis