Born August 18th, 1810 of Laurence and Jean Perrot in the city of Lyon, France. He began dancing at nine years old at Dancing School of the Lyons Theatres. He was a dancer and a choreographer who later became Ballet-Master of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia.
ALthough Perrot had a sudden rise to fame and wealth, he was a private man who lived modestly and those who met him found him to be very strange.
A great amount of Perrot's work remained in the repretory of the Imperial Theatres, but the scraps that now survive are generally so diluted and corrupted that none of his ballets could be revived today. Perrot's most popular ballets were preserved in the repretory by Marius Petipa, which were: Faust, Catarina, The Naiad and the Fisherman, Le Corsaire, Esmeralda, and Giselle. Some of his other famous pieces include, Pas de Qautre and Ondine.
Perrot made his debut in 1830 at the Paris Opera, when it was a time of prejudice against male dancers, but he still received praise for his classical and mime dancing. A contemporary biographer wrote, "When Perrot first appeared on the stage, male dancing was on the point of vanishing. People treated the most magnificent memories of the ballet as a joke. But Perrot triumphed over the most formidable obstacles: he overcame the scorn that was felt towards male dancing".
He was later promoted to principal dancer in the Paris Opera and partnered with the famous ballerina, Marie Taglioni.
He was later promoted to principal dancer in the Paris Opera and partnered with the famous ballerina, Marie Taglioni.
As time went on, Taglioni refused to dance with Perrot anymore because she feared that he would outshine her. Because of Taglioni's jealousy and his growing knee problems, Perrot resigned in 1835.
From 1842 to 1848 Perrot worked in London, making it an important ballet centre by his popular choreographic works.
He then toured Europe as a dancer and choreographer. When in Naples, he met Ms. Carlotta Grisi, whom he trained and later fell in love with and had a daughter.
In 1848, Perrot became premier danseur at the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburgh where he created eight more ballets and revived many others.
Circa 1858, Perrot returned to Paris, where he found that his style was outdated; therefore, he retired.
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The Bolshoi Ballet's performance of The Naiad and the Fisherman choreographed by Jules Perrot.