Poets were her slaves, and oftentimes philosophers were
caught in her toils. From Mdlle. la Fontaine of two centuries since,
"_la premiere des premieres danseuses_," who received the title of "La
Reine de la Danse," there being at the time, however, but three other
professional dancers in Paris, through a long line of most
distinguished artists, the _ballerina_ of to-day may trace her
descent. But now, however, there is pause in her success, a cloud over
her career. Indeed, it must be said, that for a generation almost
there has been no new triumph registered of the ballet and its
artists. Here the "opera-dancers," as they were once called, have
certainly ceased to be. Once standing, as it were, on the tips of
their toes, they supported opera upon their shoulders. But now there
are no dancers at the opera. Euterpe has dispensed with the aid of
Terpsichore; the ballet has fled from the boards of our lyric
theatres. It has been said, indeed, that the _ballet d'action_ has
never been really naturalised in this country; that although it has
thrived for a while, it was but an exotic, needing careful watching
and tending.
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