Julien-Louis Geoffroy (1743-1814): le père feuilleton and the ballet

Geoffroy was one of the first ballet critics to apply rigorous æsthetic criteria. In line with neoclassical tradition he believed that art ought to appeal first to the mind and only secondarily to the senses. Thus he considered ballet to be an inferior art form because it was accessible through the senses alone. Though ballet was adept at representing the movements of the human soul, it could not present abstract ideas. Nevertheless, he enjoyed ballet and assessed it within the limits of what it was capable of achieving, the pantomimic depiction of passion and the representation of ideal human movement. (JVC)