Suzanne Theodore Vaillande was born in France in 1778, she became a child prodigy, studying ballet at the Paris Opera and performing at the Comédie Française before moving to the wealthy colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti), likely with a theater troupe. There she formed a bond with Alexandre Placide, a versatile man of the theater as adept at acrobatics and acting as he was in theater management and choreography. The two landed in Charleston, S.C. and began to perform duets together. In 1799 Suzanne and her new husband, Louis Douvillier, settled in New Orleans. At the time New Orleans was a Spanish colony, but the performance art that she danced to was French. Thus begining the French style of dance in New Orleans. Suzanne quickly became known as the first female choreographer and principal dancer in the city. After years of working as such, she decided to leave theater but not for long. She was able to still choreograph, set design, and would spontaneously perform. Although she had talent and ambition, she ended up dying in poverty, but not before making her mark in history.
DANCE HALLS!!!
The place to go to have a good time in the city during the early 20th century. With a mix of live music, booze, smoking and gambling, dance halls were the adult playground for the masses. Crowds of people would enter the dance hall with a song playing and a spring in their step ready to Jitterbug and swing.
New Orleans Jazz Celebration. Retreived from https://www.nojc.org/jazz-dance-halls.
The Historic New Orleans Collection. Retrieved from https://www.hnoc.org/publications/first-draft/woman-firsts-suzanne-douvillier-changed-dance-new-orleans%E2%80%94and-america.
Stephanie Jones
Stephanie Jones
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