“The wild doe”: Augusta Maywood in Philadelphia and Paris, 1837–1840

Abstract

Augusta Maywood began her professional career at the age of twelve on December 30, 1837, at Philadelphia's Chestnut Street Theatre. The young girl had had only two years' formal study with the former Paris dancer Paul Hazard, but her success was such that her stepfather was encouraged to send her to Paris for ballet lessons with the great Jean Coralli, known today as the creator of Giselle. Her Paris career opened shortly thereafter with a triumphant debut performance at the on November 11, 1839, but a year later ended abruptly in scandal when she eloped with her dancing partner, Charles Mabille. Undaunted, Augusta continued her stage career elsewhere in Europe, which culminated in achieving the honored title of celebrita danzante e mimia assolutacelebrated ballerina and mime without peer as she came to be known throughout Italy. Augusta Maywood was the first American ballerina to reverse the flow of French ballerinas inundating the United States, a trend that had begun in 1791 with Susanne Douvillier (also known as Mme Placide), who was apparently the first danseuse to perform on American shores. By the time Augusta was born in New York City on March 5, 1825,1 American stages were staffed by touring French dancers who grandly announced their origins as From the Paris Opera