Ballet on the Saddle and Stage: Cosmopolitan Transnational Performance at Astley's Amphitheatre

Abstract: This article focuses on representations of ballet at Astley's Amphitheatre to examine the venue's negotiations of cultural difference and the politics of empire as a uniquely cross-Channel operation. Tracing the shifting role of ballet at Astley's, from a source of inspiration for John Astley's celebrated dancing-on-horseback routine to its inclusion as a stage-based, nominally "French" entertainment, the article proposes that theatrical dance provided an important counterpoint to the circus's imperialist rhetoric and tendencies to jingoism. By facilitating the promotion of Astley's as an enterprise mediating between French and British cultures, ballet enabled Astley's to manifest a commitment to cosmopolitanism that shored up the circus's appeal across the social classes.