Anna Gardie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anna Gardie | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1760 |
| Died | July 20, 1798 (aged 37–38) |
Cause of death | Murder |
Body discovered | Fraunces Tavern |
| Years active | pre 1794–1798 |
| Known for | Sophia of Brabant, La Foret Noire |
| Children | 1 |
Anna Gardie (c. 1760 – July 20, 1798) was a French Saint-Domingue-born American stage actress and dancer who was known for her roles in ballet-pantomimes such as La Foret Noire and Sophia of Brabant. She was considered one of the first ballet stars in America despite having only a four-year career in the country. Gardie was killed by her husband in 1798 in an apparent murder-suicide.
Anna Gardie was born c. 1760[1] in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti).[2] She had a son with a performer called Maurison. After separating from Maurison, she met a French nobleman named Gardie, who, in order to marry Anna, forfeited his estates.[3][4]
Career
She started her performing career in her native Saint-Domingue before travelling to France, where she had a successful stage career. However, due to the French Revolution, Gardie returned home to Saint-Domingue. She was forced to flee again during the Haitian Revolution and settled in the United States.[5] There she joined the Old American Company as a dancer, mime and singer. As part of the company, Gardie made her American debut aged 34 performing in Philadelphia at the Chestnut Street Theater in the pantomime La Foret Noire in 1794, in which she played Lucille..[6][7] The production was considered to be one of the first American ballet productions.[8] She then danced in the ballet-pantomime Sophia of Brabant in 1795 with the first American male professional dancer, John Durang.[7] Gardie and Durang continued working together again in Tyranny Supressed: or Freedom Triumphant where she played Mellamor. The partnership then continued with Harlequin's Animation; or, Triumph of Mirth and Poor Jack. During a performance of Macbeth on April 9, 1793, in which she played one of the Three Witches, she shocked future president John Adams with her comparison of the character Lady Macbeth to England.[7]
Her success as one of the first ballet stars in America inspired other French performers to emigrate there,[9] resulting in Creole theatrical practices becoming popularized and prevalent in the United States.[10][11] She continued working with the Old American Company, collaborating with Alexandre Quesnet in The Bird Catcher, Minuet de la Couer and The Two Philosophers; or, The Merry Girl. President George Washington saw many of the company's showings and made several return visits. Gardie also portrayed Doña Anna in the ballet Don Juan, Mrs. Brett in Cooper and Madame Larouge in No Song, No Supper.[7]
During the 1796 season, Gardie acted in Much Ado About Nothing and Robinson Crusoe, as well as again collaborating with Durang in Hamlet, and Tom Thumb. She also danced in The Independence of America; or, The Ever Memorable Fourth of July, in which she symbolically danced as America.[12]
