„Te ruchy były wyrazem jakiejś osobliwej mowy…” Taniec i słowo w Nocach florenckich H. Heinego
“Phases of motion which seemed to be words in a strange language...” Dance and Word in Heinrich Heine’s “Florentine Nights”

Summary/Abstract: This article focuses on Heinrich Heine’s 1836 story “Florentine Nights,” interpreted as a reflection on the art of dance, particularly in relation to the dominant form of the time – the ballet. By juxtaposing Heine’s descriptions of dance with contemporary ballet treatises, the article examines how the author, through the character of the dancer Laurence, envisions an alternative model for dance. Heine’s narrative argues that the essential quality of art, even at the cost of aesthetics, is truth. This conception of dance aligns with the views of late 19th-century dance theorists who rebelled against the rigidity of ballet and advocated for the acceptance of movements that reflected the individual expressive potential of the human body. Consequently, “Florentine Nights” can be seen as a literary text that anticipates future developments in dance technique.

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