French Literature Reviews - 2026

V. Fabbri, Paul Valéry. Le poème et la danse
Theatre and Performance

Véronique Fabbri

Paul Valéry. Le poème et la danse

Paris: Hermann, coll. "Savoir Lettres", 2009, 192 p.

ISBN: 978-2-7056-6626-2

Price: 25 €

Publisher's overview:

While Valéry is known for a few fine texts on dance, most notably Dance and the Soul, stopping there underestimates the profound impact this art form had on the development of his thought and work. Valéry demonstrated a genuine sensitivity to dance, nourished by diverse stage experiences and deep reflection on the interrelations among the arts. His enduring fascination with dance reveals a conception of culture that places equal emphasis on its physical, sensory dimensions and its intellectual outputs, alongside a view of art as an act. Drawing on dance, he developed the notion of a "sensory intelligence"—a quality that had already captivated him in Leonardo da Vinci and Berthe Morisot, and which shapes the striking character of Monsieur Teste: a sharp intellect with "finely honed words" and a "formidable stubbornness in intoxicating experiments." Dance and dancers belong to this lineage of subtle yet powerful figures.
This essay traces a poet's journey through dance, beginning with its least-known facets: early encounters with ballet and music halls alongside Pierre Louÿs, Mallarmé, and Degas, as well as his initial ballet projects. From there, it offers a fresh reading of Dance and the Soul and an analysis of his theatrical works created in collaboration with Ida Rubinstein, Arthur Honegger, Léonide Massine, and Michel Fokine. This pathway sheds new light on his later, more theoretical writings on dance, which were marked by the quest for an alternative stage.

About the author:

Véronique Fabbri is a philosopher, former program director at CIPS, and associate lecturer at the École d'Architecture de Paris-La Villette.

The relationship between literature and bodily movement has long engaged thinkers examining the interplay of physical expression and intellectual creation. Within French literature of the early twentieth century, authors frequently turned to the performing arts to interrogate the nature of rhythm, form, and artistic execution.

Véronique Fabbri traces Paul Valéry's engagement with dance from his early encounters with ballet and music halls through to his theoretical writings and collaborative stage projects. Readers interested in the intersections of literature, philosophy, and the performing arts may find this study relevant to their understanding of modern aesthetic theory.