wilis
ancestor forest ballet single tradition · 1
The wilis are the ghosts of young girls who were betrayed by their lovers and who died before their wedding days. They dance in the forests on moonlit nights, punishing young men by dancing them to death, but they must disappear at the break of dawn. These Wilis snatch away the villainous Hilarion's life-breath and almost do the same for the hero, Albrecht, but he is saved by the love of the ghostly Giselle.
When
- First attested
- 1841 CE
- Attested period
- 1841 – 1905
- Historical notes
- First appeared in Adolphe Adam's Romantic ballet Giselle.
Relationships
Sources
wikipedia (1)
Source passages
“The wilis appear in Adolphe Adam's Romantic ballet Giselle, first danced in Paris in 1841, as the ghosts of young girls who were betrayed by their lovers and who died before their wedding days. They dance in the forests on moonlit nights, punishing young men by dancing them to death”
#7431 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001