In Search of the Lost Ballet. Challenges and Resources in Creating a Critical Dance Edition

The article investigates the methodological implications of reconstructing lost ballet choreographies through the creation of a critical dance edition. It argues that choreographic reconstruction cannot be separated from a rigorous analysis of musical sources, rehearsal practices and embodied performance knowledge. Particular attention is given to the interpretation of musical witnesses (scores, piano reductions and répétiteurs) and to the complex relationships between dance steps, musical structure, tempo and counting systems. Through the analysis of concrete cases drawn from ballet sources, the article demonstrates that reconstruction is not a neutral recovery of the past, but an interpretative act shaped by cultural and aesthetic frameworks. The critical dance edition thus emerges not only as a tool for preserving choreographic heritage, but as a means of re-contextualising historical performance within its original artistic, musical and cultural conditions.