Carl Dahlén (1770 – 1 December 1851) was a Swedish ballet dancer and choreographer, active first at the Royal Swedish Ballet at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, and second at the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen at the Royal Danish Theatre in Denmark. He belonged to the first male Swedish stars at the Royal Swedish ballet.
Career He was made a figurante in the ballet 1785, a coryfee in 1789 and premier dancer in 1791. He participated in the pantomime ballet Det dubbla giftermålet by Jean-Rémy Marcadet opposite Margaretha Christina Hallongren, Hedda Hjortsberg, Joseph Saint-Fauraux Raimond and Carlo Caspare Simone Uttini the 1790–91 season. He was admired for his beauty and grace and attracted the attention of King Gustav III of Sweden.
The circumstances of his departure from the Swedish ballet are well known. A nobleman from the royal court was sent to him with the message from the king that he had been given a higher allowance; upon delivering the message, the courtier "allowed himself" a certain remark in connection to this, which insulted Dahlen, who gave him a slap to the face.Nils Bohman: Svenska män och kvinnor. Bok 2 (Swedish men and women. Dictionary. Book 2) (in Swedish) Dahlen then quickly left the capital in fear of the nobleman's revenge.
He was active at the ballet in Copenhagen for the rest of his career. He also composed his own ballet, Armida, which was performed in 1821–22. He retired in 1823.
Personal life He was married to the Danish singer Johanna Elisabeth Morthorst.
Dahlén accepted a young Hans Christian Andersen as a ballet student in spite of his lack of talent. Andersen was also a frequent guest in Dahlén's home, then at Badstuestræde 18: He describes the relationship in The Fairy Tale of My Life:
References Kungliga teaterns repertoar 1773-1973 (The repertoire of the Royal Theatre 1773–1973) Nils Bohman: Svenska män och kvinnor. Bok 2 (Swedish men and women. Dictionary. Book 2) Arvid Ahnfelt: Europas konstnärer (The artists of Europe) (1887)
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