Hilarion

The role of Hilarion, which is all mime, is the one most frequently miscast, for, whether by accident or design, it is usually allotted to the most undersized male solo dancer in the company. Under these circumstances, Hilarion becomes an insignificant weakling, a nonentity. But surely the rivalry between Loys and Hilarion is the age-old contest between brain and brawn.

In the Middle Ages, when the forests were often infested with wolves and wild boars, the post of gamekeeper was hardly a sinecure. It would certainly not have been given to a weakling. On the contrary, I suggest that Hilarion is a sturdily built man of obvious peasant stock, in the late twenties or early thirties. His features would be weather-beaten from long hours in the open.

Since Albrecht is handsome, it is probable that the authors, in inventing Hilarion as a rejected lover who becomes a vindictive rival, would conceive him as being less favoured. Clearly he is a man of passionate nature and quick temper, as is proved by the development of the action. In this connection it is of interest to note that these qualities were once symbolised by his red beard, invariably worn in pre-1914 productions of Giselle, and which therefore may not unfairly be considered traditional.

One last point, a gamekeeper would enjoy a certain esteem in a hard-working peasant community. A man of this type would not fail to appeal strongly to the average village lass. That Giselle is made to reject his advances is, I submit, another indication of her variation from type.

The Ballet Called Giselle by Cyril W. Beaumount. 1987 [1945]. Page 81-2.