BALON, JEAN

born 1676, Paris, France died 1739, Paris Balon also spelled Ballon ballet dancer whose extraordinarily light, elastic leaps reputedly inspired the ballet term ballon used to describe a dancer's ability to ascend without apparent effort and to land smoothly and softly. The ballet term is also thought to derive from the French word ballon (balloon). Balon, a popular virtuoso during the reign of Louis XIV, joined the Paris Acadmie (now Opra) in 1691 and was a partner of Marie Subligny and Franoise Prvost. In 1708 he appeared with Prvost in Les Horaces, an early dance pantomime based on Pierre Corneille's play Horace and considered a forerunner of Jean-Georges Noverre's ballets d'action, or ballets with a plot.