Lies, spies, and more damn lies: Jean-Baptiste Marie Froment, an 18th-century French dancer abroad

Journal article

The subject of this article is a dancer, Jean Baptiste Froment, noted by A Biographical Dictionary of the London Stage 1660‒1800 as flourishing in England between 1739 and 1777. Froment’s name appears in the sources also as “Fremont” and “Frument,” and like much in A Biographical Dictionary, the biography offered is sketchy, emphasising performances rather than life details. A French dancer, choreographer, and dancing master, he made his London debut at Drury Lane dancing a haymaker in the 1739 show, Harlequin Shipwrecked. He appeared regularly at all the playhouses in both main pieces and entr’act dances, he had a daughter who followed him into the business, taught regularly, and composed a number of dances. But in looking again at Froment, a number of important pieces of information have come to light. One provides evidence of his managing what appears to have been a substantial dancing academy in Lambeth in the 1760s. Another shows him to be flourishing well after the 1771 with a dancing school in Bath. And the last, a report of his arrest at the Opera House in 1746, leads directly to his involvement the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 as an agent of the government of France.

Authors: Burden, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Societe Francaise de Musicologie
• Journal: Revue de Musicologie
• Volume: 108
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 395-426
• Publication date: 2022-12-01
• Acceptance date: 2022-09-24
• ISSN: 0035-1601
• ISBN: 9782853572767
• Language: English