by
Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
La danseuse
Language: French (Français) after the Chinese (中文)
La brise fait onduler les [nénuphars]1
dont le parfum vient embaumer le palais
qui s’élève au milieu du lac.
Un peu ivre, Li-Si danse.
Tout à coup, chancelante,
elle s’appuie contre le lit de jade [blanc,
et elle]2 sourit.
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• K. Goeyvaerts View text without footnotes
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1922, page 117.
1 Goeyvaerts: "lotus"
2 Goeyvaerts: "blanc./ Elle"
Text Authorship:
Based on:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Therèse Brenet (b. 1935), "La danseuse", copyright © 2008 [ baritone, flute and piano ], from Poème de Jade, no. 6, Editions de la Fabrique Musique [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karel Goeyvaerts (1923 - 1993), "La danseuse", 1949 [ voice and piano ], from La flûte de Jade, no. 8 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Dancing Girl", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Grant Hicks
[Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2026-02-07
Line count: 7
Word count: 41
The Dancing Girl
Language: English after the French (Français)
The breeze makes the [water lilies]1 sway
and their scent comes to perfume the palace
that rises in the middle of the lake.
A bit tipsy, Li-Si dances.
Staggering suddenly,
she leans against the bed of white [jade,
and she]2 smiles.
Available sung text translations: ← What is this?
• K. Goeyvaerts View text without footnotes
1 Goeyvaerts: "lotuses"
2 Goeyvaerts: "jade./ She"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2026-04-15
Line count: 7
Word count: 43
