La Sylphide

August Bournonville

James is a Scottish peasant who is about to get married when he meets a sylph, or wood nymph. Enchanted by her beauty, James abandons his bride and follows the sylph into the forest. He eventually realizes that this was a mistake, but by then it is too late...
 
La Sylphide is one of the oldest ballets still in the standard repertoire, having been premiered in Paris in 1832. Its most famous version, choreographed by August Bournonville to music by Herman Severin Løvenskiold, was premiered in Copenhagen in 1836.