Misty Copeland, a soloist with the professional American Ballet Theatre company, once said that ballet is “one of few arts that has maintained its history…and stayed true to what it is”. Ballet is a form of dance and art that dates back to the 15th century. Though it has been modified and tweaked throughout the years, the overall technique has stayed. Ballet has had many influences since it first began. Each time period brought new and improved dancers with brighter and bolder influences to the art. One very famous ballerina, whose fame is still carried through the ballet world today, greatly influenced ballet. At 18 years old, Marie Taglioni was the first dancer to perform on pointe, creating the technique of pointe, and changing the art of
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She was born into a family of ballerinas with a history dating back to the 1700’s. Marie lived with her mother Sophia, father Filippo, and her brother Paul. Marie started ballet very young and trained long hours every single day. When she got older, she was privately trained by her father, Filippo, who was and still is a famous choreographer of the Renaissance period. Once Marie was 18, she made her debut performance in Vienna in the ballet La Reception d’une jeune nymphe a la tour de Terpsichore. Her success with the ballet brought Marie fame. She then began appearing in more ballets. Marie’s most famous performance was in La Sylphide, choreographed by her father. During this ballet, Marie performed on pointe; a technique in ballet where dancers dance on the tips of their toes. By doing so, Marie became the first person to dance an entire ballet on pointe. Although others have gone up on pointe before, Marie was the first to perform. After this performance, Marie was well known all over Europe. She eventually signed a 3 year contract with Mariinsky …show more content…
This ballet told a love story between a fisherman’s wife and an elf. It was the first ballet to tell a story of love, and Marie was the lead. Since Marie was the lead in such a revolutionizing performance, she is known as “the most important ballerina of her era” (Funk&Wagnalls 1). Pointe became a popular technique, the skirts worn over tight corset costumes became the standard, and the stories told revolved around love. Marie and her father Filippo took Romantic ballet by storm and became the most popular choreographers and dancers in ballet. Both of their work together brought a new name to the art. The “landscape of inner feelings and secret desires” (Homans 28) that this new style brought, influenced many other choreographers to follow in Filippo’s footsteps. Swan Lake choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in 1877, Sleeping Beauty choreographed by Marius Petipa in 1890, and The Nutcracker choreographed by Marius Petipa in 1892, are some of the other famous Romantic ballets that were inspired by Filippo and Marie Taglioni’s work. These dances changed the face of ballet and are still admired and enjoyed
She was born into a family of ballerinas with a history dating back to the 1700’s. Marie lived with her mother Sophia, father Filippo, and her brother Paul. Marie started ballet very young and trained long hours every single day. When she got older, she was privately trained by her father, Filippo, who was and still is a famous choreographer of the Renaissance period. Once Marie was 18, she made her debut performance in Vienna in the ballet La Reception d’une jeune nymphe a la tour de Terpsichore. Her success with the ballet brought Marie fame. She then began appearing in more ballets. Marie’s most famous performance was in La Sylphide, choreographed by her father. During this ballet, Marie performed on pointe; a technique in ballet where dancers dance on the tips of their toes. By doing so, Marie became the first person to dance an entire ballet on pointe. Although others have gone up on pointe before, Marie was the first to perform. After this performance, Marie was well known all over Europe. She eventually signed a 3 year contract with Mariinsky …show more content…
This ballet told a love story between a fisherman’s wife and an elf. It was the first ballet to tell a story of love, and Marie was the lead. Since Marie was the lead in such a revolutionizing performance, she is known as “the most important ballerina of her era” (Funk&Wagnalls 1). Pointe became a popular technique, the skirts worn over tight corset costumes became the standard, and the stories told revolved around love. Marie and her father Filippo took Romantic ballet by storm and became the most popular choreographers and dancers in ballet. Both of their work together brought a new name to the art. The “landscape of inner feelings and secret desires” (Homans 28) that this new style brought, influenced many other choreographers to follow in Filippo’s footsteps. Swan Lake choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in 1877, Sleeping Beauty choreographed by Marius Petipa in 1890, and The Nutcracker choreographed by Marius Petipa in 1892, are some of the other famous Romantic ballets that were inspired by Filippo and Marie Taglioni’s work. These dances changed the face of ballet and are still admired and enjoyed