Related Research Articles
Marie Taglioni, Comtesse de Voisins was a Swedish-born ballet dancer of the Romantic ballet era partially of Italian descent, a central figure in the history of European dance. She spent most of her life in the Austrian Empire and France. She was one of the most celebrated ballerinas of the romantic ballet, which was cultivated primarily at Her Majesty's Theatre in London and at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique of the Paris Opera Ballet. She is credited with being the first ballerina to truly dance en pointe.
A tutu is a dress worn as a costume in a classical ballet performance, often with attached bodice. It may be made of tarlatan, muslin, silk, tulle, gauze, or nylon. Modern tutus have two basic types: the Romantic tutu is soft and bell-shaped, reaching the calf or ankle; the Classical tutu is short and stiff, projecting horizontally from the waist and hip.
Fanny Elssler was an Austrian ballerina of the Romantic Period.
Filippo Taglioni was an Italian dancer and choreographer and personal teacher to his own daughter, Romantic ballerina Marie Taglioni. Also, although August Bournonville's version is better known, it was Taglioni who was the original choreographer of La Sylphide, in 1832.
Francesca "Fanny" Cerrito was an Italian ballet dancer and choreographer. She was a ballerina noted for the brilliance, strength, and vivacity of her dancing. She was also one of few women in the 19th century to be recognized for her talent as a choreographer.
A ballet master is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In modern times, ballet masters are generally charged with teaching the daily company ballet class and rehearsing the dancers for both new and established ballets in the company's repertoire. The artistic director of a ballet company, whether a male or female, may also be called its ballet master. Historic use of gender marking in job titles in ballet is being supplanted by gender-neutral language job titles regardless of an employee's gender.
San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, and effective December 2022 under the direction of Tamara Rojo. It is among the world's leading dance companies, presenting more than 100 performances annually, with a repertoire that spans both classical and contemporary ballet. Along with American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet has been described as part of the "triumvirate of great classical companies defining the American style on the world stage today."
Willam Farr Christensen was an American ballet dancer, choreographer and founder of the San Francisco Ballet and Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is known for bringing the complete version of the Russian ballet The Nutcracker to the United States, as well as staging the first American performances of Swan Lake and Coppélia. Christensen's Nutcracker was first staged in 1944 in San Francisco, where the ballet remains an annual tradition, though the production now staged there is not necessarily the Christensen version. Christensen is often credited with helping to rejuvenate American dance.
Lucile Alexia Grahn-Young was the first internationally renowned Danish ballerina and one of the popular dancers of the Romantic ballet era.
Katti Lanner was a Viennese ballet dancer, choreographer, and ballet mistress who found fame in Germany and England, where she staged many productions at the Empire Theatre in London.
Christoffer ChristianKarsten was a Swedish opera singer. He was the maternal grandfather of the ballerina Marie Taglioni.
Lewellyn Farr Christensen was a ballet dancer, choreographer and director for many companies. He was largely associated with George Balanchine and the San Francisco Ballet, which he directed from 1952–1984. Other companies Christensen was a part of include Ballet Caravan, directed by Lincoln Kirstein, and Ballet Society, directed by Kirstein and Balanchine.
Madison U. Sowell was appointed provost and vice president of academic affairs at Tusculum University in June 2018.
San Francisco Ballet School was founded in 1933 as part of the San Francisco Operatic and Ballet School when Gaetano Merola, the founder of the San Francisco Opera, perceived a need for an institution where dancers could be trained to perform in opera productions.
Rita Sangalli was an Italian ballet dancer. Born in Antegnate, she danced in the Italian provinces of Asti, Piacenza, and Turin, making her 1865 debut at Milan's La Scala in Paul Taglioni's (1808-1884) Flik and Flok, before being hired for the opera at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. In 1872, she danced the principal role in La source at its successful revival. In the same year, she joined the Paris Opera Ballet, where she performed in numerous premieres, including in the role of Sylvia, Yedda (1879), and Namouna. She retired from the company in 1884. Sangalli toured America where she performed in The Black Crook and Flick Flock. In August 1901, Sangali and Marie Bonfanti performed at the Metropolitan Opera House, during the inaugural season of ballet at the New York City venue. She died in Carpesino d'Arcellasco, Italy.
Carlotta Zambelli was an Italian prima ballerina and ballet teacher. Apart from a year in St. Petersburg, she spent her entire career in Paris.
Danses concertantes is the title of a work for chamber orchestra written in 1941–42 by Igor Stravinsky, commissioned by Werner Janssen. Stravinsky's music has been used for eponymous ballets by numerous choreographers attracted by its danceability.
Yulia Slonimskaya Sazonova was a Russian-born writer, theater critic and historian, actress, and puppeteer. Fleeing Russia after the October Revolution, she moved to France and continued her craft. She wrote and performed marionette shows in Europe and was one of the most prolific women dance and theater critics of the first half of the twentieth century. When World War II broke out, she moved to Portugal and later the United States, before returning to Paris.
Gisella Caccialanza was an American prima ballerina and teacher who danced in theater, opera and film productions. She studied ballet under Italian teacher Giovanni Rosi, and then with ballet dancer Enrico Cecchetti at La Scala in Milan, Italy. Caccialanza danced with Viennese choreographer Albertina Rasch, the School of American Ballet, the New Opera Company, and the San Francisco Ballet, with which she later taught and coached.
Caterina Beretta was an Italian ballet dancer and dance teacher. She was one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 19th century and was famous throughout Europe, appearing in London and Italy.
References
- Madison U. Sowell, The Art of Terpsichore from Renaissance Festivals to Romantic Ballets, Introduction by Debra H. Sowell (Friends of the BYU Library, 1994).
- Debra H. Sowell, The Christensen Brothers: An American Dance Epic (Harwood, 1998).
- Madison U. Sowell, Debra H. Sowell, Francesca Falcone, and Patrizia Veroli, Il balletto romantico: Tesori della Collezione Sowell (Palermo: L'Epos, 2007), esp. pp. 17–21 which relate the story of the Sowell Collection.
- Madison U. Sowell, Debra H. Sowell, Francesca Falcone, and Patrizia Veroli, Marie Taglioni et sa famille : Icônes du ballet romantique (Rome: Gremese, 2016).
- Mormon Literature Database listing for Sowell
