Maria Tallchief (born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief was a Plains Indian ballerina. She was America's first major prima ballerina and the first Osage Tribe member to hold the rank. Together with choreographer George Balanchine, she is widely considered to have revolutionized ballet.
Tamara Platonovna Karsavina was a Russian prima ballerina, renowned for her beauty, who was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and later of the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev. After settling in Britain at Hampstead in London, she began teaching ballet professionally and became recognised as one of the founders of modern British ballet. She assisted in the establishment of The Royal Ballet and was a founder member of the Royal Academy of Dance, which is now the world's largest dance-teaching organisation.
Irina Kolesnikova is a Russian ballet dancer. She is the prima ballerina of the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre.
Carolina "Carla" Fracci was an Italian prima ballerina, actress and ballet director. Considered one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century, she was a leading dancer of La Scala Theatre Ballet in Milan, then worked freelance with international companies including the Royal Ballet, London, Stuttgart Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. Fracci is known for her interpretation of leading characters in several Romantic ballets, such as La Sylphide, Giselle, Swan Lake, and Romeo and Juliet. She also performed in ballets such as Nijinsky and Complete Bell Telephone Hour Performances: Erik Bruhn 1961–1967. She danced with partners including Erik Bruhn, Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Later, she directed several ballet companies in Italy, including at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma in Rome.
Misty Danielle Copeland is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African American woman to be promoted to a principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history.
Pole dance combines dance and acrobatics centered around a vertical pole. The origins of pole dancing can be traced back to the sport of mallakhamb. This performance art form takes place not only in gentleman's clubs as erotic dance, but also as a mainstream form of fitness, practiced in gyms and dedicated dance studios. Pole dancing enthusiasts are of all ages; although many who perform this dance and acrobatic form are adults, that does not stop younger children from learning and performing in competitions. Amateur and professional pole dancing competitions are held in countries around the world.
The Five Moons were five Native American ballerinas from the U.S. state of Oklahoma who achieved international recognition during the 20th century. The five women were Myra Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower, Moscelyne Larkin, and sisters Maria Tallchief and Marjorie Tallchief. With their great success in the dance industry, there are several artistic tributes across the Oklahoma area. The most well-known and significant tribute is the Five Moons (2007), a bronze sculpture installation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that portrays the five ballerinas. Other tributes include the Flight of Spirit mural in the Oklahoma State Capital and dance festivals in their honor. These five women defied racial barriers and opened a door for women of color in the ballet industry.
Natalia Petrovna Osipova is a Russian ballerina, currently a principal ballerina with The Royal Ballet in London.
The International Pole Dance Fitness Association (IPDFA) promotes pole dancing as a form of fitness exercise. The organisation acts as a supervisory body for the sport and annually organizes the International Pole Championship (IPC). It has a database of pole dancing studios and instructors around the world and also trains/accredits instructors.
Irma Nioradze, is a Georgian ballerina and Principal Dancer of the Kirov-Mariinsky Ballet.
Evgenia Viktorovna Obraztsova is a Russian ballerina. She is a prima ballerina with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, and with the Mariinsky Ballet.
The important place of women in dance can be traced back to the origins of civilization. Cave paintings, Egyptian frescos, Indian statuettes, ancient Greek and Roman art and records of court traditions in China and Japan all testify to the important role women played in ritual and religious dancing from the start. In the Middle Ages, what has become known as ballet had its beginnings in Italian court festivals when women frequently played the parts of men. It was however in late 17th-century France that the Paris Opera produced the first celebrated ballerinas. While women began to dominate the ballet scene in the 18th century, it was with the advent of Romantic ballet in the 19th century that they became the undisputed centre of attraction with stars playing the leading roles in the works of Marius Petipa, appearing in theatres across Europe from Milan's La Scala to the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. More recently, women have played a leading role in developing various forms of modern dance including flamenco and expressionist dance.
Anne Raven Wilkinson was an American dancer who is credited with having been the first African-American woman to dance for a major classical ballet company. Wilkinson broke the color barrier in 1955 when she signed a contract to dance full-time with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She was promoted to soloist during her second season with the troupe, and remained with the company for six years. Wilkinson later became a mentor to American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland.
Angelina Ballerina is a British animated preschool children's television series based on the Angelina Ballerina series of children's books by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig. The series is about a young mouse named Angelina Mouseling who loves dancing ballet, her family, and her classmates. Finty Williams performed the voice of Angelina and her mother Judi Dench performed the voice of Miss Lilly.
Barre is a form of physical exercise, usually conducted in group classes in gyms or specialty studios. It is distinguished from other group fitness activities by its use of the ballet barre and its incorporation of movements derived from ballet. These classical dance movements and positions are combined with those drawn from yoga and pilates, and other equipment is sometimes used in addition to the barre, such as resistance bands, yoga straps, exercise balls and hand weights. Barre classes typically focus on small, pulsing movements with emphasis on form, alignment and core engagement. Participants hold their bodies still while contracting specific, targeted sets of muscles in isometric exercises. Repetitions tend to be high, range-of-motion small, and weights, when used, light. Barre classes focus on the lower body and core, developing strength and flexibility from the ankles up though the calves, knees, thighs, glutes and abdominals. Holding muscles in contraction for extended periods frequently leads to them shaking as they fatigue. This is particularly true of thighs, as the quadriceps tire.
Skylar Paley Brandt is an American ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.
Olga Sapphire was the stage name of Russian and Japanese ballerina and choreographer Olga Ivanovna Pavlova, whose married name was Midori Shimizu. She was classically trained at both the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute and the Moscow Choreographic School. She performed in Russia until her marriage in the early 1930s to a Japanese diplomat, Takehisa Shimizu. After agreeing to move to Japan in 1936, she developed classical ballet there, bringing with her theoretical and pedagogical materials to underpin her dance lessons and establish the field.
Heidi Hildersley Lyle, born Heidi Hildersley, is a professional Scottish pole athlete who was Champion at the Pole World Championships 2018 and "Miss Pole Dance UK" in 2020. She has won awards in multiple national and international pole competitions.
Ksenia Ovsyanick is a Belarusian-British ballet dancer former principal dancer with the Berlin State Ballet and currently an international guest performing artist.
