Marie Taglioni was born on April 23, 1804, in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father was famed Italian choreographer Filippo Taglioni and her mother was dancer Sophie Karsten. Taglioni made her debut in La Réception d'une jeune nymphe à la cour de Terpsichore in June 1822 at the Hof Theater in Vienna. She made her Paris debut in 1827 and was the star of the Paris Opera for the next ten years. She also danced at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London. Among her many fans was a young Princess Victoria.
La Sylphide and Fame
Filippo took his daughter as a student and reportedly put her through six hours of practice a day. In 1832, Filippo created the ballet La Sylphide for his daughter. La Sylphide tells the story of James, a young Scotsman, who is lured away from his love by a forest fairy. It was the first ballet that showcased dancing en pointe as graceful, not as an acrobatic stunt. The first toe shoes had no reinforcements so standing on pointe was incredibly difficult. Taglioni’s style was characterized by floating leaps and balance poses such as the arabesque. Taglioni’s role as the forest fairy catapulted her to fame. She became one of the most celebrated dancers of the Romantic Era.
In 1832, she married Comte Gilbert de Voisins in London. The couple had a son and daughter, but separated three years later. In 1837, Taglioni signed a three-year contract with the Imperial Ballet (known as the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet today) in St. Petersburg. Her last performance was in Russia was in 1842, after which a pair of her toe shoes were sold for 200 ruples. Legend has it, these shoes were cooked and eaten by a group of ballet fans.
Later Life
Taglioni retired from dancing in 1847, but returned to dancing within a few years. According to rumors, she was forced to return to work because of bankruptcy. In 1854, she performed the Pas de Quatre with three of the Romantic Era ballerinas: Carlotta Grisi, Lucille Grahn, and Fanny Cerrito. From 1859-1870, she was the Inspectrice de la Danse at the Paris Opera and instituted a system of examinations. Taglioni choreographed her only ballet, Le Papillon, in 1860. The ballet was created for Taglioni’s student, Emma Livry, who is best known for dying in 1863 when her costume caught fire from a gas lamp that was used for stage lighting. Marie Taglioni died on April 22, 1884 in Marseilles, where she had been living with her son.
Sources:
- Hill, Lorna. LaSylphide: the Life of Marie Taglioni. London: Evans Publishing, 1967.
- Levinson, Andre and C.W. Beaumont. Marie Taglioni. Alton: Dance Books Ltd., 1980.
- Robertson, Allen and Donald Hutera. The Dance Handbook. Thorndike: G.K. Hall & Co., 1990.
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