Marie Taglioni
Swedish-born Romantic ballerina, pioneer of en pointe dancing.
Marie Taglioni, Countess de Voisins (23 April 1804 – 22 April 1884), was a Swedish-born dancer of the Romantic ballet era with partial Italian heritage, a key figure in European dance history. She lived mainly in the Austrian Empire and France. She is often thought to have been the first ballerina to genuinely dance *en pointe*, though this is not proven.
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, her father was the Italian choreographer Filippo Taglioni and her mother the Swedish dancer Sophie Karsten. Sophie was the granddaughter of Swedish opera singer Christoffer Christian Karsten and Polish opera singer and actress Sophie Stebnowska. Marie’s brother, Paul (1808–1884), also danced and became an influential choreographer; the two performed together early on.
In 1835, she married Count Auguste Gilbert de Voisins, but they separated the following year. She then fell in love with Eugène Desmares, a devoted fan who had defended her honor in a duel. In 1836, she and Desmares had an illegitimate child. Desmares died in a hunting accident three years later. In 1842, she had a second child; the father is unknown, though the birth certificate lists Gilbert de Voisins. Her children were Count Georges Philippe Marie Gilbert de Voisins and Eugénie-Marie (Edwige) Gilbert de Voisins. Georges later married Sozonga Ralli, heiress of the wealthy Greek-born Ralli family, while Eugénie married Russian Prince Alexander Trubetskoy; they had five children and split their time between a villa on Lake Como and a Paris residence. One of Marie’s granddaughters, Princess Sophia Trubetskoy, married into the prominent Greek-born Recanati banking family.
As a young child, Marie moved with her family to Vienna, where she began ballet training under Jean-François Coulon and her father. When Filippo became ballet master at the Vienna court opera, it was decided Marie would debut in the Habsburg capital. Despite training with Coulon, her technique was not strong enough to impress Viennese audiences. Her father then devised a strict six-month regimen: daily two-hour morning sessions of difficult leg exercises, and two-hour afternoon sessions focusing on adagio movements to refine her poses. Taglioni had a rounded back that made her lean forward and “slightly distorted proportions.” She worked hard to hide these physical limits by increasing her range of motion and building strength, concentrating on shape and form for the audience rather than bravura tricks or pirouettes. In Vienna, she danced her first father-choreographed ballet, *La Réception d’une Jeune Nymphe à la Cour de Terpsichore*.
Before joining the Paris Opéra, she performed in Munich and Stuttgart. At age 23, she debuted in another ballet by her father, *La Sicilien*, which launched her career. She rose to fame as a danseuse at the Paris Opéra when her father created *La Sylphide* (1832) for her. This ballet was designed to showcase her talent and was the first where dancing *en pointe* had an aesthetic purpose, rather than being an acrobatic stunt with ungraceful arm movements, as was common in the late 1820s.
In 1837, Taglioni left Her Majesty’s Theatre for a three-year contract with the Imperial Ballet in Saint Petersburg (now the Kirov/Mariinsky). After her final performance in Russia in 1842, at the height of the “cult of the ballerina,” a pair of her pointe shoes sold for two hundred rubles and were reportedly cooked, sauced, and eaten by a group of balletomanes.
In July 1845, she danced with Lucile Grahn, Carlotta Grisi, and Fanny Cerrito in Jules Perrot’s *Pas de Quatre*, a ballet that captured her ethereal qualities and was based on Alfred Edward Chalon’s lithographs. It was originally meant to be presented to Queen Victoria, who attended the third performance.
Taglioni retired from performing in 1847 and lived for a time at the Ca’ d’Oro on Venice’s Grand Canal. When the Paris Opéra ballet was reorganized on stricter, professional lines, she served as its guiding spirit. Alongside Lucien Petipa, director of the new Conservatoire de danse, and choreographer Louis Mérante, she was one of six judges for the first annual corps de ballet competition on 13 April 1860.
Her only choreographic work was *Le Papillon* (1860), created for her student Emma Livry, who died in 1863 when her costume caught fire from a gas lamp. Johann Strauss II composed the “Marie Taglioni Polka” (Op. 173) for Marie’s niece, also named Marie “Paul” Taglioni, known as “Marie the Younger.” The two women, sharing the same name, are often confused.
Later in England, she taught social dance and ballroom to children and society ladies in London, and also took a limited number of ballet pupils.
- born
- 23 April 1804, Stockholm, Sweden
- died
- 22 April 1884, Marseille, France
- field
- Ballet
- nationality
- Swedish-born, of partial Italian descent
- known_for
- Central figure in Romantic ballet; credited as first ballerina to dance en point
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Taglioni was born in Stockholm to Italian choreographer Filippo Taglioni and Swedish ballet dancer Sophie Karsten. She moved to Vienna as a child, training under Jean-Francois Coulon and her father. After a rigorous six-month regimen created by her father—holding positions for 100 counts daily—she debuted in Vienna in *La Reception d'une Jeune Nymphe à la Cour de Terpsichore*. She later danced in Munich and Stuttgart before her 1832 debut in *La Sylphide* at the Paris Opéra, a ballet choreographed by her father that made dancing en pointe an aesthetic choice rather than a stunt. In 1835 she married Comte Auguste Gilbert de Voisins but separated the following year. A second child was born in 1842, with the father listed as Gilbert de Voisins on the birth certificate but unknown. Her children married into wealthy families: Georges married Sozonga Ralli, and Eugenie married Russian Prince Alexander Trubetskoy. Taglioni danced in Saint Petersburg with the Imperial Ballet from 1837 to 1842, where after her last performance a pair of her pointe shoes was sold for two hundred rubles and reportedly cooked and eaten by balletomanes. In 1845 she performed in Jules Perrot's *Pas de Quatre* with Lucile Grahn, Carlotta Grisi, and Fanny Cerrito. Taglioni retired from performing in 1847 and later lived at the Ca' d'Oro in Venice. She served on the six-member jury of the first annual competition for the corps de ballet of the Paris Opéra in 1860. Her only choreographic work was *Le papillon* (1860) for student Emma Livry. Later in London, she taught social dance and ballroom to children and society ladies. She died poor in Marseille on 22 April 1884, the day before her 80th birthday. Her body was moved to Paris, with debate over whether she is buried in Montmartre or Père Lachaise; local dancers began leaving worn pointe shoes on the Montmartre grave as a tribute.
Reader's Guide
Marie Taglioni is a foundational figure in Romantic ballet, primarily known for her role in *La Sylphide* (1832), which established the aesthetic of dancing en pointe as an expressive, ethereal art form rather than mere acrobatics. Her career spanned major European stages—London's Her Majesty's Theatre, the Paris Opera Ballet, and the Imperial Ballet in Saint Petersburg—and she helped define the 'cult of the ballerina.' Her rigorous training under her father, Filippo Taglioni, and her ability to disguise physical limitations through strength and range of motion set new standards for ballet technique. The *Pas de Quatre* (1845) showcased her alongside other leading ballerinas of the era. After retirement, she influenced the reorganization of the Paris Opéra ballet and taught in London. Her legacy is marked by the tradition of dancers leaving pointe shoes on her grave, and her name is often conflated with that of her niece, Marie 'Paul' Taglioni. Despite dying in poverty, her impact on ballet technique and performance remains enduring.
Did You Know?
- After her final performance in Saint Petersburg in 1842, a pair of her pointe shoes was sold for two hundred rubles and reportedly cooked, served with a sauce, and eaten by balletomanes.
- Her father Filippo Taglioni created a six-month training regimen where she held positions for 100 counts daily to compensate for her rounded back and slightly distorted proportions.
- Her only choreographic work was *Le papillon* (1860), created for student Emma Livry, who died in 1863 when her costume caught fire from a gas-lamp stage light.
- Local dancers began leaving their worn pointe shoes on her grave in Montmartre as a tribute to the first pointe dancer.
The Forging of a Dancer
Marie Taglioni arrived in Vienna as a child, where her father Filippo, an Italian choreographer, and the instructor Jean-Francois Coulon shaped her early technique. Yet when the moment for her debut in the Habsburg capital arrived, her craft fell short of what discerning Viennese audiences expected. Her father responded with a punishing six-month programme: daily sessions of two hours in the morning devoted to demanding leg work, and two hours in the afternoon refining adagio and pose. Positions were held for a full hundred counts. The regimen was designed to compensate for physical realities she could not change—a rounded back that pulled her forward and what observers described as slightly distorted proportions. Rather than chase the flashy pirouettes and bravura tricks that dominated the stage, Taglioni poured her energy into sculpting her visible shape and form, expanding her range of motion and building quiet strength to mask her limitations. The result was a dancer whose power lay in line and stillness. Her first Viennese ballet, *La Reception d'une Jeune Nymphe à la Cour de Terpsichore*, was choreographed by her father and marked the beginning of a career built on discipline rather than spectacle.
La Sylphide and the Birth of a New Aesthetic
By the late 1820s, dancers who attempted to rise onto the tips of their toes did so as an acrobatic flourish, often accompanied by ungainly arm gestures and visible strain. Taglioni's trajectory changed that perception entirely. After stints in Munich and Stuttgart, she arrived at the Paris Opéra, where her father staged *La Sylphide* in 1832 specifically as a vehicle for her singular qualities. The work is widely regarded as the first ballet in which pointe work served a genuine dramatic and aesthetic purpose—the dancer's elevation became an expression of otherworldliness rather than a mere display of athleticism. Though historical confirmation is incomplete, Taglioni is nonetheless credited as the first ballerina to dance en pointe in a truly sustained, integrated manner. The ballet cemented her reputation across the Romantic era, and her artistry was subsequently cultivated at both the Paris Opéra and Her Majesty's Theatre in London. What made her approach revolutionary was not the height she achieved but the apparent effortlessness with which she achieved it, transforming a technical feat into poetry.
The Cult of the Ballerina
Taglioni's fame transcended national borders in the 1830s and 1840s. In 1837 she departed the Ballet of Her Majesty's Theatre for a three-year engagement with the Imperial Ballet in Saint Petersburg, the company that would later become the Kirov and Mariinsky. Her final Russian performance came in 1842, at the peak of what contemporaries called the cult of the ballerina. The devotion of her audiences was so extreme that a pair of her worn pointe shoes fetched two hundred rubles on the open market, reportedly purchased by a group of balletomanes who intended to cook them, serve them with a sauce, and eat them as a kind of sacrament. In July 1845, at the height of her London career, she joined Lucile Grahn, Carlotta Grisi, and Fanny Cerrito in Jules Perrot's *Pas de Quatre*, a ballet drawn from Alfred Edward Chalon's lithographic prints that celebrated the ethereal ideal each dancer embodied. The work was originally staged for Queen Victoria, who attended its third performance.
After the Stage
Taglioni left the performing stage in 1847 and settled for a period at the Ca' d'Oro on Venice's Grand Canal. Her influence, however, did not fade. When the Paris Opéra reorganized its ballet company along stricter professional lines, she served as a guiding presence. In April 1860 she sat on a six-member jury—alongside the director of the new Conservatoire de danse, Lucien Petipa, and choreographer Louis Mérante—for the first annual corps de ballet competition. Her sole choreographic work, *Le papillon* (1860), was created for her student Emma Livry, who would later die in 1863 when her costume caught fire from a gas-lamp stage light. In her final decades Taglioni taught social dance and ballroom to children and society ladies in London, accepting only a small number of ballet pupils, and resided at 14 Connaught Square from 1875 to 1876. She died in poverty in Marseille on 22 April 1884, the day before her eightieth birthday. Her body was transferred to Paris, and to this day local dancers leave their worn pointe shoes at what is believed to be her grave in Montmartre as a gesture of gratitude to the woman who made pointe dance an art.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Marie Taglioni?
Marie Taglioni was a Swedish-born ballerina of partial Italian heritage who became one of the defining figures of the Romantic ballet era. She spent most of her performing career in France and the Austrian Empire during the early-to-mid 19th century.
What is Marie Taglioni most famous for?
She is widely credited as the first ballerina to sustain an entire dance on pointe, a technique that went on to become a cornerstone of classical ballet. Her ethereal, seemingly weightless stage presence helped define the Romantic ideal of the female dancer.
What is Marie Taglioni's most iconic role?
La Sylphide, in which she originated the title part, remains her signature performance. The role showcased her legendary pointe work and crystallized the Romantic ballet's fascination with supernatural, otherworldly female characters.
Where was Marie Taglioni born and where did she die?
She was born on 23 April 1804 in Stockholm, Sweden, and passed away on 22 April 1884 in Marseille, France. She lived most of her adult life performing and residing in the Austrian Empire and France.
Why is Marie Taglioni considered important in dance history?
Her mastery of pointe technique and her embodiment of the Romantic ballerina archetype set aesthetic and technical standards that shaped centuries of ballet training. Without her pioneering work, the trajectory of classical ballet would likely have followed a very different path.
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