Customer Reviews

Marie Taglioni

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This delightful volume, originally published in 1930, has been tastefully reprinted by the London firm, Dance Books Ltd. The translation is by the late Cyril W. Beaumont, who at least the older generation will remember as the legendary owner of the book shop in Charing Cross Road, London. Marie Taglioni, generally known as the first dancer who first danced on points - this is not really so, it had become a fashion and was a novelty in the first half of the last century and many dancers attempted it. But this light creature - she was taught by her father and worked enormously hard to acquire that special lightness, is generally known to have introduced dancing on pointes as opposed to mere posing. Of Italian-Polish-Swedish descent, she was born in Stockholm in 1804, but soon left her place of birth, although she did return for guest performances. In her days, she was the absolute super star and this book tells of her career - there are also many interesting illustrations, mainly old lithographs where the artist has taken a good deal of poetic licence, especially with her fantastically slim feet.