Austrian ballerina, Fanny Elssler introduced theatricalized folk dance (character dance) into ballet. Celebrated for her spirited, spectacular dancing and for her technique, especially her point work, she studied under Jean-Pierre Aumer and made early appearances with her sister Theresa, also a dancer. Engagements in Naples, Berlin, and London brought her international fame. After three months of intensive study with Auguste Vestris, she made her Paris Opéra debut in 1834 in Jean Coalli’s ballet La Tempête. Her immediate success divided Parisian balletomanes into two camps, since the warmth and spontaneity of her dancing was in marked contrast to the ethereal lightness of her greatest rival, Marie Taglioni. Théophile Gautier called Elssler “the Spaniard from the north.”
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