Pierina Legnani

This weekend Christina Wehner is hosting the En Pointe Blogathon, a three-day event celebrating films that spotlight that beautiful and centuries old form of dance known as ballet. One of the most overlooked Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films of the 1940s - The Unfinished Dance - just so happens to revolve around ballet, and so I have chosen to call attention to this rarity as well as to Ballerina ( 1937 ) which was based on the same story. Both of these pictures are about a ballet student who accidentally

The magical, romantic and dark plight of the swan maiden is the topic of folktales across many cultures and generations. A young woman takes the form of a swan and a young man falls in love with the half animal beauty. Greek, Hindu, Arabian, Irish and French myths alike have shared this motif. And thus, the story in Swan Lake, one of the most famous ballets of all time, is not a new one. However, seeing this story unfold on stage, watching the ballerinas mimic birds in their dance and listening

Since preforming as Odette/Odile, Legnani has become the standard that every dancer to come after has been judged against. Nearly every ballerina dreams of taking the stage as Odette/Odile because of the tremendous amount of talent and artistry required. That aspiration contributes to the

Pointe shoes are the symbol of the ballerina and they have had a huge impact on the history of dance. They are way more complex than what we tend to think and throughout this essay we will go over their creation, how they’re structured, and how they impacted ballet. In the early 1700s, the technique of ballet developed rapidly and incorporated a new emphasis on graceful foot technique. In 1726, Marie Camargo debuted at the Paris Opéra Ballet in a performance of Les Caractères de la Danse, dancing

1. The 19th century was a time of change with the Industrial Revolution affecting the economy, society and politics. The steam engine expanded industries. Western Europe saw many inventions during this period as well as the notion of developing national identities. Russia was emerging from feudalism during this time and did not embrace industrialization. Russia had become one of the most powerful countries in the world and was able to play a role in European affairs after especially after the defeat