Carlotta Grisi was an Italian ballet dancer. Born in Visinada, Istria. Although her parents were not involved in the theatre, she was brought up in an opera family. She was trained at the ballet school of Teatro alla Scala in Milan and later with dancer/balletmaster Jules Perrot. She was especially noted for her performance in the classic role of Giselle.
Lithograph by an unknown artist of Grisi in the title role of Adam's Giselle, Paris, 1841
"The Opera Polka as danced by Mlle. Caroltta Grisi & Mons. Perrot" by Cesare Pugni (Boston: William H. Oakes, c. 1840s)
Saint-Jean, the district of Geneva in which Grisi retired in 1856
Grisi's sepulchral vault in a cemetery near Saint-Jean, Geneva
Ballet is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary. Ballet has been influential globally and has defined the foundational techniques which are used in many other dance genres and cultures. Various schools around the world have incorporated their own cultures. As a result, ballet has evolved in distinct ways.
Classical bell tutus in The Ballet Class by Degas, 1874
Louis XIV as Apollo in the Ballet Royal de la Nuit (1653)
Marie Sallé, classical ballet dancer
The Valse des cygnes from Act II of the Ivanov/Petipa edition of Swan Lake