Prima ballerina assoluta
Videos
Prima ballerina assoluta is a title awarded to the most notable of female ballet dancers. To be recognised as a prima ballerina assoluta is a rare honour, traditionally reserved for the most exception
Pierina Legnani – the first ballerina ever to be titled prima ballerina assoluta – photographed during her tour of London, 1891. Written on the photo is Signorina Pierina Legnani, Première danseuse assoluta. 15-9-91 – London.
Pierina Legnani, in 1893.
Matylda Krzesińska, in 1909.
Attilia Radice, 1950s (photo with Guido Lauri).
Pierina Legnani
Videos
Pierina Legnani was an Italian ballerina considered one of the greatest ballerinas of all time.
Prima ballerina assoluta
…acclaim. The first recorded use of the title as a company rank was in 1894, when French ballet master Marius Petipa bestowed it on Italian ballerina Pierina Legnani. He considered her to be the supreme leading ballerina in all of Europe. The second ballerina to be given the title was Legnani's contemporary Mathilde…
Pierina Legnani photographed during her tour of London, 1891. Written on the photo is "Signorina Pierina Legnani, Première danseuse assoluta".
Legnani in the title of Cinderella. St. Petersburg, 1893.
Legnani as the Tsar Maiden in Petipa's revival of The Little Humpbacked Horse. St Petersburg, 1895.