Pas de quatre fanny cerrito biography

Italian ballerina and choreographer. Fanny Cerrito, considered one of the finest ballerina's of the Italian Romantic school, was the daughter of modest Neapolitans who doted on her.

They developed enormous egos and had feuds with their rivals.

Although it was always her wish to dance, she was short and plump as a child and showed little outstanding talent. However, as a student at the Ballet School of the Royal Theaters, she worked so hard on her technique and physical appearance that by age 15 she was ranked as a solo dancer. She made her debut in July , dancing a pas de deux in L'Oroscopo.

Cerrito subsequently toured Italy and Austria in Vienna they converted her name from Francesca to Fanny, which she used from then on , before becoming the prima ballerina at La Scala in Milan. There, she studied with the renowned Carlo Blasis, whose precepts influence the teaching of classical ballet to this day. Originally scheduled for April 30, , her London debut at Her Majesty's Theatre was postponed due to a rowdy demonstration over the failure of the management to produce a favored tenor for the same show.

On May 2, with Queen Victoria in attendance and a promise that the tenor in question would soon appear, Cerrito's debut took place. She was an instant success, as much for her opulent figure as for her dancing.

Grand Pas de Quatre is a ballet divertissement choreographed by Jules Perrot in , on the suggestion of Benjamin Lumley, Director at Her Majesty's Theatre.

Waiflike slimness was not always de rigeur for ballerinas. In the 19th century, they were admired for their ample bosoms, wide hips, and sturdy legs. One critic, quoted in Parmenia Migel's The Ballerinas , took a ballerina to task for what was later to be considered a dancer's great attribute:. We are grieved to utter unpleasant truths about Mlle Fitzjames.

Cerrito's dancing was praised as spectacular, especially her leaps and point work, and even the appearance of her serious rival Maria Taglioni could not eclipse her success.