Taglioni was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to the Italian choreographer Filippo Taglioni and the Swedish dancer Sophie Karsten daughter of the Swedish opera singer Christoffer Christian Karsten and the Polish actress Sophie Stebnowska. Taglioni rose to fame as a danseuse when her father and teacher created the ballet La Sylphide for her. Designed as a showcase for Taglioni's talent, it was the first ballet where dancing en pointe had an aesthetic rationale and was not merely an acrobatic stunt, often involving ungraceful arm movements and exertions, as had been the approach of dancers in the late 1820s. Marie Taglioni was one of the most celebrated ballerinas of the romantic ballet, which was cultivated primarily at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, and at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique of the Paris Opera Ballet. In 1827 Taglioni left the Ballet of Her Majesty's Theatre to take up a three-year contract in Saint Petersburg with the Imperial Ballet known today as the Kirov. It was in Russia after her last performance in the country. Taglioni was also known for shortening her skirt and took off the heels of her shoes in the performance La Sylphide, which was considered highly scandalous at the time. She shortened all of her skirts to show off her excellent pointe work, which the long skirts hid. Her father was approving of the shortening of the skirt because he also wanted everyone to see how good his daughter was en pointe. Taglioni retired from performing in 1847; for a time she took up residence at the Ca' d'Oro on the Grand Canal in Venice. When the ballet of the Paris Opera was reorganized on stricter, more professional lines, she was its guiding spirit. With the director of the new Conservatoire de danse, Lucien Petipa and Petipa's former pupil the choreographer Louis Merante she figured on the six-member select jury of the first annual competition for the Corps de ballet, held April 13, 1860. Later she taught social dance to children and society...