The epoch in St. Petersburg that saw the Czar of all Russias presenting jewels to the ballerinas and when balletomanes threw bouquets tied with emerald bracelets onto the stage also saw some virtouso Italian ballerinas who had been invited to the Russian capital to further glorify the Maryinski ballet. Pierina Legnani, of course, was the most famous, Virginia Zucchi followed in her footsteps - or if you want, on her pointes, and became very popular with the audiences. Virginia was born in Parma, Italy, in 1849, and she first became a ballerina in her own country before she appeared as guest artist in Russia. As always, Ivor Guest tells her story in a way that you feel you are in the midst of last century Petersburg. He treats Virginia Zucchi with great tenderness and sympathy - one really gets the impression that this was not a diva, this was a very warm, generous and totally likeable person. As is usual with that great historian Mr. Guest, the bibliography is really impressing, works are listed in English, German, French, Italian and Russian. Read it - relish it - and learn about a fabulous epoch in the history of ballet.

Fanny Elssler was the first eminent classical ballerina to conquer the U.S. She toured America and Cuba as early as 1840. Ivor Guest, one of the outstanding ballet historians of this century, has drawn a detailed portrait of the Austrian dancer, whom Theophile Gautier (French poet and writer) named "the pagan ballerina". In those days ballet stars really were superstars - rather like the movie and pop stars of today. The pseudo-Spanish dance of hers, "La Cachucha" became the rage of the world - everybody just had to do the Cachucha, it was even performed in drag. Elssler also inspired the waltz king Johann Strauss to write a Viennese operetta about her, now almost forgotten, but the lovely tune "Draussen in Sievering bluht schon die Flieder" is still heard sometimes today. As always, Mr. Guest is not only telling the story of a great dance personality of yesteryear, but the book can be equally enjoyed by a reader seeking historical facts.

Welp, I haven't actually read this particualr book yet, but is this the story of the young woman who died when her huge costume caught fire from one of the old heat lights they used to use on stage? I remember that name from somewhere and if this is this, I'd like to read the book....