Dame Adeline Genée DBE (born Anina Kirstina Margarete Petra Jensen; 6 January 1878 – 23 April 1970) was a Danish-British ballet dancer. Early years Anina Kirstina Margarete Petra Jensen was born in Hinnerup north of Aarhus, Denmark. Her uncle, Alexandre Genée, gave her dancing lessons from the age of three. When she was eight, Alexandre and his wife, the former Antonia Zimmerman, adopted her. As well as changing her last name to Genée, she changed her first name to Adeline in honour of the Italian opera star Adelina Patti. Genée's debut was with her uncle's touring company at the age of ten in Oslo (at that time called Christiania). In 1895, she became the principal dancer of the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen. Subsequently, in 1896, she danced with the Berlin Royal Opera Ballet and the Munich Opera Ballet. At the Empire In 1897, she accepted a booking for six weeks to appear in Monte Cristo at the Empire Theatre of Varieties in London. She was so admired for her classical style in that ballet, that she was offered the position of prima ballerina at the Empire, and stayed there for ten years. The Empire's ballets were mostly choreographed by Katti Lanner, but Genée supplied much of her own choreography, in conjunction with her uncle Alexandre. Her further successes there included The Press (1898), Les Papillons (1900), High Jinks (1904), Cinderella (1906), and the British premiere of Coppélia (1906). The Edwardian period probably represents the lowest point in the history of English ballet. It consisted of short dances in variety programs. Genée did much to raise the status of ballet by reviving earlier productions and creating an audience for more elaborate works. She was versatile enough to dance light musical hall roles and in more severe classical roles. Slender and elegant, she was often described as like "Dresden china". In one respect she was very backward-looking, preferring a style of costume that belonged to the 1830s. From April 1905, Genée danced in 400 performances of the musical play The Little Michus at Daly's Theatre. Around the world In November 1907, Genée sailed to the US to perform in The Soul Kiss at the New York Theatre. The producer, Florenz Ziegfeld, described her on the posters as "The World's Greatest Dancer." In the United States at that time, many people were entirely unfamiliar with ballet, so a ballet performance needed to