Marie Taglioni, Comtesse de Voisins (23 April 1804 – 22 April 1884) was a Swedish-born ballet dancer of the Romantic ballet era partially of Italian descent, a central figure in the history of European dance. She spent most of her life in the Austrian Empire and France. She 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. She is credited with (though not confirmed as) being the first ballerina to truly dance en pointe. Early life Taglioni was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to the Italian choreographer Filippo Taglioni and the Swedish ballet dancer Sophie Karsten, maternal granddaughter of the Swedish opera singer Christoffer Christian Karsten and of the Polish opera singer and actress Sophie Stebnowska. Her brother, Paul (1808–1884), was also a dancer and an influential choreographer; they performed together early in their careers. Marriage Taglioni was married to Comte Auguste Gilbert de Voisins in 1835, but separated in 1836. She later fell in love with Eugene Desmares, a loyal fan, who had defended her honour in a duel. Desmares and Taglioni gave birth to an (illegitimate) child in 1836. Three years later Desmares died in a hunting accident. In 1842 she gave birth to her second child. It is unknown who the father is even though the birth certificate states the father as Gilbert de Voisins. Taglioni's children's names were Georges Philippe Marie Gilbert de Voisins and Eugenie-Marie-Edwige Gilbert de Voisins. Training Taglioni moved to Vienna with her family at a very young age where she began her ballet training under the direction of Jean-Francois Coulon and her father. After Filippo was appointed the ballet master at the court opera in Vienna there was a decision that Marie would debut in the Habsburg capital. Even though Marie had trained with Coulon, her technique was not up to the standards that would impress the Viennese audiences. Her father then created a rigorous six-month training regimen for his daughter where she would hold positions for 100 counts. The training was conducted daily and consisted of two hours in the morning with difficult exercises focusing on her legs and two hours in the afternoon focusing on adagio movements that would help her refine poses in ballet. Taglioni had a rounded back that caused her to lean