Amalia Brugnoli (1802–1892) was an Italian ballerina. Brugnoli is said to have been the first dancer to have used the

pointe technique Pointe technique ( ) is the part of classical ballet technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''en pointe'' () when ...

when in 1823, she performed on full pointe in

Armand Vestris Auguste-Armand Vestris (1788 or 1786, 1787, or 1795 Paris – 17 May 1825, Vienna) was an early 19th-century French dancer and choreographer. The son of Auguste Vestris and (if the year of birth is 1795) dancer Anne-Catherine Augier, called Aimé ...

' ''La Fée et le Chevalier'' in Vienna.

Biography

Born in Milan on August 1, 1802, Brugnoli was the daughter of the dancers Paolo and Giuseppa Brugnoli. After training at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

's ballet academy, she partnered Armand Vestris, dancing with him in his ''La Fée et le Chevalier'' (The Fairy and the Knight) which was staged in Vienna in 1822. It was here that Brugnoli first employed the pointe technique or toe dancing. Marie Taglioni, who was present, was so impressed by the style that she determined to perfect it herself. Although Taglioni commented on the "extraordinary things" Brugnoli achieved "on the point of her foot", she did not find her performance graceful because "in order to rise on pointe, she had to make great efforts with her arms". In 1828, while performing at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, she met the dancer and choreographer Paolo Samengo whom she married and adopted as her dancing partner. In 1832, she appeared with him at the

King's Theatre, London Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established th ...

where her pointwork was highly acclaimed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brugnoli, Amalia 1802 births 1892 deaths Ballerinas from the Austrian Empire Dancers from Milan Italian ballerinas 19th-century Italian ballet dancers