Carolina Rosati (1826-1905)
Carolina Rosati trained with Carlo Blasis at La Scala, and was thought of as a "terre a terre" dancer, meaning ground to ground. She replaced Lucile Grahn in a revival of Pas de Quartre. When she arrived at the Paris Opera, her great acting abilities allowed her, to replace Fanny Cerrito in the hearts of the audiences. In 1856 she had the ballerina's role in the first production of Le Corsaire. In 1859 she delighted the Russians--more for her acting skills than for her dancing.
Rosati retired at 36 after dancing in Marius Petipa's first big success, La Fille du Pharaon, but remained active in the dance world. An admirer wrote: "If La Rosati no longer had feet she would continue to dance with a smile or a curl of her hair."
(First published August 1993)