Prima ballerina assoluta

To be recognised as a prima ballerina assoluta is a rare honour, traditionally reserved for the most exceptional dancers of their generation.

Reasons for granting have included public recognition and praise for a prestigious international career, and/or for giving 'exceptional service' to their ballet company.

The first recorded use of the title as a company rank was in 1894, when French ballet master Marius Petipa bestowed it on Italian ballerina Pierina Legnani.

[2] Petipa, however, did not agree that she should hold such a title; although an extraordinary ballerina, he felt that she obtained the title primarily via her connections with the Imperial Russian court, as she had an affair with Nicholas II,[3][4][5] as well as two other Romanovs (Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich and her future husband Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich).

[6][7] Legnani's heir in the Italian ballet tradition, Attilia Radice trained with Enrico Cecchetti at La Scala in Milan where she became a leading dancer and was appointed prima ballerina assoluta at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma[8] in 1935.

Pierina Legnani – the first ballerina ever to be titled prima ballerina assoluta – photographed during her tour of London , 1891. Written on the photo is Signorina Pierina Legnani, Première danseuse assoluta . 15-9-91 – London.