Throwback
Thursday and Cia Fornaroli
Born on
October 16, 1888, as Lucia Fornaroli in Milan, Italy, Cia Fornaroli studed at
the La Scala Ballet School. Among her teachers was the famous Enrico Cecchetti.
In 1910 she
joined the Metropollitan Opera Ballet in New York, where she performed until
1914. From there she guested in Barcelona, Madrid, and Teatro Colón, Buenos
Aire. She then moved to Teatro Costanzi
in Rome from 1916 until 1920.
By 1922 she
had returned to La Scala, where her expressiveness and musicality made her one
of the most highly regarded Italian ballerinas of her day. In 1929 she succeeded
Cecchetti and took over as director of the La Scala School. Here she began to
choreograph her own ballets.In addition
to all her accomplishments, she also acted in silent films, and danced for a
time with Pavlova’s company.
On the cusp
of World War II, she and her husband, Dr. Walter Toscanini relocated to New
York, where she was hired as ballet mistress for Ballet Theatre. She also
opened her own school which she ran until 1966.
She died on August 17, 1954 in Riverdale, New York. Subsequently, her husband donated her collection of dance materials to the Dance Collection of the New York Public Library.
From the Big Blue Book
of Ballet Secrets:
Dance History Factoid #122
“Cia Fornaroli was an Italian ballerina
who also acted in silent movies.”
Link of the Day:
Quote of the Day:
“Look
at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you
lounge around doing nothing; it's a day you've had everything to do and you've
done it.”
― Margaret Thatcher
― Margaret Thatcher
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