Throwback Thursday and Theresa Elssler
Fanny Elssler is a famous name in dance history. Her sister,
Theresa Elssler, never achieved the same level of fame. She was born in 1808,
two years before Fanny, and was an excellent dancer, very tall, and strong.
Both girls received their training from Jean-Pierre Aumer and Freiedrich
Horschelt and performed in the corps de ballet of Kaernterthor Theatre in
Vienna.
She and Fanny often performed together, with Theresa sometimes
performing male roles, partnering and
supporting Fanny. Theresa also choreographed ballets for her sister. Both
dancers were famous for performing the cachucha, a Spanish style ballet using
castanets (see today’s video).
On April 20, 1850, Theresa married Prince Adalbert of
Prussia. This was a morganatic marriage – one of two people of unequal social
status, one of high birth and one of lesser status. This meant that Theresa and
any children born of this marriage could not inherit the husband’s title or
privileges. King Frederick William IV of Prussia gave her the title of Baroness
of Barnim.
Theresa died on November 19, 1878, and she is buried under
the name Therese von Barnim in a cemetery in Berlin.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Dance History Factoid #126:
“Dancer Theresa
Elssler was the sister of the famous Fanny Elssler.”
Link of the Day:
Quote
of the Day:
““Eschew the ordinary, disdain the
commonplace. If you have a single-minded need for something, let it be the
unusual, the esoteric, the bizarre, the unexpected.”
― Chuck Jones
― Chuck Jones
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