Mlle Amina Boschetti

Discovered as a child by Marie Taglioni, Amina Boschetti studied with Carlo Blasis and made her debut as prima ballerina assoluta at Milan's Teatro Re at the age of twelve. A year later she signed a two-year contract with the choreographer and impresario Domenico Ronzani, appearing with his company in Barcelona, Trieste, Florence, and Vienna. She subsequently toured throughout Italy and appeared for several seasons in London. In 1864 she made her debut at the Paris Opéra in Giuseppe Rota's La Maschera, ou les Nuits de Venise (The Mask, or Venetian Nights), astonishing audiences with her turns on full pointe and her astonishing elevation in jumps. With her vivid mime and emphasis on tours de force, she was a distinctly Italian dancer, and this, along with her stockiness, did not sit well with French critics. She returned to Italy, where she remained a huge favorite, dancing until the 1870s.

Photographed by A.A.E. Disdéri of Paris.