Livry, Emma (1842–1863)

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Livry, Emma (1842–1863)

French ballerina. Born in 1842; died in Neuilly, France, in 1863; studied with Maria Taglioni.

The illegitimate daughter of a 16-year-old dancer in the Paris Opera's corps de ballet, Emma Livry made her debut as La Sylphide at the age of 16, and was praised as a reincarnation of the great Romantic ballerina Maria Taglioni , who had originated the role a generation earlier. Taglioni, who came out of retirement to see the young dancer perform, was so impressed that she took her on as a pupil. In 1859, Livry appeared as Erigone in a divertissement in the opera Herculaneum, and in 1860, Taglioni staged Le Papillion as a vehicle for her protégé, who triumphed in the ballet. Three years later, Livry was rehearsing for the ballet La Muette de Portici when a gas jet mounted on the scenery ignited her ballet skirt, and she was severely burned. She survived for eight months in great agony before succumbing to her injuries. In a portrait of the dancer, Théophile Gautier described her as passing through space "without an audible tremor of the air."

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