September 30
Born Today:
Pierina Legnani
Ballerina Pierina Legnani (1863-1930) is best known for first performing the bravura feat of 32 fouettés (whipping turns on one leg) in Marius Petipa’s (1818-1910) ballet, Cinderella, in 1893. In fact, she originated lead roles in Swan Lake (1895) and Raymonda (1898). Her closely-guarded secret for performing all of those turns? She used a method called ‘spotting’. The dancer focuses on a spot and whips the head around quickly to find it again. Spotting prevents the dancer from getting dizzy...well, not AS dizzy. And once the other ballerinas figured out her secret, there was no stopping the spinning.
Also Born Today: Tap dancer Cholly Atkins (1913-2003) was hired by Motown to create cool moves for back-up dancers in the 1960s and he choreographed the Broadway hit Black and Blue in 1989.
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Movie: Footlight Parade released in 1933