Zambelli, Carlotta (EN)

Zambelli Carlotta, *4 November 1875 Milan, †28 January 1968 Milan, Italian dancer and dance teacher. In 1884–94, she studied at the ballet school at La Scala in Milan and she danced on the stage of that theatre from 1886. In 1894–98, she was principal dancer, and in 1898–1930 danseuse étoile of the ballet company of the Paris Opéra. She also performed as a guest: in 1901 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg and in 1912 with S. Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in Paris. After ending her stage career, she taught a master class at the ballet school of the Paris Opéra in 1930–55, where she educated leading French dancers, including L. Darsonval, Y. Chauviré, and Z. Jeanmaire. Towards the end of her life, she recreated the original choreography by A. Saint-Léon for the ballet Coppélia (staged in Paris in 1968). Her experience in this field was used by P. Lacotte, who reconstructed other masterpieces of the 19^th-century French ballet repertoire. For her contribution to the development of French ballet, Zambelli received the title of Officer of the Legion of Honour (1956).

Literature: I. Guest Carlotta Zambelli, “Revue d’histoire du théâtre” XXI, 1969 no. 3, reprint “Dance Magazine” XLVIII, 1974 nos 2 and 3.