Arthur Saint-Léon – dancer, composer and choreographer (1821- 1870)

Arthur Saint-Léon was born in Paris in 1821, and died there in 1870. He danced and choreographed, played and composed for the violin and created a method of dance notation. He worked the length and breadth of Europe and staged ballets in every major opera house, except La Scala, Milan. Although he failed to be invited to put on a ballet there, while in Milan Saint-Léon met and married the ballerina Fanny Cerrito. They parted in 1851, but by then he had created many ballets for her, not least La Vivandière in 1844. He spent many years with both the Paris Opéra Ballet and the Imperial Russian Ballet as ballet master, as well as creating, producing and directing. He is mostly remembered today for his ballet Coppélia.