When discussing British ballet history there is often a focus on the early 20th century, the period when the Ballets Russes took London by storm and Ninette de Valois and Marie Rambert founded ballet companies that would boost the popularity of the art. It is a period rich with cultural records, so it’s not surprising that so much emphasis is placed on it.

Today I’d like to talk about three female dancers who were active in 18th-century Britain. They performed a very different style of ballet to what we know today, but it can come as a surprise just how active the dance scene was, and how many dancers achieved popularity. For the sake of showcasing some more obscure dancers I shall be excluding Marie Sallé, one of the most famous and influential of the century, from this examination.

Louisa Manesière (d.1775)

Louisa Manesière, despite a French-sounding surname, was billed as Signora when she arrived in London in 1761. Her performances as a dancer mostly took place at today’s Royal Opera House, where she danced for over a decade.

Philip H. Highfill writes that the first ballet she performed in was titled The French Gentleman, or the Female Metamorphoses, staged on 10th December 1761. In this ballet she danced opposite Pietro Sodi (1716-1775). Sodi had begun his career in his native Italy, but went on to enjoy a long career as a dancer and choreographer in France, the UK and the USA. During the first years of her time in Britain Manesière would frequently be partnered by Sodi.

This changed when she met James Fisher. Fisher had made his Covent-Garden debut in 1764, and became Manesière’s partner both professionally and romantically. They lived together for many years and she was sometimes billed as Mrs James Fisher. By the time of her death they were living in Guildford, Surrey.

Thought Manesière’s career was based at Covent Garden, she did dance elsewhere. Records show she performed at Sadler’s Wells, which at the time was a home to pantomime and variety acts. She also performed at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin. She evidently was a versatile dancer, as records of her roles show she danced both female and male parts in a wide range of ballets.

Her final season with the Covent Garden Theatre was the 1773-1774 season, during which she suffered from an ongoing illness. It was this illness that caused her death on the 7th August 1775.

Anna Giorgi (d.1809)

To properly set the scene for this entry I need to tell you about a Signor Giorgi (1734-1808). He was most commonly employed at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, where he danced from the late 1750s into the 1770s. His debut at the theatre was in 1757, when he danced opposite Signora Lucchi in a dance entitled The Italian Peasants. He was also a gifted teacher, with many of his students (including some of his own children) becoming dancers at Drury Lane and Covent Garden.

When I started researching Anna Giorgi she was Ann Giorgi, the wife of Signor Giorgi, and the first mention of her was dancing alongside her husband in Bristol in 1759. However, during my research I managed to find a marriage record from April 1759 for a Pietro Giorgi and a lady named Anna Lucchi, which matches perfectly with the timeline I had established. It is worth mentioning that there was another Signora Lucchi (this one called Vincenza) active in Britain at the same time, but I think Anna Giorgi being the Signora Lucchi that danced opposite Giorgi in 1757 is rather likely.

It still doesn’t tell us anything about her background or upbringing, but we can establish that Anna was active from 1757 as a dancer, and had a career that would last until around 1774. Both Giorgi’s were consistently employed at Drury Lane during their Winter’s seasons, but would very often venture out to the provinces during the Summer. In Summer 1761 they danced at the King Street Theatre in Birmingham, once again performing The Italian Peasants.

They returned to Birmingham regularly during the 1760s, but also set about having a family of their own. Between 1759 and 1771 they had 5 daughters and 2 sons, all of whom were christened in Holborn, an area of London close to Drury Lane. At least three of these children worked as dancers, debuting at a young age alongside their parents.

Pietro Giorgi died in 1808, and Anna died in 1809.

Geltruda Rossi (1756-1799)

Geltruda Rossi was a dancer billed under many names, but she seems to be of German origin, as the first reference to her is by the name Gertrude Ablöscher. This was in 1770, when she was a dancing student, and by 1772 she was dancing in Barcelona (this time under the name Geltrude Ablescherin) opposite Domenico Rossi. The pair, who at some point married, travelled back to Naples, both performing there at the Teatro di San Carlo. They seemed to have stayed there until the early 1780s, as Geltruda travelled to London in 1882.

At some point between 1775 and 1777 (the most common date given is December 1775) Geltruda gave birth to a son named Carlo, who would go on to become a celebrated architect. While not really relevant to Geltruda’s career, I’d like to detail how Carlo Rossi’s father is under contention. Domenico Rossi, who presumably was married to Geltruda around that time, is a strong contender, but Carlo was known in Russia with the patronymic Ivanovich. In my opinion it’s unlikely Carlo’s Father is named Ivan, but the Italian equivalent Giovanni could be possible.

Either way, Carlo’s Father was not in the picture for long. In 1782 Geltruda was engaged at the King’s Theatre in London, and Carlo presumably went with her. The King’s Theatre was on the site of His Majesty’s Theatre, and had a reputation for almost exclusively employing foreign artists. Among those artists was Charles Le Picq (1745-1806), one of the greatest dancers of his time. Geltruda made her debut in November 1782 dancing opposite Le Picq, and they continued to dance together thereafter.

This partnership in dance very quickly led to a romantic relationship, as she very quickly became known as Geltruda Le Picq. Charles Le Picq was also a choreographer and Geltruda created many roles in his ballets. Among the dancers she performed were minuets, fandangos, pas de deuxs and polonaises. Reviews of her performances show she was considered one of the best dancers at the theatre, known for her expression and strong technique.

London was actually only a small part of Rossi’s career, but she had such an interesting life I wanted to talk about her anyway. In 1786 Charles, Geltruda and Carlo travelled to Saint Petersburg, as Charles had accepted an invitation to work as Maître de ballet at the Saint Petersburg Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre. Geltruda was engaged as a principal dancer for the Imperial Ballet, and Charles would also dance leading roles alongside his choreographic work.

Charles and Geltruda started a family in Russia, and at least one of their daughters, Henrietta Wilhelmina, followed them onto the stage. Another daughter, Marie Gertrude (b.1793), seems to have done the same, and ended up marrying fellow dancer Auguste Antoine Poireau. Geltruda died at the turn of the 19th century, and Charles died in 1806.

Secondary Sources

Beaumont, C.W. (2020). A History of Ballet in Russia, 1613-1881. Noverre Press [First Published in 1930]

Celi, C. & Toschi, A. (1996). Signor Rossi’s riddles. An Annotated Chronology of Domenico Rossi (ca. 1745-pos 1821).

Highfill, P.H. (1973). A biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, musicians, dancers, managers & other stage personnel in London, 1660-1800. Southern Illinois University Press.

Winter, M.H. (1975). The Pre-Romantic Ballet. Pitman.

CESAR page on Pietro Sodi: https://cesar.huma-num.fr/cesar2/people/people.php?fct=edit&person_UOID=100744