Despite the now longstanding success of television programs like Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance and the ubiquity of dance on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, the idea that dance is a popular enough subject for library collections and research may still come as a surprise to anyone who has not made the trip to visit the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. But the Dance Division’s collections are open to all, and for years we have been especially focused on providing educational resources about dance. Like all cultural phenomena, dance reflects the society in which it is created, and learning about dance is a way into learning about the world we live in.

In late 2019, the Dance Division contributed to a project, called Hands On, Minds On, which created a traveling New York Public Library Treasures Outreach Kit containing three-dimensional replicas of twelve of the Library’s treasures. The project was the brainchild of the Digital Imaging Unit’s Head Photographer, Pete Riesett, who created replicas of twelve objects from the Library’s collections through 3D scanning technology and 3D printing. The resulting copies, along with accompanying materials—a suggested curriculum guide, related books, and supplies for multi-sensory activities—can now be used by branch librarians to provide hands-on experiential learning programs for New York City schoolchildren. Tactile engagement with the object replicas will help children develop cultural literacy and critical thinking skills.

Object candidates were solicited from the Library’s divisions, and needed to meet several criteria:

• Maximum size of approximately 10 x 10 x 10 inches, so replicas would not have to be pieced together
• Matte or low sheen and non-translucent surface
• Single color

One of the candidates I proposed, a figurine of ballerina Marie Taglioni in her iconic role in La Sylphide, was selected to join eleven other items from the Library’s collections.

Taglioni’s significance in ballet history as the first ballerina to dance an entire ballet en pointe is well known to balletomanes, but in the context of social history she can also possibly be called the first female influencer of the nineteenth century. Her breakout performance in the ballet La Sylphide in 1832 established her as a star, and she was the first female dancer to rival, and eclipse, male ballet masters in renown. Artists and engravers printed and sold countless images of her in the ballet, (the Dance Division has at least 25), and sculptors and ceramics manufacturers also availed of her widespread popularity, mass producing and selling figurines like the one featured here. Ballerina rivalries, such as between Taglioni and Fanny Elssler, were contrived to further capitalize on Taglioni’s fame, and the ballerina-focused Romantic Era of ballet was born. This was a huge shift from earlier eras in European dance, where it was the male ballet masters and dancers who reigned supreme in public opinion. It even became the fashion for young male characters to be portrayed en travestie (in male drag) by female dancers.

To provide context for the Taglioni figurine replica in the Treasures Outreach Kit, branch librarians are provided with a description suitable for sharing with children, that briefly explains its cultural significance.

This statue is of Marie Taglioni, a famous ballerina of her time, in her most well known role. She is posed in the title role of La Sylphide, a ballet her father choreographed for her in 1832, in which she became the first dancer ever to dance an entire ballet on pointe. She was known for her light and delicate dancing, and she helped to create the Romantic style of ballet, which often featured stories about magical creatures like fairies, nymphs, and in the case of La Sylphide, sylphs, or spirits of the air. Statues like this one of Taglioni were created to be produced and sold much like photos and posters of celebrities are today.