Maria Danilova

Russian ballet dancer (1793–1810)

Maria Danilova
Born	1793 (1793) Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died	1810 (aged 17) Saint Petersburg, Russia
Occupation	Dancer

Maria Danilova (1793 – 1810) was a Russian ballet dancer.

Biography

Danilova enrolled in the St. Petersburg school at the age of eight. The trainer Charles-Louis Didelot took notice of her talent, and she made her first public appearance a year later. By the age of 15 she was dancing with Louis-Antoine Duport. Her dancing was described as "so light and elusive that it took the audience's breath away". Danilova had a fragile constitution and the stress of performance as well as a brief, unhappy affair with Duport took a toll on her health. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 17.^[1]

The Danilova crater on Venus is named in her honor.^[2]

References

^ "Beginnings of Russian Ballet". Andros on Ballet.
^ Russell, Joel F. (May 1994). Gazetteer of Venusian Nomenclature (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey. p. 4.