It may be arguable that Marie Taglioni was the greatest of the Romantic ballerinas, but she was certainly the eldest, the first of them to perform in what was to become a landmark era, and surely it is Taglioni's name that is most often recalled in the twentieth century.  Born in Stockholm and trained by her father Filippo, she developed a unique performance style - a combination of strength and delicacy - which left an imprint on all of the ballet companies with which she performed and which became the embodiment of the Romantic ballet heroine.  Her most famous role was in La Sylphide, in which she is most frequently depicted.  Marie Taglioni retired in 1848, but emerged from that retirement to train Emma Livry, the last ballerina in the Romantic Tradition.