DANCERS from Sweden

Top 2

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Swedish Dancers of all time. This list of famous Swedish Dancers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Marie Taglioni (1804 - 1884)

With an HPI of 65.92, Marie Taglioni is the most famous Swedish Dancer.  Her biography has been translated into 47 different languages on wikipedia.

Marie Taglioni, Comtesse de Voisins (23 April 1804 – 22 April 1884) was a Swedish-born ballet dancer of the Romantic ballet era partially of Italian descent, a central figure in the history of European dance. She spent most of her life in the Austrian Empire and France. She was one of the most celebrated ballerinas of the romantic ballet, which was cultivated primarily at Her Majesty's Theatre in London and at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique of the Paris Opera Ballet. She is credited with (though not confirmed as) being the first ballerina to truly dance en pointe.

2. Birgit Cullberg (1908 - 1999)

With an HPI of 48.68, Birgit Cullberg is the 2nd most famous Swedish Dancer.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Birgit Ragnhild Cullberg (3 August 1908 – 8 September 1999) was a Swedish choreographer. Her father Carl Cullberg was a bank director and her mother was Elna Westerström. Cullberg was born in Nyköping and was married from 1942 to 1949 to actor Anders Ek. She was the mother of Niklas Ek in 1943, and twins Mats Ek, and Malin Ek in 1945. Cullberg studied ballet under Kurt Jooss-Leeder and Lilian Karina and at The Royal Ballet, London (1952–1957). In 1960, Cullberg was appointed director and choreographer at the Stockholm City Theatre. Some of her choreographies were premiered at the Royal Opera in Stockholm. Cullberg gained international recognition by founding the Cullberg Ballet in the 1960s. On her retirement in 1985, her son Mats Ek took over the ballet company. The Swedish Arts Grants Committee instituted the Cullberg scholarship in her honour, and she was awarded an honorary professorship at Stockholm University, where she had studied when she was young. In 1977 she was awarded the Litteris et Artibus and in 1983 the Illis quorum. She also received the French honour Commandeur des Arts et Lettres and the Italian honour Cavaliere Ufficiale al Merito della Repubblica Italiana.