Bonfanti, Maria

Maria Bonfanti (1847-1921), an Italian born and trained ballerina, toured the United States and Europe with great success between 1869 and 1894. She also danced as prima ballerina of the Metropolitan Opera in New York from 1885 to 1886 and maintained a ballet school in New York following her retirement.

From the guide to the Maria Bonfanti papers, 1868-1917, (The New York Public Library. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.)