La Sylphide
Taglioni designed the work as a showcase for his daughter Marie. "La Sylphide" was the first ballet where dancing "en pointe" had an aesthetic rationale and was not merely an acrobatic stunt, often involving ungraceful arm movements and exertions, as had been the approach of dancers in the late 1820s. Marie was known for shortening her skirts in the performance of "La Sylphide" (to show off her excellent pointe work), which was considered highly scandalous at the time.