Signora Violante

Signora Violante (1682–1741) was a rope-dancer, acrobat, commedia dell'arte actor and theatre company manager.

Early life Background Signora Violante was Italian or French, and was active as a performer from 1720. She was married to an Italian, Senor Violante, a rope-slider. Neither her maiden or married name are known for certain, and she and her husband are also sometimes named as Larini in contemporary newspaper accounts.

Family Her children were among the performers in her troupe. and forebear of the Lupino family of performers and designers. In 1727 Violante is said to have danced on the tight rope with swords tied to her legs, a child balanced on her shoulders, and two children on her ankles. In Edinburgh, magistrates refused her company permission to perform in their jurisdiction.

In 1735 Signora Violante settled in Edinburgh, where she rented the lower floor of the hall of the Incorporation of Mary's Chapel from 1738 and continued to perform as a rope-dancer, and ran a dance school.