Marie van Goethem
Between 1878 and 1881, Degas drew, painted and sculpted Marie in artworks including "Dancer with Fan", "Dancing Lesson", "Dancer Resting", numerous preparatory sketches, and most famously in "Little Dancer of Fourteen Years". He frequently attended ballet performances at the Paris Opera and often observed classes at the dance school. By posing for Degas, Marie likely earned five to six francs per four-hour sitting.
George de Cuevas
On 30 March 1958, at age 72, Cuevas faced off against the 52-year-old retired ballet master and choreographer Serge Lifar in a duel in France. The duel was precipitated by an argument over changes to "Black and White," ("Suite en blanc"), a ballet by Lifar that was being presented by the Cuevas ballet company. Lifar had his face slapped in public after insisting that he retained the rights to "Black and White". Lifar sent his seconds to Cuevas who refused to extend an apology and chose to duel with swords. As duels had been "technically outlawed" in the 17th Century, the time and location of the duel were not disclosed to the public. The duel was conducted in front of 50 newspaper photographers and ended with the two combatants in tears and embraces in what "The New York Times" called "what may well have been the most delicate encounter in the history of French dueling", with the sole injury being a cut on Lifar's right forearm in the seventh minute.