Who is this person?

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks for all your FANTASTIC guesses. I didn't expect someone would get this so fast - brilliant, tblunk, it is Henry Wikoff!

Here's some info on him: http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/insi...ubjectID=2

In fact, it was he who brought Fanny Elßler to America - I'm afraid this might become your dancing lesson of the day...(Roger, please feel free to delete if you think it's too off topic!)
   
Fanny (Franziska) Elßler (1810 - 1884) was an Austrian ballerina - one of the most talented and famous of the Romantic ballet period (= first half of the 19th century, when pointe work was established. The romantic tutu was still a calf-length, full skirt. The following classic ballets, like "Swan Lake" or "The Sleeping Beauty", of the the latter half of the 19th century, were designed to take classical technique — pointe work, high extensions, precision of movement and turn-out to new heights. Thus the classical tutu became much shorter and stiffer than the romantic tutu to reveal a ballerina’s legs and the difficulty of her footwork.)

In 1840, Fanny Elßler sailed with her sister for New York for a tour arranged by Henry Wikoff, but returned to Europe after two years unmixed success. While in NYC, Fanny dined with and was escorted by John Van Buren, son of the former president. This is the piece that made her famous:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r3A3cvF_DY4

tblunk, as for the prize, first I thought offering you "to dance with you the worst way", but instead you win a ticket for one of my favorite contemporary performances (saw it at least 10 times) - and I promise you will experience cartharsis in "The Lizard King" (the topless dancer is Jim Morrison's alter ego):
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-8gshF2TTYg

Finally, it does not harm to know why Louis XIV was the "Sun King". Why? Because he was one of the most notable ballet dancers and choreographers of his days! Louis XIV, born in 1639, King of France from 1643 to 1715, made his debut at age 13 in the "Ballet de Cassandre" in 1651. In 1653, he starred as Apollo, the sun god, in "The Ballet of the Night" (Le Ballet de la Nuit). His fancy golden costume and famous performance led to his nickname, the Sun King. Till he retired from dancing in 1870, he practiced daily.
   
(He also founded the world's first dancing institution, "Académie Royale de Danse", in 1661, "to restore the art of dancing to its original perfection and to improve it as much as possible".)