La Belle Otéro’ (Carolina Otéro) - Caught On Film in 1898

As a kid, I had a late C19 postcard titled La Belle Otéro. The woman portrayed appeared fabulously and erotically beautiful in a way that old postcards do not usually allow. Unbeknown to me, in August 1898 in St Petersburg the French film operator Felix Mesguich (a Lumiere Brothers employee) shot a one minute reel of this extraordinary actress/dancer/theatre personality/Folies Bèrgere star/courtesan performing La Valse Brillante. Like the postcard, the footage powerfully transmits her great vitality, exube