I often write sentences which start with the word "The" like:
The reference to Michele Foucault is important to understand MA because of three major aspects: …
I do not really like the phrasing and wonder if I use it because of my German background. Hence, my question is: Is it ok to use "The" at a beginning of a sentence? If so, is it common or uncommon to use "The" at the beginning of a sentence? Which more elegent sentence structures exist which do not need the article at the beginning?