Jump to content

Important dates in ballet


Recommended Posts

August is quite the month for anniversaries of major figures in the ballet world.

 

August Bournonville was born in Copenhagen on 21 August 1805.

 

And Mikhail Fokine died in New York on 22 August 1942, aged 62.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 166
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Speaking of Mikhail Fokine, does anyone have any authoritative information about his date of birth in 1880?

 

The Oxford Dictionary of Dance gives the date as 5 May (doesn't specify Old or New Style but I assume the latter, which would be 23 April Old Style, if my arithmetic is to be trusted which it may well not be), Britannica gives it as 23 April New Style (so does Wikipedia but it looks as though Wiki has just copied Britannica; this would be 11 April Old Style), the Fokine Estate Archive gives 26 April (doesn't specify Old or New Style), and Andros on Ballet gives 25 April (doesn't specify Old or New Style).

 

At the moment I'm inclined to do what I usually do in cases where there's doubt, which is to go with Britannica, but it's been wrong before in ballet matters and the use of the 26th by the Fokine Estate Archive is worrying me a bit. Just wondering if there's an official biography or anything of the sort floating around that might settle this.

Edited by Melody
Link to comment
Share on other sites

August is quite the month for anniversaries of major figures in the ballet world.

 

 

It was also in August (1996) that Bruce Marriott created the original Balletco - surely one of ballet's major supporting 'institutions.' Hard to imagine what the British ballet scene would have been like without this pioneering work.

 

Bruce wrote an interesting piece about the origins of balletco on its second anniversary at:

http://www.ballet.co.uk/aug98/balletco_is_2.htm

 

With profound thanks to Bruce and those who are continuing to support this very special community and resource,

Yaffa 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Nicholas Sergeyev, ballet master from the Imperial Ballet in St Petersburg, who brought notated versions of the Petipa/Ivanov classics to the West so they'd survive the Russian revolution, was born in St Petersburg on 15 September 1876.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of my favourite Royal Ballet ballerinas from the 1960s and early 1970s has a birthday today. Svetlana Beriosova was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, on 24 September 1932. Such a shame she retired as young as she did.

Edited by Melody
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Couple of Royal Ballet anniversaries today. Michael George Somes, one of Margot Fonteyn's partners, was born in Gloucestershire on 28 September 1917. Sir Robert Helpmann, dancer and administrator, died in Sydney, Australia, on 28 September 1986, aged 77.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Running a bit late but wanted to mention one significant anniversary a couple of days ago.

 

Pierina Legnani, the first prima ballerina assoluta, was born in Milan on 30 September 1868.

 

And coming up to date, Tanaquil LeClercq, one of George Balanchine's muses (and wives) was born in Paris on 2 October 1929. Such a tragic story, contracting polio that ended her career so young.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

That was the plan - I was going to keep the thread alive till I've done a year's worth. Always happy for contributions from others, though. I have a Twitter account that's also posting about today in ballet history (https://twitter.com/ballet_history), and I've managed to add a few things there as a result of posts from other people here.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Bolshoi’s former Principal ballerina Nina Timofeyeva’s funeral took place yesterday in Jerusalem where she lived since 1991 and taught at a ballet school.


Nina danced Odette-Odile in London during the Bolshoi’s first tour in the West in 1956. Her technique was irreproachable, she had a big jump and her turns, of any kind, were spectacular. She was very expressive in dramatic roles.


I didn’t see a better Mehmene Banu in “The Legend of Love” or Aegina in “Spartacus” than Timofeyeva.


 


http://my.mail.ru/mail/gala.39/video/505/3460.html

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Violetta Prokhorova Elvin was born in Moscow on 3 November 1924. I didn't realise she'd retired so young; she left Sadler's Wells in 1956, before it became Royal Ballet, and moved to Italy. It's sort of funny - apparently the Times said she was the only dancer at Sadler's Wells who could give Fonteyn a run for her money, yet a little while ago I was reading about how Elaine Fifield was supposed to be Fonteyn's natural successor, and I'm sure I remember seeing somewhere that Moira Shearer was dying for Fonteyn to retire so she could take over as the company's prima ballerina. Seems as though there were a lot of ballerinas who were all simultaneously the next Fonteyn.

Edited by Melody
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So far I can't find a date for her death but I'll keep an eye out.

This is the news of Timofeyeva's death last week: http://www.rg.ru/2014/11/04/balerina-anons.html

When I find the exact date, Melody, I'll let you know.

 

Violetta Prokhorova Elvin was born in Moscow on 3 November 1924. I didn't realise she'd retired so young; she left Sadler's Wells in 1956, before it became Royal Ballet, and moved to Italy. It's sort of funny - apparently the Times said she was the only dancer at Sadler's Wells who could give Fonteyn a run for her money, yet a little while ago I was reading about how Elaine Fifield was supposed to be Fonteyn's natural successor, and I'm sure I remember seeing somewhere that Moira Shearer was dying for Fonteyn to retire so she could take over as the company's prima ballerina. Seems as though there were a lot of ballerinas who were all simultaneously the next Fonteyn.

I remember reading Margot Fonteyn's words, something like: We all were watching Violetta in the class. She gave us much more than we gave her.

By the way Violetta comes to London from time to time. I had a chance to talk to her at the Critics' Award event at the ROH about 4 (?) years ago .

Edited for typo.

Edited by Sim
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A couple of anniversaries for famous teachers.

 

Carlo Blasis was born in Naples on 4 November 1797. The Royal Ballet's Ballet Evolved series on YouTube has a video about him and his methods:

 

 

And Agrippina Vaganova, the legendary Russian teacher, died in Leningrad on 5 November 1951, aged 72.

Edited by Melody
Link to comment
Share on other sites

She and Laurence Olivier were also close friends of Irina Baronova and her husband Cecil Tennant. The account in Baronova's autobiography of her husband's death in a car crash after attending Vivien Leigh's funeral, coming after Leigh's declaration to Tennant some time before that when she went, she'd take him with her, sounded really spooky.

 

Another significant anniversary today: Enrico Cecchetti died in Milan on 13 November 1928, aged 78. He had a massive influence on 20th century ballet.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Couple of days late with this one:

 

Michael Somes died in London on 18 November 1994, aged 77.

 

Also, Alexandra Danilova was born in Peterhof, Russia, on 20 November 1903.

 

I remember reading in her autobiography how George Balanchine told her she was too old for the de Basil company when he was hired as choreographer; she was 27!

Edited by Melody
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sad anniversary today. Italian dancer Giuseppina Bozzacchi was born in Milan on 23 November 1853. She was cast as Swanilda at the premiere of Coppelia with Paris Opera Ballet in May 1870, aged only 16; however, the ballet was cancelled in August because of the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, and the dancers lost their jobs.  With no income, and in winter in a foreign country at war, she became ill with a fever and died on 23 November, her 17th birthday.

Edited by Melody
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A lovely Kirov ballerina Alla Sizova (1939-2014) died yesterday. You can watch her here dancing with very young Nureyev and also some variations:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kc_fiCc6UJE


Apart from being a technically excellent dancer she possessed a rare charm.


The Paris Academy of Dance awarded her with Anna Pavlova Prize for her Aurora.


She was teaching in USA in 1990s.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read somewhere that she went back to Russia from teaching in Washington DC when her son died - no details, but that sounded like a very sad thing to happen.

 

Two British anniversaries today:

 

Sir Peter Wright was born on 25 November 1926

 

Sir Anton Dolin died in Paris on 25 November 1983, aged 79

Edited by Melody
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read somewhere that she went back to Russia from teaching in Washington DC when her son died - no details, but that sounded like a very sad thing to happen.

Yes, Melody, sadly, Alla Sizova lived through that worst of tragedies and she was very ill herself in her later years.

But what a ballerina she was in 1960s-1970s!
Still a student at Vaganova Academy she already had such strong technique and fantastic elevation that she was given a debut as the Queen of Driads on Mariinsky (then Kirov) stage before her graduation. There is a video of her filmed at a competition. Watch her jumps and Italian fuette made even more difficult by added pirouettes.
Edited for typo.
Edited by Amelia
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...