Anna Pavlova: biography and photos. Great Russian ballerina

Ballet is called an integral part of the art of our country. Russian ballet is considered the most authoritative in the world, the standard. This review contains the success stories of five great Russian ballerinas, which they still look up to today.

Anna Pavlova

Outstanding ballerina Anna Pavlova was born into a family far from art. She developed a desire to dance at the age of 8 after the girl saw the ballet production of “The Sleeping Beauty.” At the age of 10, Anna Pavlova was accepted into the Imperial Theater School, and after graduation she joined the troupe. Mariinsky Theater.

What is curious is that the aspiring ballerina was not placed in the corps de ballet, but immediately began to give her responsible roles in productions. Anna Pavlova danced under the direction of several choreographers, but the most successful and fruitful tandem, which had a fundamental influence on her performance style, was with Mikhail Fokin.

Anna Pavlova supported the choreographer’s bold ideas and readily agreed to experiments. Miniature "The Dying Swan", which later became business card Russian ballet, was almost impromptu. In this production, Fokine gave the ballerina more freedom, allowed me to independently feel the mood of “The Swan” and improvise. In one of the first reviews, the critic admired what he saw: “If a ballerina on stage can imitate the movements of the noblest of birds, then this has been achieved:.”

Galina Ulanova

Galina Ulanova's fate was predetermined from the very beginning. The girl’s mother worked as a ballet teacher, so Galina, even if she really wanted to, was unable to bypass the ballet barre. Years grueling workouts led to Galina Ulanova becoming the most titled artist of the Soviet Union.

After graduating from the choreographic technical school in 1928, Ulanova was accepted into the ballet troupe of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater. From the very first performances, the young ballerina attracted the attention of spectators and critics. A year later, Ulanova was entrusted with performing the leading role of Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. Giselle is considered one of the ballerina’s triumphant roles. Performing the scene of the heroine's madness, Galina Ulanova did it so soulfully and selflessly that even the men in the audience could not hold back their tears.

Galina Ulanova reached . They imitated her, teachers of the leading ballet schools in the world demanded that their students do steps “like Ulanova.” The famous ballerina is the only one in the world to whom monuments were erected during her lifetime.

Galina Ulanova danced on stage until she was 50 years old. She was always strict and demanding of herself. Even in old age the ballerina started every morning with classes and weighed 49 kg.

Olga Lepeshinskaya

For passionate temperament, sparkling technique and precision of movements Olga Lepeshinskaya nicknamed "Dragonfly Jumper". The ballerina was born into a family of engineers. WITH early childhood the girl literally raved about dancing, so her parents had no choice but to send her to ballet school at Bolshoi Theater.

Olga Lepeshinskaya easily coped with both classic ballet (“Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty”) and modern productions (“Red Poppy”, “Flames of Paris.”) During the Great Patriotic War Lepeshinskaya fearlessly performed at the front, raising the morale of the soldiers.

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Olga Lepeshinskaya -
ballerina with a passionate temperament. | Photo: www.etoretro.ru.

Despite the fact that the ballerina was Stalin’s favorite and had many awards, she was very demanding of herself. Already at an advanced age, Olga Lepeshinskaya said that her choreography could not be called outstanding, but her “natural technique and fiery temperament” made her inimitable.

Maya Plisetskaya

Maya Plisetskaya- another outstanding ballerina, whose name is inscribed in golden letters in the history of Russian ballet. When the future artist was 12 years old, she was adopted by Aunt Shulamith Messerer. Plisetskaya’s father was shot, and her mother and little brother were sent to Kazakhstan to a camp for the wives of traitors to the Motherland.

Aunt Plisetskaya was a ballerina at the Bolshoi Theater, so Maya also began attending choreography classes. The girl reached great success In this field and after graduating from college, she was accepted into the Bolshoi Theater troupe.

Plisetskaya's innate artistry, expressive plasticity, and phenomenal jumps made her a prima ballerina. Maya Plisetskaya performed leading roles in all classical productions. She was especially good at tragic images. Also, the ballerina was not afraid of experiments in modern choreography.

After the ballerina was fired from the Bolshoi Theater in 1990, she did not despair and continued to give solo performances. The overflowing energy allowed Plisetskaya to make her debut in the production of “Ave Maya” on her 70th birthday.

Lyudmila Semenyaka

Beautiful ballerina Lyudmila Semenyaka performed on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater when she was only 12 years old. The talented talent could not go unnoticed, so after some time Lyudmila Semenyaka was invited to the Bolshoi Theater. Galina Ulanova, who became her mentor, had a significant influence on the ballerina’s work.

Semenyaka coped with any part so naturally and effortlessly that from the outside it seemed as if she was not making any effort, but was simply enjoying the dance. In 1976, Lyudmila Ivanovna was awarded the Anna Pavlova Prize from the Paris Academy of Dance.

At the end of the 1990s, Lyudmila Semenyaka announced her retirement from her ballerina career, but continued her activities as a teacher. Since 2002, Lyudmila Ivanovna has been a teacher-tutor at the Bolshoi Theater.

But he mastered the art of ballet in Russia, and most life performed in the USA.

Born in St. Petersburg. After graduating from St. Petersburg theater school, in 1899 she was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. Danced the part in classical ballets“The Nutcracker”, “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, “Raymonda”, “La Bayadère”, “Giselle”. Natural abilities and constant improvement of performing skills helped Pavlova to become the leading dancer of the troupe in 1906. Anna Pavlova

Born into the family of dancer F.I. Kshesinsky, a Pole by nationality. In 1890 she graduated from the ballet department of the St. Petersburg Theater School. In her years she danced at the Mariinsky Theater. She became famous in the roles of Aurora in the ballet The Sleeping Beauty, Esmeralda, Teresa in the ballet Cavalry Rest. Her dance was distinguished by its bright artistry and cheerfulness. At the beginning of the 1990s she was a participant in M. M. Fokine’s ballets: “Eunika”, “Chopiniana”, “Eros”, and in the years she performed in the Diaghilev Russian Ballet troupe. Matilda Kshesinskaya

Galina Sergeevna Ulanova was born in St. Petersburg on January 08, 1910, in a family of masters of ballet art. Ulanova graduated from the Leningrad Choreographic School. Pretty soon she joined the troupe of the Leningrad State academic theater opera and ballet (now Mariinsky). During the Great Patriotic War, Ulanova danced in theaters in Perm, Alma-Ata, Sverdlovsk, performing in hospitals in front of the wounded. In 1944, Galina Sergeevna moved to the Bolshoi Theater, where she periodically performed since 1934. Galina Ulanova

Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya was born in 1925 in Moscow. Maya Plisetskaya is a symbol of Russian ballet. The owner of expressive plasticity, a phenomenal jump, a flexible back, a light step and high musicality. She was the first to introduce such a jump as a “ring” into ballet vocabulary. The ballerina created her own style, distinguished by grace, graphics, sharpness and completeness of gesture and pose. One of her main roles as Odette - Odile from " Swan Lake" It was this Tchaikovsky ballet that became the core of her biography. Maya Plisetskaya

Svetlana Zakharova was born in Ukraine in 1979. At the age of ten she entered the Kiev Choreographic School. After studying for four months, Zakharova left the school, as her family moved to East Germany in accordance with the new assignment of her father, a military man. Returning to Ukraine six months later, Zakharova again passed the exams at the Kiev Choreographic School and was immediately accepted into the second grade. Svetlana has performed in many cities around the world. In 2008, she was recognized as the star of the famous Milan theater"La Scala". Svetlana Zakharova

Ulyana Lopatkina was born in Ukraine in 1973. As a child I studied in dance clubs and in the section artistic gymnastics. On the initiative of her mother, she entered the Academy of Russian Ballet. AND I. Vaganova in Leningrad. In 1990, as a student, Lopatkina participated in the Second All-Russian competition them. AND I. Vaganova for students choreographic schools and received first prize. In 1995, Ulyana became a prima ballerina. On her track record best roles in classical and modern productions. Ulyana Lopatkina

The history of ballet in Russia begins in the 30s of the 18th century. In 1731, the Land Noble Corps was opened in St. Petersburg. Since the graduates of the corps in the future were expected to occupy high government positions and needed knowledge of secular manners, the study fine arts, including ballroom dance, a significant space was allocated in the building. Jean Baptiste Lande, who is considered the founder of Russian ballet art, became the dance master of the corps in 1734. In 1738, Jean Baptiste Lande opened the first ballet school in Russia - the Dancing School of Her Imperial Majesty (now the Academy of Russian Ballet named after A. Ya. Vaganova). Ballet in Russia gradually developed and in 1794, productions began by the first Russian-born choreographer, Ivan Walberch. Under Paul I they were published special rules for ballet - it was ordered that there should not be a single man on stage during the performance and male roles at that time were performed by women, for example (1780-1869). Kolosova was one of the first to perform on ballet stage Russian dances. Another of her innovations was that she replaced the lush stylized costume with an antique chiton. Ballet dancer and choreographer Adam Glushkovsky wrote about Kolosova: “I have been following for more than forty years dance art, I saw a lot of famous ballet dancers coming to Russia, but in none of them did I see such talent as Evgenia Ivanovna Kolosova, a dancer of the St. Petersburg theater, possessed. Every movement of her face, every gesture was so natural and understandable that it decisively replaced speech for the viewer." Evgenia Kolosova was on stage from 1794 to 1826, after which she took up teaching.

One of Evgenia Kolosova’s students was Avdotya (Evdokia) Ilyinichna Istomina(1799-1848), sung by Pushkin in “Eugene Onegin”:

The theater is already full; the boxes shine;
The stalls and the chairs, everything is boiling;
In paradise they splash impatiently,
And, rising, the curtain makes noise.
Brilliant, half-airy,
I obey the magic bow,
Surrounded by a crowd of nymphs,
Worth Istomin; she,
One foot touching the floor,
The other slowly circles,
And suddenly he jumps, and suddenly he flies,
Flies like feathers from the lips of Aeolus;
Now the camp will sow, then it will develop,
And with a quick foot he hits the leg.

Another famous ballerina of those years was (1793-1810), whose creative path was cut short by death from tuberculosis at the age of 17 years.

Historians are still arguing about which Russian ballerina was the first to dance on pointe shoes (leaning only on the tips of her toes). Some believe that it was Maria Danilova, others are of the opinion that it was Avdotya Istomina.

Another student of Evgenia Kolosova was (1804-1857). One of her contemporaries wrote about her: “With the most charming appearance, she had so many feelings and games that she captivated the most impassive spectator.” Patron and lover, in fact common-law husband Teleshova, was a count, Governor-General of St. Petersburg Mikhail Miloradovich.

Ekaterina Telesheva. Portrait by Orest Kiprensky

A famous Russian ballerina of the 19th century was Maria Sergeevna Surovshchikova-Petipa a (1836-1882). The ballerina's husband was ballet dancer Marius Petipa.

The fruit of the union of the artistic couple Maria Surovshchikova - Marius Petipa was a daughter (1857-1930), who, like her parents, became famous artist ballet Ballet historian Mikhail Borisoglebsky wrote about her: “Happy” stage fate“, great figure, support famous father made her an indispensable performer character dances, a first-rate ballerina, diverse in her repertoire."

For 17 years (from 1861 to 1878) she performed on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater Matilda Nikolaevna Madaeva(stage name Matryona Tikhonovna). Big scandal In St. Petersburg society, her marriage to Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn, a representative of one of the noblest Russian families, an officer who rose to the rank of Adjutant General of His Majesty's Retinue, became a reality. This marriage was considered a misalliance, since the spouses came from different classes, and according to the laws of the 19th century, officers of the imperial army could not be officially married to people from lower classes. The prince chose to resign, making a choice in favor of his family.

A prominent representative of the Moscow school of ballet of the 19th century was (1839-1917), who was the leading dancer of the Bolshoi Theater for 10 years.

Another famous ballerina Bolshoi Theater was (1857-1920). For two decades, Gaten danced almost all the female roles, without having any rivals on the Bolshoi stage. In 1883, the Bolshoi Theater ballet troupe was significantly reduced, but Gaten refused offers to move to St. Petersburg theaters to preserve the traditions of Moscow ballet. After leaving the stage, Gaten taught at the Moscow Choreographic School.

She worked on stage for 30 years (from 1855 to 1885) imperial theaters Petersburg (1838-1917). Contemporaries wrote about her: “She had outstanding success in character dances, requiring fire and passion, but she also excelled in mimic roles.”

In the 60s of the 19th century she shone on the stages of St. Petersburg, Moscow and Paris (1838-1879). The Italian choreographer Carlo Blasis wrote that “diamond sparks rain down from under her feet while dancing” and that her “fast and constantly changing pas can involuntarily be compared to a thread of spilling pearls.”

From 1859 to 1879 she performed at the Bolshoi Theater (1842-1918). Yuri Bakhrushin in the book “History of Russian Ballet” wrote: “being a strong dancer and a good actress, Sobeschanskaya was the first to deviate from generally accepted rules and, performing in ballet roles, began to use characteristic makeup. Blazis, who observed Sobeshenskaya at the beginning of her career, wrote that she "she is delightful as a dancer and as a mime" and that in her dances "the soul is visible, she is expressive" and sometimes even reaches the point of "frenzy." Later, another contemporary asserted that "it is not the difficulty of her jumps and the speed of her turns that makes her best impression on the viewer, but through the integral creation of a role in which dance is the interpreter of facial expressions.”

From 1877 to 1893 in St. Petersburg ballet troupe danced at the imperial theaters (1857-1920).

Famous ballerinas of the Russian school of ballet of the 19th century

Jean Baptiste Lande, who is considered the founder of Russian ballet art, became the dance master of the corps in 1734.

Jean Baptiste Lande, unknown

In 1738 Jean Baptiste Landais The first ballet school in Russia was opened - the Dancing School of Her Imperial Majesty (now the Academy of Russian Ballet named after A. Ya. Vaganova). Ballet in Russia gradually developed and in 1794, productions began by the first Russian-born choreographer. Ivan Valberkh.

Pushkinsky Petersburg. A.M. Gordin

Under Paul I, special rules for ballet were issued - it was ordered that there should not be a single man on stage during the performance and male roles at that time should be performed by women, for example, Evgenia Ivanovna Kolosova (1780-1869). Kolosova was one of the first to perform Russian dances on the ballet stage. Another of her innovations was that she replaced the lush stylized costume with an antique chiton.

Evgenia Kolosova (1782-1869), Alexander Grigorievich Varnek

Ballet dancer and choreographer Adam Glushkovsky wrote about Kolosova: “I have been following the art of dance for more than forty years, I have seen a lot of famous ballet artists coming to Russia, but in none of them have I seen such talent as that possessed by Evgenia Ivanovna Kolosova, a dancer of the St. Petersburg theater. Every movement. her faces and every gesture were so natural and understandable that they decisively replaced speech for the viewer.” Evgenia Kolosova was on stage from 1794 to 1826, after which she took up teaching.

Evgenia (Evdokia) Ivanovna Kolosova (1782-1869)

One of Evgenia Kolosova’s students was Avdotya (Evdokia) Ilyinichna Istomina (1799-1848), sung by Pushkin in “Eugene Onegin”:

Avdotya Ilyinichna Istomina (1799-1848)

Avdotya Ilyinichna Istomina (1799-1848), Henri-François Riesener

The theater is already full; the boxes shine;

The stalls and the chairs, everything is boiling;

In paradise they splash impatiently,

And, rising, the curtain makes noise.

Brilliant, half-airy,

I obey the magic bow,

Surrounded by a crowd of nymphs,

Worth Istomin; she,

One foot touching the floor,

The other slowly circles,

And suddenly he jumps, and suddenly he flies,

Flies like feathers from the lips of Aeolus;

Now the camp will sow, then it will develop,

And with a quick foot he hits the leg.

Portrait of A.I. Istomina. Pushkin Museum, A (?). Winterhalter.

Another famous ballerina of those years was Maria Ivanovna Danilova (1793-1810), whose creative path was cut short by death from tuberculosis at the age of 17.

Maria Ivanovna Danilova

Another student of Evgenia Kolosova was Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Telesheva (1804-1857).

Portrait of E.A. Telesheva as Louise from the ballet “The Deserter” to the music of P.A. Monsigny, Pietro de Rossi Pietro de Rossi (1761-1831)

One of her contemporaries wrote about her: “With the most charming appearance, she had so many feelings and games that she captivated the most impassive spectator.” Teleshova's patron and lover, in fact her common-law husband, was the Count, Governor-General of St. Petersburg Mikhail Miloradovich.

Count Mikhail Andreevich Miloradovich, George Dow

Ekaterina Telesheva. Portrait by Orest Kiprensky

Zephyr and Flora

A famous Russian ballerina of the 19th century was (1836-1882). The ballerina's husband was ballet dancer Marius Petipa.

Maria Sergeevna Surovshchikova-Petipa

"Adele Dumilâtre as Myrtha in Giselle", Bouvier, Jules (1800-1867)

Marius Petipa in the ballet "The Pharaoh's Daughter"

Marius Petipa.

The fruit of the union of the artistic couple Maria Surovshchikova - Marius Petipa was the daughter Maria Mariusovna Petipa (1857-1930), who, like her parents, became a famous ballet dancer. Ballet historian Mikhail Borisoglebsky wrote about her: “A happy “stage destiny”, a beautiful figure, and the support of her famous father made her an indispensable performer of character dances, a first-rate ballerina, diverse in her repertoire.”

Maria Mariusovna Petipa

For 17 years (from 1861 to 1878) she performed on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater Matilda Nikolaevna Madaeva(stage name Matryona Tikhonovna). A big scandal in St. Petersburg society was her marriage to Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn, a representative of one of the most noble Russian families, an officer who rose to the rank of Adjutant General of His Majesty's Retinue.

Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn (1840-1918) - cavalry general

This marriage was considered a misalliance, since the spouses came from different classes, and according to the laws of the 19th century, officers of the imperial army could not be officially married to people from lower classes. The prince chose to resign, making a choice in favor of his family.

Scenery and costumes by A. Benois for the ballet Giselle

A prominent representative of the Moscow school of ballet of the 19th century was Praskovya Prokhorovna Lebedeva (1839-1917), who was the leading dancer of the Bolshoi Theater for 10 years.

Cambon, Charles-Antoine (1802-1875). Dessinateur

Another famous ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater was Lydia Nikolaevna Gaten (1857-1920).

For two decades, Gaten danced almost all the female roles, without having any rivals on the Bolshoi stage. In 1883, the Bolshoi Theater ballet troupe was significantly reduced, but Gaten refused offers to move to St. Petersburg theaters in order to preserve the traditions of Moscow ballet. After leaving the stage, Gaten taught at the Moscow Choreographic School.

Coppélia 1870 decor

She worked on the stage of the imperial theaters of St. Petersburg for 30 years (from 1855 to 1885). Lyubov Petrovna Radina (1838-1917). Contemporaries wrote about her: “She had outstanding success in character dances, requiring fire and passion, but she also excelled in mimic roles.”

Bayadere -Decor Design -Act II -K Brozh -1877

In the 60s of the 19th century she shone on the stages of St. Petersburg, Moscow and Paris Marfa Nikolaevna Muravyova (1838-1879). The Italian choreographer Carlo Blasis wrote that “diamond sparks rain down from under her feet while dancing” and that her “fast and constantly changing pas can involuntarily be compared to a thread of spilling pearls.”

Giselle (A. Benois)

Giselle Queen of the Vintage

From 1859 to 1879 she performed at the Bolshoi Theater Anna Iosifovna Sobeshchanskaya (1842-1918). Yuri Bakhrushin in the book “History of Russian Ballet” wrote: “being a strong dancer and a good actress, Sobeschanskaya was the first to deviate from generally accepted rules and, performing in ballet roles, began to use characteristic makeup. Blazis, who observed Sobeshenskaya at the beginning of her career, wrote that she "she is delightful as a dancer and as a mime" and that in her dances "the soul is visible, she is expressive" and sometimes even reaches the point of "frenzy." Later, another contemporary asserted that "it is not the difficulty of her jumps and the speed of her turns that makes the best impression on the viewer, but the integral creation of a role in which dance is the interpreter of facial expressions.”

From 1877 to 1893 she danced in the St. Petersburg Ballet Troupe of the Imperial Theaters Varvara Ivanovna Nikitina (1857-1920).

sleeping Beauty