Eva Maria Evdokimova-Gregori (December 1, 1948 – April 3, 2009)
was a Bulgarian-American ''
Prima Ballerina Assoluta
''Prima ballerina assoluta'' is a title awarded to the most notable of female ballet dancers. To be recognised as a ''prima ballerina assoluta'' is a rare honour, traditionally reserved only for the most exceptional dancers of their generatio ...
'' with the
Royal Danish, Berlin Opera Ballets,
English National Ballet
English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scot ...
and guest artist with virtually every major ballet company worldwide.
Early life
Born in
Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
to Evdokim Evdokimov, (1919-2008), a
stateless Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
n father and an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
mother, Thora Mary Hatten (1914-1991). Evdokimova, an
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
n citizen from birth, began her ballet studies as a child in Munich. She later attended the
Royal Ballet School in London, where she studied for several years under the direction of Maria Fay. In 1966, she became the first non-Danish dancer to join the
Royal Danish Ballet
The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when the R ...
, where she continued her studies under
Vera Volkova.
Career
She graduated into the Berlin Opera Ballet in 1969, where she danced her first
Giselle
''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon ...
in 1971. She was promoted to
prima ballerina in 1973, a position she held for 12 years. For many years she was also the leading ballerina of the London Festival Ballet (now
English National Ballet
English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scot ...
), where she was chosen by
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...
to dance the first Princess Aurora in his production of ''
The Sleeping Beauty'' with the company in 1975.
Throughout her career, she danced with virtually every major international ballet company including the
Kirov Ballet, where she was coached by
Natalia Dudinskaya
Natalia Mikhailovna Dudinskaya (russian: Ната́лия Миха́йловна Дуди́нская; , in Kharkiv – 29 January 2003, in Saint Petersburg) was a Soviet prima ballerina who dominated the Kirov Ballet from the 1930s to the 1950 ...
, the
American Ballet Theater, and the
Paris Opera Ballet. She was frequently paired with Nureyev. Their partnership lasted over fifteen years and they performed hundreds of times together.
After a performance with the Kirov Ballet she was awarded the title "
Prima Ballerina Assoluta
''Prima ballerina assoluta'' is a title awarded to the most notable of female ballet dancers. To be recognised as a ''prima ballerina assoluta'' is a rare honour, traditionally reserved only for the most exceptional dancers of their generatio ...
." Subsequently, she was billed that way internationally. In addition to her interpretations of the tragic heroines of the Romantic era, namely
Giselle
''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon ...
and
La Sylphide
''La Sylphide'' ( en, The Sylph; da, Sylfiden) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. ...
, her repertoire encompassed about 150 roles ranging from classical to contemporary works. The last dance created for her (by choreographer
Henning Rübsam
Henning Rübsam is a choreographer and dancer based in New York City. He is the artistic director of SENSEDANCE, a faculty member of The Juilliard School and Fordham University, and a visiting guest professor at Texas Academy of Ballet (Carolyn ...
) in 2002, prompted New York Times critic
Jennifer Dunning to comment, "Both the solo and her performance were celebrations of the kind of artistry that comes only with maturity and experience."
The first American to win any international ballet competition, Evdokimova won the Varna International Ballet Competition in 1970. She was awarded the charter
Ulanova Prize in 2005 for "selfless dedication to the art of dance".
In New York she studied acting at
HB Studio
The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency progra ...
.
Later life
Evdokimova later became a dance teacher and ballet mistress at the
Boston Ballet
The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. ...
and judged numerous international ballet competitions. There are numerous clips of her performances on YouTube although not remastered.
Death
She died on April 3, 2009, aged 60, from complications of cancer in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, according to her husband, Michael S. Gregori.
She is survived by her brother Boris Santini and her husband, Michael S. Gregori, who during 2017 was left homeless after a legal feud with his mother and siblings forced him out of his mother's apartment.
Final resting place
As of 2019, the final resting place of her remains is currently unknown, according to the New York Post
References
Further reading
The Times"Eva Evdokimova: prima ballerina assoluta", April 18, 2009
Dance Magazine December 2005, interview
bio.
Oxford Dictionary of Danceentry
January 11, 1988, Vol. 29, No. 1
*''Portrait of an Artist: Eva Evdokimova'', Dance Books, London 198
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evdokimova, Eva
Prima ballerina assolutas
American ballerinas
American expatriates in Switzerland
American people of Bulgarian descent
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
People from Geneva
People from Manhattan
1948 births
2009 deaths
20th-century American women
21st-century American women
20th-century American ballet dancers