Sofia Nikolayevna Golovkina (alternate, Sophia; Russian, Головкина, Софья Николаевна; 13 October 1915 - 17 February 2004) was a Soviet and Russian

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who c ...

and teacher. A graduate of the

Moscow State Academy of Choreography The Moscow State Academy of Choreography (russian: Московская государственная академия хореографии), commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools of ball ...

in 1933, she was the principal dancer of the

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it came to internat ...

till 1959. In 1960, she became director of the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet School. For her work, Golovkina was awarded the Russian Order of Merit,

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significa ...

, and the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

. She died in 2004 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Biography

Born in Moscow, Golovkina trained with Alexander Chekrygin at the Bolshoi Ballet School, joining the ballet when she was 17. There she danced the leads in the major classical works including ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'', '' Raymonda'', '' The Sleeping Beauty'' and ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

''. She also created roles as the Tsar-Maiden in Alexander Gorsky's '' The Little Humpbacked Horse'' and Zarema in Rostislav Zakharov's '' The Fountain of Bakhchisaray''. In 1943, she danced Nikiya in Gorsky's ''

La Bayadère ''La Bayadère'' ("the temple dancer") ( ru. «Баядерка», ''Bayaderka'') is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. The ballet was staged especiall ...

'' and in 1947 she performed in Vasili Vainonen's ''

Flames of Paris ''Flames of Paris'' or ''The Flames of Paris'' (russian: Пла́мя Пари́жа) is a full-length ballet in four acts, choreographed by Vasily Vainonen with the stage director Sergei Radlov to music by Boris Asafyev based on songs of the F ...

'' as Mireille de Poitiers in a work intended to show that the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

had a more international context. Her dancing was characterized by a flamboyant virtuosity which was well suited to her patriotic roles during the Soviet era. After retiring from the stage in 1959, she became director of the ballet school from 1960 where she obtained considerable success with her students, especially

Natalia Bessmertnova Natalia Igorevna Bessmertnova (Russian: Наталья Игоревна Бессмертнова; – ) was a Soviet prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet and a People's Artist of the USSR (1976). Life Natalia Bessmertnova was born in Moscow in ...

. Despite unpopularity resulting from her stern approach, she ran the school for 41 years, eventually becoming its rector. Following in the steps of Gorsky and adopting the method developed by

Agrippina Vaganova Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova (russian: Агриппина Яковлевна Ваганова; 26 June 1879 – 5 November 1951) was a Soviet and Russian ballet teacher who developed the Vaganova method – the technique which derived from the t ...

, she contributed to important developments in the Bolshoi's style and repertoire while staging productions for her students including ''

Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Étie ...

'' (1977) and '' La Fille mal gardée'' (1979). Despite considerable financial difficulties after the end of the Soviet era, Golovinka managed to attract new students and set up a Bolshoi school in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

, Japan as well as a summer school in

Vail, Colorado Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the num ...

, US. Golovkina also participated as a judge for the prestigious

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

Awards

Among her many awards, Golovkina received the People's Artist of the USSR (1973), the Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1971) and the Russian Order of Merit (1995).

References

Literature

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Golovkina, Sophia 1915 births 2004 deaths Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Prix Benois de la Danse jurors Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Bolshoi Ballet principal dancers Prima ballerinas Russian ballerinas Soviet ballerinas Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery