Mia Slavenska, née Čorak (20 February 1916 in Brod-na-Sava, now

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, then

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

– 5 October 2002 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

United States 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 ...

) was a Croatian-American soloist of the Russian Ballet of

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

in 1938–1952 and 1954–1955.

Biography

Mia was born in the Austro-Hungarian city of Brod-na-Sava in the family of the pharmacist Milan Čorak and his wife, housewife Gedwiga Čorak. When the daughter was one year old, the family moved to

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

. There Mia studied ballet at the " Josephine Weiss school" and the Russian émigré, ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater and

Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pa ...

's Russian Seasons Margarita Frohman. Taking the stage from the age of five, at the age of sixteen she became the

prima ballerina 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 ...

of the ballet troupe rof the HNK in Zagreb. For some time she studied in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

with Leo Dubois. Having moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1937, she took for herself the pseudonym Slavenska. In the same year she starred in two films - with

Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier (; 23 April 1888 – 26 November 1979) was a French filmmaker who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued unti ...

in "Nights of Fire" and with Jean Benoit-Levy and Marie Epstein in "

The Dying Swan ''The Dying Swan'' (originally ''The Swan'') is a solo dance choreographed by Mikhail Fokine to Camille Saint-Saëns's ''Le Cygne'' from ''Le Carnaval des animaux'' as a ''pièce d'occasion'' for the ballerina Anna Pavlova, who performed it abou ...

". She studied with

Bronislava Nijinska Bronislava Nijinska (; pl, Bronisława Niżyńska ; russian: Бронисла́ва Фоми́нична Нижи́нская, Bronisláva Fomínična Nižínskaja; be, Браніслава Ніжынская, Branislava Nižynskaja; – Febr ...

and other Russian teachers. In 1938 she entered the Russian Ballet of Monte Carlo. Together with

ballerina 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 ...

s Markova, Danilova and

Tumanova Tumanov (russian: Туманов) is a Russian masculine surname of Armenian or/and Georgian origin, its feminine counterpart is Tumanova. It may refer to *Cyril Toumanoff (1913–1997), Russian-born American historian and genealogist *Tamara Touman ...

she was the leading ballerina of the troupe. In 1944, she organized her own troupe Ballet Variante in Hollywood, which existed for some time. In the early 1950s (1952 ), when the Monte Carlo Ballet ceased operations, together with

Frederic Franklin Frederic Franklin (13 June 1914 – 4 May 2013), sometimes also called "Freddie", was a British-American ballet dancer, choreographer and director. Dancer Born in Liverpool, England, Frederic Franklin claimed that on seeing the 1924 film ...

organized the Slavenska Franklin Ballet Company, which existed for three years and closed for economic reasons. Their most significant production was the ballet A Streetcar Named Desire, based on the play of the same name by

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

(1952, choreographer

Valerie Bettis Valerie Elizabeth Bettis (December 1919 – 26 September 1982) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. She found success in musical theatre, ballet, and as a solo dancer. Biography Valerie Bettis was born on either December 19 or Dec ...

, Her Majesty's Theater, Montreal), in which Mia played the role of Blanche Dubois. After Franklin, at the request of the impresario Serge Denhem, reassembled the troupe of the Russian Ballets, she danced there for a while, until Denhem began to vigorously promote Nina Novak. In the second half of the 1950s she danced at the London Festival Ballet with Anton Dolin and

Alicia Markova Dame Alicia Markova DBE (1 December 1910 – 2 December 2004) was a British ballerina and a choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her career with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and touring internation ...

. Among the partners were Oleg Tupin,

and

Milorad Mišković Milorad Mišković, also Milorad Miskovitch ( sr-cyr, Милорад Мишковић, ) (born March 26, 1928 in Valjevo, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, died June 21, 2013 in Nice, France) was a Serbian ballet dancer and choreographer. B ...

, with whom she was a famous ballet couple of that time. Mia Čolak was married to Dr. K. Neumann. She died in Los Angeles on 5 October 2003. Her cremated ashes are interred at the

Mirogoj Cemetery The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, hr, Gradsko groblje Mirogoj), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery ( hr, Groblje Mirogoj), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members o ...

. Video footage of the Roman Catholic procession for her funeral can be seen in the documentary created by her daughter titled "Mia: A Dancer's Journey".

Pedagogical activity

In 1938, while the Russian Ballet of Monte Carlo was touring

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, she opened her own ballet studio in

. There, among her students were sisters Maria and Marjorie Tolchif. After the war (since 1960) she had a small studio in New York, where

Lucinda Childs Lucinda Childs (born June 26, 1940) is an American postmodern dancer/ choreographer and actress. Her compositions are known for their minimalistic movements yet complex transitions. Childs is most famous for being able to turn the slightest mov ...

was among her students. The latter called Slavenska “a wonderful teacher of the Russian school”, who “dealt with us seriously, was strict and demanded that we exactly follow her instructions”. After moving to Los Angeles, she taught at the University of California (1969-1983) and at the private California Institute of the Arts (1970-1983). She also directed the Texas Fort Worth Civic Ballet for three years.

Ballet career

A dancer since the age of four, she studied in

under Josephine Weiss and made her debut in Baranović's ballet ''Licitarsko srce'' in 1924, at what is today the Croatian National Theatre. She became the prima ballerina of the Zagreb Opera at the age of 17. At the 1936 Berlin dance Olympics, coinciding with the Olympic games, she won the choreography and dance award. She left Zagreb for

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where she danced under L. Dubois, G. Krauss and L. von Weiden; and

under

Lubov Egorova Lubov Nikolayevna Yegorova (Любовь Николаевна Егорова; 8 August 1880 – 18 August 1972) was a Russian Empire ballerina who danced with the Imperial Ballet and the Ballets Russes. Life and career Lubov Yegorova was born in ...

Mathilde Kschessinska Mathilde-Marie Feliksovna Kschessinska ( pl, Matylda Maria Krzesińska, russian: Матильда Феликсовна Кшесинская; 6 December 1971; also known as Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya after her marriage) was a Polish ...

and

Olga Preobrajenska Olga Iosifovna Preobrajenska (russian: О́льга Ио́сифовна Преображе́нская; born Preobrazhenskaya; – 27 December 1962) was a Russian ballerina of the Russian Imperial Ballet and a ballet instructor. Biogra ...

. For many years she was the leading ballerina of the famous Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and with whom she moved to U.S. in the outset of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In France she started working on film. After appearing in Jean Benoit-Levy's film ''

Ballerina 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 ...

'' (1937) and promoting it in the U.S., she remained there as a teacher and dancer. She became an American citizen in 1947.Mia Slavenska. A dancer with dramatic ability, she was also a favourite teacher
// ''The Guardian'', 12 декабря 2002

References

External links

Mia Slavenska
November 18, 1939, of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in '' Giselle''
Bila je lijepa, divlja, superstar. A umalo smo je zaboravili

Sources