__NOTOC__

Mikhail Mordkin (russian: Михаил Михайлович Мордкин; December 9, 1880,

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 ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

- July 15, 1944, New York) graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet School in 1899, and in the same year was appointed ballet master. Fille Mal Gardee -Sofia Fedorova as Lise, Grigory Riabtzev as Simone, Mikhail Mordkin as Colas

Fille Mal Gardee -Sofia Fedorova as Lise, Grigory Riabtzev as Simone, Mikhail Mordkin as Colas

He joined Diaghilev's ballet in 1909 as a leading dancer. After the first season he remained in Paris to dance with

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20t ...

. He then formed his own company, the All Star Imperial Russian Ballet, which toured America in 1911 and 1912. Mikhail returned to the Bolshoi and was appointed its director in 1917. He left Russia after the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...

, first working in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, and finally settling in the United States in 1924. He founded the Mordkin Ballet in 1926, for which he choreographed a complete ''

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 ...

'' and many other ballets. His company included such distinguished artists as

Hilda Butsova Hilda Butsova (born Hilda Boot, July 11, 1896 – March 21, 1976), was an English ballet dancer, a member of the companies of Russian dancers Anna Pavlova and Mikhail Mordkin. Early life Hilda Boot was born in Nottingham. She trained as a danc ...

Felia Doubrovska Felia Doubrovska (russian: link=no, Фелия Дубровская (real name Фелицата Леонтьевна Длужневская); born as ''Felizata Dlouzhnevska'' in St Petersburg, February 13, 1896 – d. Manhattan, September 18, ...

, Pierre Vladimiroff, Vera Nemtchinova and Nicholas Zvereff. After a European tour the company disbanded in 1926. Mordkin continued to be a freelance artist and teacher, including at the Cornish School in the 1920s. From among his students in America he formed a new Mordkin Ballet in 1937. Although he had been pushed into the background, Mordkin helped build the foundation for ballet in America. Mikhail Mordkin died in Millbrook, New York."Danza E Balletto: Dizionario"
/ref>

Cultural depictions

* ''

'', film by

Emil Loteanu Emil Vladimirovich Loteanu (6 November 1936 – 18 April 2003) was a Romanian-Soviet film director born in what is now Moldova. He moved to Moscow in his early life. His best known films are '' Lăutarii'', '' Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven'', '' A ...

; portrayed by

Grigore Grigoriu Grigore Grigoriu (4 April 1941 – 20 December 2003) was an actor from the Republic of Moldova, known especially for interpreting the role of horse thief Luiku Zobar from the movie ''"Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven" ''(1975). Biography Grigor ...

(1983).

References

External links

Mikhail Mordkin papers, circa 1885-1979
Jerome Robbins Dance Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mordkin, Mikhail Male ballet dancers from the Russian Empire Ballets Russes dancers 1880 births 1944 deaths Ballet teachers American Ballet Theatre White Russian emigrants to the United States Moscow State Academy of Choreography alumni

Cultural depictions

See also

References

External links