Sergei Gustavovich Legat (russian: Серге́й Густа́вович Лега́т; 27 September 1875 – 1 November 1905) was a 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 ...

Background

Sergei Gustavovich Legat was born on 27 September 1875, 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 ...

. The younger brother of

Nikolai Legat Nikolai Gustavovich Legat (russian: Никола́й Густа́вович Лега́т) (30 December 1869, Moscow – 24 January 1937, London) was a Premier danseur, premier dancer with the Russian Imperial Ballet from 1888 to 1914, and also ...

, he studied at the imperial ballet school with

Pavel Gerdt Pavel Andreyevich Gerdt (russian: Па́вел Андре́евич Ге́рдт), also known as Paul Gerdt (near Saint Petersburg, Russia, 22 November 1844 – Vamaloki, Finland, 12 August 1917), was the ''Premier Danseur Noble'' of the Imperial ...

, Christian Johansson,

Lev Ivanov Lev Ivanovich Ivanov (russian: link=no, Лев Ива́нович Ива́нов; 2 March 1834, Moscow – 24 December 1901, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet. ...

and his brother. Legat joined the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...

in 1894 and quickly became a soloist. Admired for his stylistic performances he also taught, with pupils including Vaslav Nijinsky. Legat originated the dual role of the Nutcracker/Prince in Tchaikovsky's famous ballet. He married

Marie Petipa Marie Mariusovna Petipa (russian: Мари́я Ма́риусовна Петипа́; 17 (29) October 1857 – 16 January 1930) was a noted Russian ballerina. She was born in St. Petersburg, the daughter of Marius Petipa (under whom she st ...

(1857–1930). Many of the male

variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individua ...

that make up the traditional classical ballet repertory were created especially for him at the turn of the 20th century.

Death

At the outbreak of the First Russian Revolution, Legat fell out with the authorities, and on 1 November 1905, he committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, slashing his throat with a razor.Bronislava Nijinska's Memoirs. Duke University Press, 1992. . p. 154.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legat 1875 births 1905 suicides Male ballet dancers from the Russian Empire Suicides in Russia Suicides by sharp instrument in Russia 1905 deaths

Background

Death

See also

References