Yekaterina Vasilyevna Geltzer (November 2, 1876 – December 12, 1962) was a

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 Bolshoi Ballet who danced in the theatre from 1898 to 1935. She was the daughter of the famous Russian dancer Vasily Geltzer. She worked with Marius Petipa,

Sergei 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 ...

, and

Reinhold Glière Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (born Reinhold Ernest Glier, which was later converted for standardization purposes; russian: Рейнгольд Морицевич Глиэр; 23 June 1956), was a Russian Imperial and Soviet composer of German and ...

. After the 1917 Russian Revolution, she helped to preserve the art of

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

in Russia. She was the first ballet dancer to receive the title of

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (russian: Народный артист РСФСР, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchest ...

(1925). Her most famous post-revolutionary role was a Chinese dancer in the premiere of Glière's ''

The Red Poppy ''The Red Poppy'' (russian: Красный мак, Krasniy mak) or sometimes ''The Red Flower'' (russian: Красный цветок, Krasniy tsvetok) is a ballet in three acts and eight tableaux with an apotheosis, with a score written by Rein ...

''. This production was staged by her husband

Vasily Tikhomirov Vasiliy Dmitriyevich Tikhomirov (1876–1956) was a dancer (from 1895) and a choreographer (from 1913) with the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, Russia. His most distinguished production was '' The Red Poppy'' (1927), with his wife Yekaterina Geltzer ...

for her 50th birthday. In 1943, she was awarded a

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...

and also received an

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

and an

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 ...

. After the divorce, Yekaterina Geltzer and Vasily Tikhomirov remained onstage partners. Once backstage at the Bolshoi Theatre, and well past the age of 60, Geltzer was heard telling her colleagues "help me get myself up en pointe, after that I know what to do." Geltzer was once known to have a relationship with

Gustaf Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as comma ...

, known as the

Marshal of Finland In Finnish Defence Forces Field Marshal ( fi, sotamarsalkka, lit=War Marshal, sv, fältmarskalk) is officially not an active military rank but an honorary rank that can be bestowed upon 'especially distinguished generals'. So far the only hold ...

. For years, there has been a rumor in Russia that Mannerheim and Geltzer would have secretly married, accidentally ended up apart, and jointly had a "son" Emil,IS: Venäjällä leviää ”satu” Mannerheimista – meni muka naimisiin punaisen ballerinan kanssa, pojanpoika tuli Suomeen Hitlerin kanssa
(in Finnish)Kuka on Mannerheim ja mikä oli hänen linjansa?
/ref> whose descendants would still live in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

today, but Mannerheim scholars have only reacted negatively and characterized the claim just a "Russian fairy tale."

Gallery

File:Ekaterina Geltzer -1890.JPG, File:Ekaterina Geltzer 1910.jpg, File:Ekaterina Geltzer -1920.JPG, File:Corsaire -Medora -Ekaterina Geltser -circa 1910 -1.JPG, File:Purple Flower -Vasily Tokhomirov & Ekaterina Geltzer -1907.JPG,

References

1876 births 1962 deaths People's Artists of the RSFSR Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Prima ballerinas Ballerinas from the Russian Empire Soviet ballerinas Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery {{Ballet-bio-stub

Gallery

See also

References