Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo
The company Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo (with a plural name) was formed in 1932 after the death of Sergei Diaghilev and the demise of Ballets Russes. Its director was Wassily de Basil (usually referred to as Colonel W. de Basil), and its artistic director was René Blum. They fell out in 1936 and the company split. The part which de Basil retained went through two name changes before becoming the Original Ballet Russe. Blum founded Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, which changed its name to Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (note the singular) when Léonide Massine became artistic director in 1938. It operated under this name until it disbanded some 20 years later.Koegler, Horst, ''Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ballet'' (1st English edition, 1977). The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo featured such dancers as Ruthanna Boris, Frederic Franklin, Alexandra Danilova, Maria Tallchief, Nicholas Magallanes, Lois Bewley, Tamara Toumanova, George Zoritch, Alicia Alonso, Elissa Minet, Y ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Léonide Massine
Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and many others in the same vein. Besides his "symphonic ballets," Massine choreographed many other popular works during his long career, some of which were serious and dramatic, and others lighthearted and romantic. He created some of his most famous roles in his own comic works, among them the Can-Can Dancer in '' La Boutique fantasque'' (1919), the Hussar in ''Le Beau Danube'' (1924), and, perhaps best known of all, the Peruvian in '' Gaîté Parisienne'' (1938). Today his oeuvre is represented by his son Lorca Massine, who stages his works around the world. Early life and education Massine was born into a musical family on 9 August 1896 in Moscow, Russia. His mother was a soprano in the Bolshoi Theater Chorus and his father played the F ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tamara Toumanova
Tamara Toumanova ( ka, თამარა თუმანოვა; 2 March 1919 – 29 May 1996) was a Russian-born Georgian-American prima ballerina and actress. A child of exiles in Paris after the Russian Revolution of 1917, she made her debut at the age of 10 at the children's ballet of the Paris Opera. She became known internationally as one of the Baby Ballerinas of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo after being discovered by her fellow émigré, balletmaster and choreographer George Balanchine. She was featured in numerous ballets in Europe. Balanchine featured her in his productions at Ballet Theatre, New York, making her the star of his performances in the United States. While most of Toumanova's career was dedicated to ballet, she appeared as a ballet dancer in several films, beginning in 1944. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1943 in Los Angeles, California. Career Toumanova was the daughter of Yevgenia [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michel Fokine
Michael Fokine ( – 22 August 1942) was a Russian choreographer and dancer. Career Early years Fokine was born in Saint Petersburg to a prosperous merchant and at the age of 9 was accepted into the Saint Petersburg Imperial Ballet School. That same year, he made his performing debut in '' The Talisman'' under the direction of Marius Petipa. In 1898, on his 18th birthday, he debuted on the stage of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in '' Paquita'', with the Imperial Russian Ballet. In addition to being a talented dancer, Fokine was also passionate about painting and displayed talent in this area as well. He also played musical instruments, including mandolin (played on stage in ensemble led by Ginislao Paris), domra, and balalaika (played in Vasily Andreyev's Great Russian Orchestra). Transition to choreographer He became frustrated with the life of a dancer and began considering other paths, including painting. In 1902, he was offered a teaching position at the Imper ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anna Adrianova
Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) * Anna of Poland, Countess of Celje (1366–1425) * Anna of Cilli (1386–1416) * Anna, Grand Duchess of Lithuania (died 1418) * Anne of Austria, Landgravine of Thuringia (1432–1462) * Anna of Nassau-Dillenburg (died 1514) * Anna, Duchess of Prussia (1576–1625) * Anna of Russia (1693–1740) * Anna, Lady Miller (1741–1781) * Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford (1783–1857) * Anna, Lady Barlow (1873–1965) * Anna (feral child) (1932–1942) * Anna (rapper) (born 2003) * Anna (singer) (born 1987) * C. N. Annadurai (1909–1969), Indian politician, known as Anna (elder brother) * Sunil Shetty (born 1961), Indian actor, known by his nickname Anna Places Australia * Hundred of Anna, a cadast ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anna Istomina
Anna Istomina, aka Audree Thomas, aka Audree Ismailoff (9 October 1925–10 January 2014) was a Canadian-born ballet dancer and teacher. Early life and performing career Born Audree Ruth Thomas in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Thomas began her dance studies at age five at the Merinoff/Del Roy studio. As a young teen she studied ballet with June Roper, a Texas native who had found her way to Vancouver in the early 1930s and, over the next ten years, sent several students into professional ballet companies. Thomas auditioned for Léonide Massine in Seattle in January 1940, and, at age 14, became the youngest member of the ''Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo'', under the stage name, Anna Istomina. In a few months she was dancing the "Swan Lake" ''pas de trois'' with Rosella Hightower and Roland Guerard and a ''pas de deux'', as Princess Turandot, with Massine himself as the Unknown Prince, in "Vienna 1814." With the ''Ballet Russe'' Thomas toured North and South America extensively ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Leon Danielian
Leon Danielian (31 October 1920 – 8 March 1997) was an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and educator. As a guest artist with ballet companies around the world, he became one of the first American male dancers to achieve international recognition. Early life and career Leon Danielian, born in New York City, was the son of Armenians, Armenian immigrants Frank and Varsik (Coolidganian) Danielian. As a child, he took private ballet classes with Madame Seda Suny, a well-known Armenian dance teacher, and later continued his studies under Mikhail Mordkin, Michel Fokine, Igor Schwezoff, and Vecheslav Swoboda. He made his debut with the Mordkin Ballet in 1937, became a charter member of Ballet Theatre in 1939, and appeared, briefly, with Colonel Wassily de Basil's Original Ballet Russe in 1941. He also danced in Broadway musicals during these early years. In 1943 he joined Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as a soloist and remained with that company until 1961, having become a ''premie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Irina Baronova
Irina Mikhailovna Baronova FRAD (; 13 March 1919 – 28 June 2008) was a Russian ballerina and actress who was one of the Baby Ballerinas of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, discovered by George Balanchine in Paris in the 1930s. She created roles in Léonide Massine's ''Le Beau Danube'' (1924), ''Jeux d'enfants'' (1932), and ''Les Présages'' (1933); and in Bronislava Nijinska's ''Les Cent Baisers'' (1935). Biography Baronova was born in Saint Petersburg (then known as Petrograd) in 1919, the daughter of a lieutenant in the Imperial Navy, Mikhail Baronov, and his wife Lidia (). In November 1920, the Baronov family escaped the Russian Revolution by dressing as peasants and crossing the border into Romania. After first arriving in Curtea de Argeș, Romania, the family eventually settled in Bucharest. Irina's father found work at a factory and, for the next several years, the Baronov family lived in the slums surrounding the various factories where Mikhail was employed. Irina' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nathalie Krassovska
Nathalie "Natasha" Krassovska (1918–2005) was a Russian born prima ballerina and teacher of classical ballet most noted for her work with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Following her decades-long career, she moved to the U.S., where she founded the Krassovska Ballet Jeunesse. Krassovska taught, choreographed and performed until her death. Early life Krassovska was born Nathalie Leslie in St. Petersburg, Petrograd, the daughter of a Russian mother and Scottish father. Depending on the source her birthdate is recorded as June 1 or June 3, with the year ranging from 1917 to 1919, most frequently 1918.The Independent, Obituaries, Nathalie Krassovska, Star ballerina of rare talent and charm, Nadine Meisner (February 16, 2005/ref> Her grandmother was a soloist with the Bolshoi Ballet; her mother Lydia Krassovska was a dancer with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Young Nathalie began her ballet studies with her grandmother, but her formal training took place in Europe. In Paris, she tr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marc Platt (dancer)
Marcel Emile Gaston LePlat (December 2, 1913 – March 29, 2014), known professionally as Marc Platt, was an American ballet dancer, musical theatre performer, and actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Daniel Pontipee, one of the seven brothers in the film ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers''. Biography Born Marcel Emile Gaston LePlat to a French immigrant father in Pasadena, California, he was one of the original members of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, performing under the name Platoff. While with the company, Platt choreographed ''Ghost Town'' (1939), set to music by Richard Rodgers. Platt danced the role of Chalmers/Dream Curly in the original 1943 Broadway production of ''Oklahoma!''. Platt was also in the 1955 film version of ''Oklahoma!'' in a dancing/speaking role as one of Curly's cowboy friends, the cowboy friend who buys Curly's saddle for $10 at the auction and comments that, the previous year, Ado Annie's sweet potato pie gave him a "three day bellyach ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cyd Charisse
Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American dancer and actress. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilities as a dancer, and she was often paired with Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly. Her films included '' Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), '' The Band Wagon'' (1953), '' Brigadoon'' (1954), and ''Silk Stockings'' (1957). She stopped dancing in films in the late 1950s, but continued acting in film and television, and in 1991 made her Broadway debut. In her later years, she discussed the history of the Hollywood musical in documentaries, and was featured in '' That's Entertainment! III'' in 1994. She was awarded the National Medal of the Arts and Humanities in 2006. Early life Cyd Charisse was born Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas, the daughter of Lela (née Norwood) and Ernest Enos Finklea Sr., who was a jeweler. Her nickname "Sid" was taken fr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Raven Wilkinson
Anne Raven Wilkinson (February 2, 1935 – December 17, 2018) was an American dancer who is credited with having been the first African-American woman to dance for a major classical ballet company. Wilkinson broke the color barrier in 1955 when she signed a contract to dance full-time with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She was promoted to soloist during her second season with the troupe, and remained with the company for six years. Wilkinson later became a mentor to American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland. Early life Anne Raven Wilkinson was born in New York City on February 2, 1935, to Anne James Wilkinson and Dr. Frost Birnie Wilkinson, a doctor. She had a brother 2 years younger, Frost Bird Wilkinson Jr. The family lived in a middle-class neighborhood in Harlem."Anne Raven Wilkinson" BlackPast.o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yvonne Joyce Craig
Yvonne Joyce Craig (May 16, 1937 – August 17, 2015) was an American actress who is best known for her role as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl in the 1960s television series ''Batman''. Other notable roles in her career include Dorothy Johnson in the 1963 movie ''It Happened at the World's Fair'', Azalea Tatum in the 1964 movie ''Kissin' Cousins'', and the green-skinned Orion Marta in the ''Star Trek'' episode " Whom Gods Destroy" (1969). ''The Huffington Post'' called her "a pioneer of female superheroes" for television. Craig was a philanthropist and "an advocate for workers unions, free mammograms, and equal pay for women". Early life and education Craig was born in Taylorville, Illinois, the first of Maurice Melvin and Pauline Virginia (née Rogers) Craig's three children. Craig's father's work caused the family to move in 1951 from Columbus, Ohio to the Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas, Texas. Craig first attended W. H. Adamson High School for a semester and then Sunset High Sc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |