Aleksey Nikolayevich Yermolayev (Russian: Алексе́й Никола́евич Ермола́ев; 12 December 1975) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher. He played an important role in the development of Russian ballet between 1950 and 1975, and he was considered an outstanding actor.

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

(1970).

Education

Aleksey Yermolayev was born in Tver Governorate (

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

according to different sources) in 1910. At the Leningrad Choreographic School he completed the required eight years of training in only five years, graduating in 1926, aged only 16; his teacher there was Vladimir Ponomaryov. He spent four years in the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

in Leningrad, and made his name in modern roles. He spent the years 1930–1938 as Principal Dancer at the

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest Ballet company, ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it ca ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Career

Yermolayev demonstrated impressive athletic strength, and a vivid personality in his acting. His roles included the God of the Wind ('' The Talisman''), Basilio (''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

''), Albert ('' Giselle''), Siegfried (''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

''), Abderakhman (''

Raymonda ''Raymonda'' () is a ballet, grand ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Alexander Glazunov (his Opus number, opus 57) and libretto by Lydia Pashkova. ''Raymonda'' was creat ...

''), Ripafratta ('' Mirandolina''), and Gireï ('' La Fontaine de Bakhchissaraï'').Dansomanie
(in French) He created roles in: *Lopukhov's '' The Ice-Maiden'' (1927) *Lopukhov, Ponomaryov, and Leontiev's '' The Red Poppy'' (1929) *Jerome in Vainonen's Moscow version of the '' Flames of Paris'' (1933) *Ripafrata in Vainonen's ''Mirandolina'' (1949) *Tybalt in Lavrovsky's Moscow version of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' (1946) *Yevgeny in Zakharov's ''The Bronze Horseman'' (1949) *Severyan in Leonid Lavrovsky's '' The Tale of the Stone Flower'' (1954). In 1951 he created ''Piece Will Win War'' at the Belarusian National Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre. He arranged the music and performed all the roles. In the 1955 Soviet film of the ''

'' ballet, Yermolayev danced Tybalt, the role he created in 1946. Among his choreographies were: *''

Nightingale The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird which is best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, ...

'' (the first Belarusian ballet; 1939, with Lopukhov; mus. M. Kroshner; for the Byelorussian Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Minsk), and *''Burning Hearts'' (or ''Fiery Hearts'') (1955; mus. V. Zolotarev).

Later life

He became a teacher and coach at the Bolshoi Ballet in 1960, remaining there until his death in 1975. From 1968 to 1972 he was also artistic director of the Moscow Choreographic School. Among his pupils were Alexander Godunov, Vladimir Vasiliev, Māris Liepa, U. Vladimirov and M. Lavrovsky. He was a People's Artist of the USSR and Belarus, laureate of three Stalin Prizes in 1946, 1947 and 1950, and the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

and the Order of the Badge of Honour. He died in

in 1975, aged 65.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yermolayev, Aleksey 1910 births 1975 deaths People from Tver Governorate Russian ballet choreographers Russian ballet teachers Russian male ballet dancers Soviet choreographers Soviet male ballet dancers 20th-century Russian ballet dancers Mariinsky Ballet dancers People's Artists of the USSR People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic Honored Artists of the RSFSR Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Burials at Vvedenskoye Cemetery

Education

Career

Later life

See also

References