Alexandra Denisova (; September 22, 1922 - July 5, 2018), real name Patricia Denise Meyers Galian, was a Canadian ballerina. Born in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, she started taking classical ballet lessons in childhood. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, many artistic and cultural professionals, including ballet dancers and choreographers, emigrated from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, bringing with them the typical Russian forms of ballet, which was developing mostly independently from the Western trends since the 19th century and followed classic forms long abandoned in the West.''History of the Russian Ballet'' As the Russian ballet enjoyed great popularity in the West, these emigrants were always in great demand. It is due to this popularity that the European dancers started to adopt Russian pseudonyms. Young Patricia Galian also followed this trend and started to perform as Alexandra Denisova. Before the beginning of World War II, she worked in troupe of ''

Original Ballet Russe The Original Ballet Russe (originally named Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo) was a ballet company established in 1931 by René Blum and Colonel Wassily de Basil as a successor to the Ballets Russes, founded in 1909 by Sergei Diaghilev. The company ...

'' — OBR (other name is ''Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo''). The troupe went on tour in the different countries, first of all making tour across Europe. All were broken by the Second World War: tours across Europe have been cancelled. The route has changed in a direction to the South America. Alexandra Denisova
/ref> Soon troupe ''Original Ballet Russe'' gave representations in Havana. One of founders of troupe Vasily Voskresensky, the former officer of the Russian imperial army, having brought troupe to Cuba, to Havana, has decided to meet the old colleague-officer who has settled there — Nikolay Yavorsky. Nikolay Yavorsky wasn't the professional dancer too, but once in young years he has been given to training to ballet. In emigration this knowledge was useful. He began to give lessons of ballet skill. Among his pupils there were brothers

Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...

(1914) and

Alberto Alonso Alberto Julio Rayneri Alonso (22 May 1917 – 31 December 2007) was a Cuban dancer and choreographer, the brother of Fernando Alonso and brother-in-law of Alicia Alonso (née Martinez). He was influential in the development of the Cuban style ...

(1917—2007) and a girl Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez Hoya. Fernando Alonso and Alicia married; Alicia became

Alicia Alonso Alicia Alonso (born Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez del Hoyo; 21 December 1920 – 17 October 2019) was a Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer whose company became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955. She is bes ...

. Alberto Alonso began his dance career aged 17 in 1936 with ''Original Ballet Russe''Alberto Alonso: National Ballet of Cuba co-founder
/ref> where he became the partner, and then the husband of ballerina Alexandra Denisova. Alberto Alonso and Alexandra Denisova married in May 1939 in Melbourne. Tours in Australia were tightened, in 1940 during this tours

David Lichine David Lichine (; 25 October 1910 – 26 June 1972) was a Russian-American ballet dancer and choreographer. He had an international career as a performer, ballet master, and choreographer, staging works for many ballet companies and for several Hol ...

created the ballet ''

Graduation Ball ''Graduation Ball'' is a ballet in one act choreographed by David Lichine to music composed by Johann Strauss II and arranged by Antal Doráti. With a scenario devised by Lichine and with scenery and costumes designed by Alexandre Benois, it w ...

'' (Alexandra Denisova as one of girl). To return to Europe at war it was impossible. It was reflected in the troupe finance. Some dancers have left troupe to America which was far from war. As a result, Alexandra Denisova accepted all roles of a star of troupe

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 ...

, and has coped with them so successfully that critic

Arnold Haskell Arnold Lionel David Haskell CBE (19 July 1903, London – 14 November 1980, Bath) was a British dance critic who founded the Camargo Society in 1930. With Ninette de Valois, he was influential in the development of the Royal Ballet School, lat ...

marked in the publication in the newspaper ''The Home'' on April 1, 1940: ''Young Denisova during the season danced many of her (Baronova) roles. For any ballerina to undertake this means shouldering an initial handicap, but the Canadian girl proved her mettle and earned high praise.'' (Arnold Haskell, ''The Home'', April 1, 1940). Alberto Alonso has been occupied in many parties too. But the family began to fall. Denisova and Alberto separated in 1944, while on vacation in the United States, and she was never to return to Cuba. She began to live in the US,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She acted at different theaters in ballets of

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 Sch ...

(''Paganini''),

('' Rhapsody'', 1946),

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

(''

Song of Norway ''Song of Norway'' is an operetta written in 1944 by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Edvard Grieg and the book by Milton Lazarus and Homer Curran. A very loose film adaptation with major changes to both the book ...

'', 1946) etc. Denisova's career continued in Hollywood, with small roles dancing when she has removed her Russian pseudonym: films ''

On an Island with You ''On an Island with You'' is a 1948 American musical Technicolor romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe. It stars Esther Williams, Peter Lawford, Ricardo Montalbán, Cyd Charisse, Kathryn Beaumont and Jimmy Durante.Miller, Frank"Artic ...

'' — 1948 (in several scenes she replaced ill

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 abilit ...

), ''

Two Tickets to Broadway ''Two Tickets to Broadway'' is a 1951 American musical film directed by James V. Kern and starring Tony Martin, Janet Leigh, Gloria DeHaven and Ann Miller. It was filmed on the RKO Forty Acres backlot. It was nominated for an Academy Award for ...

'' — 1951, ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Rita Moreno a ...

'' — 1952, ''

Knock on Wood Knock on Wood may refer to: * Knocking on wood, an act of superstition Music * Knock on Wood (Eddie Floyd song), "Knock on Wood" (Eddie Floyd song), a 1966 song by Eddie Floyd, covered by many performers * Knock on Wood (Amii Stewart album), '' ...

'' — 1954, ''

Three for the Show ''Three for the Show'' is a 1955 Technicolor and in CinemaScope musical comedy remake of '' Too Many Husbands''. It stars actress Betty Grable, in her last musical, opposite Jack Lemmon, Gower Champion and Marge Champion. It is based on the 1919 ...

'' — 1955, ''

Meet Me in Las Vegas ''Meet Me in Las Vegas'' is a 1956 American musical comedy film directed by Roy Rowland, filmed in Eastman Color and CinemaScope, and starring Dan Dailey and Cyd Charisse. The film was tailored for the talents of Charisse, showcasing her skil ...

'' — 1956, '' Marjorie Morningstar'' — 1958 etc. In the 1950s she had a position of Assistant to the Dance Director in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios. Fragments with his participation (with the real name Patricia Denise Galian) have entered into a film ''Ballets Russes'' ( an Francisco, CA: Geller/Goldfine Productions; New York, NY : Zeitgeist Films, ©2006).Ballets Russes
/ref>

References

Notes

Sources

*Ю. А. Бахрушин (Yu. A. Bakhrushin). "История русского балета" (''History of the Russian Ballet''. М., Сов. Россия, 1965, 249 с.

External links

Alexandra Denisova (Patricia Denise). ''Marjorie Morningstar - Marjorie meets Noel Airman''
Youtube.com. {{DEFAULTSORT:Denisova, Alexandra Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo dancers Canadian ballerinas Canadian female dancers 1922 births 2018 deaths People from Vancouver