Beatriz Consuelo
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Beatriz Consuelo (born Beatriz Consuelo Cardoso; 23 December 1932 – 7 March 2013) was a Brazilian-Swiss ballerina and dance instructor. Consuelo received numerous awards including the Carlos Gomes Order of Cultural Merit in 1956 and the
Order of Rio Branco Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...
in 1975 from Brazil. The City of Geneva Prize for the performing arts was bestowed upon her in 2003.


Early life

Beatriz Consuelo Cardoso was born on 23 December 1932 in
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
,
Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
, Brazil. With the encouragement of her parents, she began studying dance with Antonia "Tony" Seitz Petzold a German immigrant around 1938. On 14 August 1944, Seitz organized a gala at the Théâtre São Pedro in Porto Alegre, featuring Consuelo in the lead role. For three years she continued dancing with Seitz and her reputation grew. In 1947, she was hired to dance by Count Jean de Beausacq and his wife Nina Verchinina, who was the ballet mistress at the Teatro Municipal of
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
.


Career

Consuelo became the lead dancer at the Teatro Municipal and performed there for five years, first under the direction of Verchinina and then with Tatiana Leskova. She was recruited by dancers from the , who were touring in Brazil to join them in France. In July 1953, she sailed for
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
to join the company and auditioned in
Deauville Deauville () is a communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its port, harbour, Race track, race course, marinas, con ...
with
Bronislava Nijinska Bronislava Nijinska (; ; ; ; – February 21, 1972) was a Russian ballet dancer of Polish origin, and an innovative choreographer. She came of age in a family of traveling, professional dancers. Her own career began in Saint Petersburg. Soon ...
. Within a year Consuelo became a soloist with the company and premiered the ballets: ''L'Ange Gris'' (1953) and ''Le Retour'' (1954) by George Skibine; ''Fiesta'' (1957) by Enrique Martínez; and Trapèze (1960) by Daniel Seillier. In 1958, she danced ''
The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...
'' with and in 1959 earned the spot as
principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...
of the company. That year, she danced Sleepwalker with Golovine and during the 1960 to 1961 season, Consuelo returned as a guest dancer at the Teatro Municipal in Rio. In 1961, Consuelo performed ''L'Oiseau bleu'' with
Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...
and the following year when Cuevas dissolved the company, she joined the
Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation) ...
. She premiered in ''Symphonie Classique'' with Golovine, before returning to Rio and the Teatro Municipal in the 1963 to 1964 season. At the invitation of Golovine, Consuelo joined the Ballet du
Grand Théâtre de Genève Grand Théâtre de Genève is an opera house in Geneva, Switzerland. As with many other opera houses, the Grand Théâtre de Genève is both a venue and an institution. The venue is a majestic building, towering over Place Neuve, officia ...
in 1964. She returned as a guest dancer in the 1965 to 1966 season in Rio and then continued her career in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, retiring from the stage in 1969 with the birth of her son, Frédéric Gafner. At the invitation of
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 ...
, when he founded the dance school in 1969, Consuelo and Alfonso Catá became co-managers of the Ecole de Danse de Genève for the Grand Théâtre de Genève. In 1975, the school became private and Consuelo solely managed and operated it under the name of the Ecole de Danse de Genève. Between 1979 and 1982 in addition to running the school, Consuelo served as an instructor for the
Prix de Lausanne The Prix de Lausanne () is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition ...
and a jury member from 1975 to 1982 for the International Choreographic Competition held in
Nyon Nyon (; historically German language, German: or and Italian language, Italian: , ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Nyon District in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometer ...
. In 1980, she founded and became director of the Geneva Junior Ballet, training new talent and earning an international reputation for her pedagogical skill. In 1992 and 1993, she taught at National Conservatory of Music and Dance in
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
, France. In 1999, Consuelo retired as director of the Ecole de Danse de Genève and turned over management of the Junior Ballet to Patrice Delay and Sean Wood.


Death and legacy

Consuelo died on 7 March 2013 at the Arénières Medical Center in Geneva. She was buried on 11 March at the Cimetière de Saint-Georges, but a decade later got reburied at the Cimetière des Rois, where the right to rest is strictly limited to prominent personalities who have greatly contributed to public life in Geneva. During her career Consuelo received numerous awards including the Carlos Gomes Order of Cultural Merit from Brazil in 1956 and was honored as a Grand Officer in the
Order of Rio Branco Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...
in 1975. The City of Geneva Prize for the performing arts was bestowed upon her in 2003.


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Consuelo, Beatriz 1932 births 2013 deaths People from Porto Alegre Brazilian ballerinas Swiss ballerinas Ballet teachers