Boris Knyazev (russian: Борис Князев; 1 July 1900 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

– 7 October 1975 in Paris) was a Russian

ballet dancer 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 ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

Biography

Boris Knyazev was born July 1, 1900,

. He studied at the St. Petersburg Theater School from 1914 to 1917, class of Kasyan Goleizovsky and

Mikhail Mordkin __NOTOC__ Mikhail Mordkin (russian: Михаил Михайлович Мордкин; December 9, 1880, Moscow, Russian Empire - July 15, 1944, New York) graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet School in 1899, and in the same year was appointed ballet m ...

. He left Russia after The 1917 Revolution. At first he lived in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

, then in 1924 he moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. He was married to the ballerina

Olga Spesivtseva Olga Alexandrovna Spessivtseva (russian: Ольга Алекса́ндровна Спеси́вцева; 16 September 1991) was a Russian ballerina whose stage career spanned from 1913 to 1939. She was one of the finest prima ballerinas of the t ...

. Together, they opened a ballet studio, but after some time they parted. In 1937 he opened his own ballet school in Paris, and in 1953 one in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...

; he taught in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and led the

International Academy of Dance International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

. Boris Knyazev was an excellent teacher. He taught Zizi,

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Rose ...

, Yvette Chauvire and even

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

. Boris Knyazev's school is based on two assumptions: ''en dedans'' (socks and knees facing each other) and ''en dehors'' (deployed outside). Knyazev was the first who paid equal attention to these exercises. He enforced in his school the main rule - a daily exercise has to include and ''en dedans'', and ''en dehors''. He was a founder of ballet exercises on the floor - ''barre au sol''. One of his followers is

Stella Voskovetskaya Stella Voskovetskaya is a dancer, choreographer and dance instructor. Biography Voskovetskaya was born on February 6, 1965, in Kiev Ukraine. In 1971, Voskovetskaya was accepted at the Kiev Ballet School (teachers Lyudmila Krymskaya and Galina ...

, a Vaganova Academy graduate, who took the best of Knyazev ''barre au sol'', and incorporated it into the best and most advanced system of ballet training, the Vaganova system. Stella Voskovetskaya founded the Classical Ballet School in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

where she works with pre-professional ballet dancers and rhythmic gymnasts. Boris Knyazev died October 7, 1975, in Paris, France.

Bibliography

*Boris Kniaseff. ''25 années de Danse 1918—1943''. Paris. 1943. 1900 births 1975 deaths Dancers from Saint Petersburg Russian male ballet dancers 20th-century Russian ballet dancers White Russian emigrants to France {{Russia-bio-stub