Boris Vladimirovich Volkoff, (born Boris Vladimirovich Baskakoff; April 24, 1900 – March 11, 1974) was a Canadian-Russian ballet dancer, director, choreographer and

ballet master A ballet master (also balletmaster, ballet mistress, ''premier maître de ballet'' or ''premier maître de ballet en chef'') is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In mo ...

. After studying dance in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and

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 ...

he defected from Russia and eventually settled in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. He created the Boris Volkoff School of Dance which trained ballet dancers, and the Boris Volkoff Ballet Company which is arguably considered the first

ballet company A ballet company is a type of dance troupe that performs classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and/or contemporary ballet in the European tradition, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-rou ...

in Canada. He gave his dancers and studio to the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca, the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

to raise the profile of Canadian ballet. He regretted this decision and attempted to revive his company which ended in failure. He was appointed as a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 1973, one year before his death.

Early life and dance career

Volkoff, birth name Boris Vladimirovich Baskakoff, was born on April 24, 1900, in Schepotievo, Russia. When he was nine Volkoff joined his brother Igor in

to dance and perform for the Russian Army. He alternated between using this birth name and performing using the last name Volkoff, his mother's family name. Volkoff attended the Moscow State Academy of Choreography and later danced with Mordkin Ballet and the Moscow State Youth Ballet. During a Siberian tour Volkoff defected from Russia and went to Shanghai. He joined the Shanghai Variety Ballet and toured with Russian expatriates to various Asian countries and the United States. He danced with Adolph Bolm's company until his visa expired and Volkoff was smuggled into Canada in 1929. He became

at Jack Arthur's Uptown Theatre in

and choreographed short dances that were performed between films. It was during this time that he decided to use Volkoff as his stage name.

Choreographic works in Toronto

In 1930 Volkoff opened the Boris Volkoff School of Dance, which operated until 1974. In 1932 he created ice ballet versions of

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 ...

and Prince Igor with the Toronto Skating Club. He continued creating works for the club for fourteen seasons. Volkoff brought his dance troupe to the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

to compete in an international dance competition. His company performed two new ballets called ''Mon-Ka-Ta'' and ''Mala'', both based on

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

and Native American legends. The pieces were given five "honourable mentions". In 1938 the troupe that traveled to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

became the Volkoff Canadian Ballet, and later the Boris Volkoff Ballet Company. This company is sometimes considered the first Canadian ballet company. The company performed in many notable venues such as

Massey Hall Massey Hall is a performing arts auditorium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Although original ...

in 1939. Volkoff co-founded the Canadian Ballet Festival with Gweneth Lloyd in 1948 to showcase the talent of Canadian ballet dancers and Volkoff Canadian Ballet was one of three companies to perform at its inaugural event. On March 2, 1949, Volkoff premiered ''The Red Ear of Corn,'' a ballet in two acts. The name refers to red ears of corn found in northern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

by huskers. The piece was inspired by Native American and French Canadian dance music. The musical score was composed by John Weinzweig.

National Ballet of Canada

Unable to secure stable funding for the Volkoff Canadian Ballet Volkoff worked with other Canadian ballet enthusiasts to create the

. Volkoff and Gweneth Lloyd both wanted to run the new company but they reached a compromise by bringing

Celia Franca Celia Franca (25 June 1921 – 19 February 2007) was a co-founder of The National Ballet of Canada (1951) and its artistic director for 24 years. Early life Franca was born Celia Franks in London, England, the daughter of an East End ta ...

to be its new artistic director. Volkoff became the company's first resident choreographer. Volkoff gave his studio and dancers to the National Ballet and taught the male dancers of the company. He regretted this decision as he disliked

's "English" dancing style and believed ballet should be performed in the Russian style. In 1952 Volkoff and David Adams created Toronto Theatre Ballet and became co-artistic directors. The company featured many of the founding members of the National Ballet. He attempted to revive his company in 1953 and 1967 but these ended in failure.

Personal life

Volkoff married Janet Baldwin, a student at his ballet studio. She became his business associate in the operation of his studio.

Death

Volkoff died March 11, 1974, in Toronto.

Awards

Volkoff was appointed as a Member of the

in 1973. In 2009 Heritage Toronto unveiled a plaque commemorating Volkoff. It was installed at the site of Volkoff's studio at 771 Yonge Street.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Volkoff, Boris Ballet masters Canadian choreographers National Ballet of Canada 1900 births 1974 deaths Members of the Order of Canada Ballet choreographers Canadian people of Russian descent Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Canada