Irina Mikhailovna Baronova FRAD (; 13 March 1919 – 28 June 2008) was a Russian

ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...

and actress who was one of the Baby Ballerinas of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, discovered by

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 ...

in Paris in the 1930s. She created roles in

Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...

's ''Le Beau Danube'' (1924), ''Jeux d'enfants'' (1932), and ''Les Présages'' (1933); and in

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 ...

's ''Les Cent Baisers'' (1935).

Biography

Baronova was born in

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 ...

(then known as Petrograd) in 1919, the daughter of a lieutenant in the Imperial Navy, Mikhail Baronov, and his wife Lidia (). In November 1920, the Baronov family escaped the Russian Revolution by dressing as peasants and crossing the border into Romania. After first arriving in

Curtea de Argeș Curtea de Argeș () is a municipiu, city in Romania on the left bank of the river Argeș (river), Argeș, where it flows through a valley of the Southern Carpathians (the Făgăraș Mountains), on the railway from Pitești to the Turnu Roșu Pass ...

, Romania, the family eventually settled in Bucharest. Irina's father found work at a factory and, for the next several years, the Baronov family lived in the slums surrounding the various factories where Mikhail was employed. Irina's mother, who loved the ballet and had often attended the theatre in Saint Petersburg, found a ballet teacher in Bucharest for Irina. In 1927, at the age of seven, Irina began taking her first ballet lessons from a former corps de ballet member of the Mariinsky Theatre Ballet. When Baronova was 10 years old, the family moved to Paris to provide her with professional training. She was taught by Olga Preobrajenska. She also studied with fellow ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska. Baronova made her debut aged 11 at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

in 1930. In 1932, Baronova, along with two other girls,

Tamara Toumanova Tamara Toumanova ( ka, თამარა თუმანოვა; 2 March 1919 – 29 May 1996) was a Russian-born Georgian-American prima ballerina and actress. A child of exiles in Paris after the Russian Revolution of 1917, she made her ...

(aged 12), and Tatiana Riabouchinska (aged 14), were hired by

to become ballerinas in the newly formed Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo. During their first season in London with the Ballets Russes, English critic Arnold Haskell coined the term " Baby Ballerinas" for Toumanova, Riabouchinska and Baronova. Baronova's first principal role was Odette in ''

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 ...

'', partnered by Anton Dolin, which she performed at 14 years old. At age 17, she eloped with a Jerry Sevastianov. Two years later, they married in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia, where she was on tour. She then joined the Ballet Theatre in the USA, under the patronage of

Sol Hurok Sol Hurok (also Solomon Israilevich Hurok; born Solomon Izrailevich Gurkov, Russian language, Russian Соломон Израилевич Гурков; April 9, 1888March 5, 1974) was a 20th-century American impresario. Early life Hurok was born ...

. She and Sevastianov divorced. While in Britain in 1946, she met the agent Cecil Tennant, who asked her to marry him with the condition that she gave up ballet; she agreed and retired. Between 1940 and 1951, Baronova appeared in several films, including

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...

'' Train of Events'' (1949) and worked as ballet mistress for the 1980 film '' Nijinsky''. Baronova and Tennant had three children, including Victoria. Through Victoria, she became the mother-in-law of

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

. In 2014, Victoria published a pictorial biography of her mother's life entitled ''Irina Baronova and the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo''. In 1967, Cecil Tennant was killed in a car accident, and Baronova moved to Switzerland. Later, she remarried her first husband, Jerry Sevastianov, who died in 1974.Denver Post, Baronova last of “baby ballerinas”, 7 May 2016
/ref> She returned to teaching classes in the United Kingdom and United States in 1976.

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE ( Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn (), was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with th ...

asked her to conduct a training course for teachers. In 1986, she staged Fokine's '' Les Sylphides'' for

The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet (TAB) is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur a ...

. In 1992, she returned to Russia to help 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 ...

with an archival project. In 1996, she received a Vaslav Nijinsky Medal from Poland and an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from the North Carolina School of the Arts. Baronova was vice president and a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the Royal Academy of Dance (FRAD). She was a patron of the

Australian Ballet School The Australian Ballet School is the premier ballet training facility in Australia, located in Melbourne. History The Australian Ballet School was founded in 1964 as the primary training facility for The Australian Ballet by Dame Margaret Scot ...

Death

Only five weeks before her death, she spoke at a symposium in Adelaide, South Australia, on the Ballets Russes' tours of Australia. She died in her sleep at Byron Bay on 28 June 2008.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Obituary
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' (1 July 2008)
Obituary
at NEWSru (3 July 2008) * *
Irina Baronova Gallery
at the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baronova, Irina 1919 births 2008 deaths American ballerinas Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo dancers Soviet emigrants to Romania Romanian expatriates in France Romanian emigrants to the United States American film actresses American expatriates in Switzerland American emigrants to Australia 21st-century American women 20th-century American ballet dancers

Biography

Death

Filmography

See also

References

Further reading

External links