Jean Börlin was a Swedish dancer and

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

, who was born in Härnösand on 13 March 1893, and who died in New York on 6 December 1930. He worked with

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 ...

, who was his teacher in Stockholm.

Biography

Jean Börlin was held in high esteem by Michel Fokine, who will later say of the Swedish dancer, "He is the one who looks the most like me! A natural! An ecstasy! The fanatic sacrifice of a bruised body to give the maximum of choreographic expression". Trained at the

Royal Swedish Ballet The Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Gustav III of Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian ...

, he joined the troupe in 1905 and was named first dancer by Fokine in 1913. He joined his master in Copenhagen in 1918, then traveled to Europe and discovered modern dance. Recommended by Fokine, he was recruited for the newly formed

Ballets suédois The Ballets suédois (; "Swedish Ballets") was a predominantly Swedish dance ensemble based in Paris that, under the direction of Rolf de Maré (1888–1964), performed throughout Europe and the United States between 1920 and 1925, rightfully ea ...

by Rolf de Maré. This marked his first steps as a choreographer; the vast majority of Ballets suédois choreographies bear his name. He danced for the company at a time when it was in constant competition with

Sergei Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), also known as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario an ...

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...

. From 1920, he became principal dancer, teacher, ballet master and choreographer. Hailed by the French critics, Börlin is considered the successor of

Vaslav Nijinsky Vaslav or Vatslav Nijinsky (12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer of Polish ancestry. He is regarded as the greatest male dancer of the early 20th century. Nijinsky was celebrated for his virtuosity and f ...

Personal life

Börlin and Rolf de Maré met through their common friend Nils Dardel in 1918, and de Maré became his lover and protector. Jean Börlin died of organ failure caused by a liver disease in 1930 when he was only 37 years old. Even though he died in New York, he had asked to be buried in Paris, at

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

Main choreographies

*1920 : Sculpture nègre (music by

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

, costumes by Paul Colin) *1920 : Jeux (music by

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

, décors by

Pierre Bonnard Pierre Bonnard (; 3 October 186723 January 1947) was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color. A founding member of the Post-Impressionist gr ...

) *1920 : Iberia (music by Isaac Albeniz) *1920 : Dervishes (music by Alexandre Glazounov) *1920 : Nuit de Saint-Jean (music by Hugo Alfven) *1920 : Maison de fous (music by Viking Dahl) *1920 : Le Tombeau de Couperin (music by

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

, décors and costumes by Pierre Laprade) *1920 : El Greco (music by Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht) *1920 : Les Vierges folles (music by

Kurt Atterberg Kurt Magnus Atterberg (, 12 December 188715 February 1974) was a Swedish composer and civil engineer.Don Michael Randel, editor (1996). "Atterberg, Kurt", ''The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Pres ...

and Einar Nerman) *1921 : La Boîte à joujoux (music by

) *1921 : L'Homme et son désir (livret by

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

, music by

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

) *1921 : Les Mariés de la tour Eiffel (livret by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

, music by Groupe des Six) *1922 : Skating-Rink (livret by

Ricciotto Canudo Ricciotto Canudo (; 2 January 1877, Gioia del Colle – 10 November 1923, Paris) was an early Italian film theoretician who lived primarily in France. In 1913, he published a bimonthly avant-garde magazine entitled ''Montjoie!'', promoting Cubism ...

, music by

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...

, décors and scénographie by

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

) *1923 : Within the Quota (music by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

, décors and costumes by

Gerald Murphy Gerald Clery Murphy and Sara Sherman Wiborg were wealthy, expatriate Americans who moved to the French Riviera in the early 20th century and who, with their generous hospitality and flair for parties, created a vibrant social circle, particularl ...

) *1923 : Le Marchand d'oiseaux (livret by Hélène Perdriat, music by

Germaine Tailleferre Germaine Tailleferre (; born Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse; 19 April 18927 November 1983) was a French composer and the only female member of the group of composers known as ''Les Six''. Biography Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse was born at Saint- ...

) *1923 : La Création du monde (livret by

Blaise Cendrars Frédéric-Louis Sauser (1 September 1887 – 21 January 1961), better known as Blaise Cendrars (), was a Swiss-born novelist and poet who became a naturalized French citizen in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the European ...

, music by

, décors by

) *1924 : Relâche (music by

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born 17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoire but was an undi ...

, décors by

Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, writer, filmmaker, magazine publisher, poet, and typography, typographist closely associated with Dada. When consid ...

) *1924 : Le Tournoi singulier (livret by Louise Labé, music by Roland-Manuel) *1924 : La Jarre (livret by

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; ; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italians, Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his bold and ...

, music by

Alfredo Casella Alfredo Casella (25 July 18835 March 1947) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career Casella was born in Turin, the son of Maria (née Bordino) and Carlo Casella. His family included many musicians: his grandfather, a f ...

, décors and costumes by

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( ; ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the art movement, which profoundly influenced the surrealists. His ...

) *1929 : Le Cercle éternel (music by Alexandre Tansman, décors and costumes by Serge Gladky)

Filmography

*1924 : Entr'acte by

René Clair René Clair (; 11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette (), was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. H ...

*1924 : L'Inhumaine by

Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier (; 23 April 1888 – 26 November 1979) was a French filmmaker who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued unti ...

*1924 : Le Voyage imaginaire by

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borlin, Jean 1893 births 1930 deaths Swedish male ballet dancers 20th-century ballet dancers Gay dancers Swedish LGBTQ dancers Swedish gay entertainers Deaths from organ failure Deaths from liver disease 20th-century Swedish LGBTQ people People from Härnösand