Lev Ivanovich Ivanov (; 2 March 1834, Moscow – 24 December 1901,

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 ...

) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet. As a performer with the Imperial Ballet, he achieved prominence after performing as an understudy in a benefit performance of ''

La Fille Mal Gardée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

''. He is most famous as the choreographer of Acts II and IV 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 ...

'', which include the '' Dance of the Little Swans'', Act II of ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'', and ''

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 ...

'', which he choreographed alongside

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (; born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa; 11 March 1818) was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. He is considered one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history ...

Biography

Ivanov entered the Moscow School of Dance, but in 1844 moved to

where he studied at the Imperial Ballet, becoming an official member of the

Corps de ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French language, French for "body of the little dance") is the group of ballet dancer, dancers who are not principal dancers or Soloist (ballet), soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and ...

in 1852. Among his teachers during this time were

Jean-Antoine Petipa Jean-Antoine-Nicolas Petipa (16 February 1787, Paris – 28 July 1855, Saint Petersburg) was a French ballet dancer and the father of ballet dancers and choreographers Marius Petipa and Lucien Petipa. Life Aged 8 he was in the revived producti ...

, Alexandr Pimenov,

Pierre Frédéric Malavergne Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

and Emile Gredlu (). Historically, Ivanov is credited with choreographing the entirety of premiere of

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

's ballet ''

'' in 1892 due to the ill health of the ballet master,

. While some contemporary and modern accounts dispute this, Ivanov is still mentioned in '' The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition'' with choreographing at least the majority of the ballet as Petipa had reportedly not progressed very far in his work. Regardless of the amount of work he actually did, Petipa's was the only name listed for choreography on posters for the first production in St. Petersburg.Goodwin, ''New Grove (2001)'', 2:853. Ivanov worked with Petipa on a new restaging of Tchaikovsky's ''

'' ballet in 1895. Ivanov choreographed the entirety of the lakeside acts or "white acts", Act II and Act IV. This includes the '' Dance of the Little Swans'', an iconic '' pas de quatre'' where the four cygnets huddle together and dance in unison, before breaking the chain and falling to the floor whilst attempting to fly. Ivanov also choreographed the ''Danse Vénitienne'' (Neapolitan/Venetian Dance) and the ''Pas Hongrois'' (Hungarian Dance) of the third bier scene.Goodwin, ''New Grove (2001)'', 2:584. In his last years Ivanov was in financial straits. On the strength of his 50 years' service he petitioned the Imperial Theatres for financial assistance.

Ballets

Original works

*'' La Forêt enchantée'' ( en. ''The Enchanted Forest''). Ballet-fantastique in one act. Music by

Riccardo Drigo Riccardo Eugenio Drigo (; 30 June 1846 – 1 October 1930) was an Italian composer of ballet music and Italian opera, a theatrical Conducting, conductor, and a pianist. Drigo is most noted for his long career as kapellmeister and Director of Mu ...

. Imperial Ballet School, . Second premiere, Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . Peterhof, July 1889, performance supervised by Marius Petipa. *'' La Tulipe de Haarlem'' ( en. ''The Tulip of Harlem''). Ballet-fantastique in three acts. Music by Baron Boris Fitinhoff-Schell. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . **Revival by Claudia Kulichevskaya and

Pavel Gerdt Pavel Andreyevich Gerdt (), also known as Paul Gerdt (22 November 1844, near Saint Petersburg, Russia – 12 August 1917, in Vamaloki, Finland, Russian Republic), was the ''Premier Danseur Noble'' of the Mariinsky Ballet, Imperial Ballet, the Bol ...

. Imperial Ballet School, . **Revival by

Alexander Shiryaev Alexander Viktorovich Shiryaev (; — 25 April 1941) was a Russian ballet dancer, ballet master and choreographer, founder of character dance in Russian ballet who served at the Mariinsky Theatre. Shiryaev was also a pioneering animation direct ...

. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . *'' La Flûte magique'' ( en. ''The Magic Flute''). Ballet-comique in one act. Music by Riccardo Drigo. Imperial Ballet School, . Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . *'' La Ruse de Cupidon'' ( en. ''Cupid's Prank''). Ballet-anacréontique in one act. Music by Alexander Friedman. Krasnoe Selo, . Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . *'' La Beauté de Séville'' ( en. ''The Beauty of Seville''). Divertissement-ballet in one act. Music by various composers. Krasnoe Selo, . *'' La Fête des bateliers'' ( en. ''The Boatman's Festival''). Divertissement-ballet in one act. Music by Alexander Friedman. Krasnoe Selo, . *''

''. Ballet-féerie in two acts. Choreographed jointly with

. Music by

. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . *''

'' (a.k.a. ''Zolushka''). Ballet-féerie in three acts. Staged jointly with Enrico Cecchetti and Marius Petipa. Music by Baron Boris Fitinhoff-Schell. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . **revival by Lev Ivanov.

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

, Moscow, *''

''. Ballet-fantastique in three acts. Staged jointly with Marius Petipa. Music by Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, revised by Riccardo Drigo. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . *'' Acis et Galatée'' ( en. ''Acis and Galatea''). Ballet-mythologique in one act. Music by Andrei Kadlets. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . **revival by Alexander Shiryaev. Imperial Ballet School, . *'' La Fille du Mikado'' ( en. ''The Mikado's Daughter''). Ballet-fantastique in three acts. Music by Baron Vasily Wrangell. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . *'' Egyptian Nights'' (a.k.a. ''Une Nuit d'Egypte'' or ''Nuits égyptiennes''). Divertissement-ballet in one act. Music by

Anton Arensky Anton Stepanovich Arensky (; – ) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music. Biography Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving family in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and ha ...

. Never premiered. **revival by Mikhail Fokine. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . **revival by Mikhail Fokine as ''Cléopâtre'' for the

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 ...

. Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, 2 June 1909. *'' Sylvia''. Ballet-mythologique in three acts. Music by

Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and French opera, operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and ''Sylvia (b ...

. Staging completed by Pavel Gerdt due to Ivanov's death. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, .

References

* Goodwin, Noël, ed. Stanley Sadie, "Ballet (2. 19th Century)," ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition''. (London: MacMilian, 2001), 29 vols. .

Notes

External links

The Ballet Encyclopedia entry for Lev Ivanov.

Archive film of Alexandra Danilova performing the Sugar Plum Fairy variation from The Nutcracker after Lev Ivanov in 1952 at Jacob's Pillow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov, Lev Russian ballet Choreographers of Mariinsky Theatre Ballet masters Ballet librettists Librettists from the Russian Empire 1834 births 1901 deaths *Lev Ivanov