Leyla Mahad qizi Vakilova (; 27 January 1927,

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

– 21 February 1999,

) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

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 ballet instructor.

Career

Leyla Vakilova was born in

Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent re ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(now

). She took ballet lessons at the Baku School of Choreography from prominent Azerbaijani ballerina Gamar Almaszadeh. In 1945, she left for

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 ...

to gain experience in the field of ballet at the

Moscow State Academy of Choreography The Moscow State Academy of Choreography (), commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools of ballet in the world, located in Moscow, Russia. It is the affiliate school of the Bolshoi Ballet. Found ...

. After returning to Baku in 1946, she made her first ballet performance as Tao Khoa in ''

The Red Poppy ''The Red Poppy'' () or sometimes ''The Red Flower'' () is a ballet in three acts and eight tableaux with an apotheosis, with a score written by Reinhold Glière and libretto by Mikhail Kurilko. This ballet was created in 1927 as the first Sovie ...

'' by

Reinhold Glière Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (23 June 1956), born Reinhold Ernest Glier, was a Russian and Soviet composer of German and Polish descent. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of RSFSR (1935) and People's Artist of USSR (1938). Biography ...

at the

Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre The Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater () is an opera house in Baku, Azerbaijan. Formerly known as the Mailov Theatre (), was built in 1911 by Armenian architect Nikolai Bayev.

where she worked for the next 30 years. Her early performances in Azerbaijani ballets by

Afrasiyab Badalbeyli Afrasiyab Badal bey oghlu Badalbeyli () (19 April 1907, in Baku – 6 January 1976, in Baku) was a Soviet Azerbaijani composer, with noble Iranian origins (he was the descendant of Bahman Mirza and Abbas Mirza), conductor and music critic, autho ...

Soltan Hajibeyov Soltan Ismayil oghlu Hajibeyov (5 May 1919 – 19 September 1974) was an Azerbaijani and Soviet composer. He was awarded the People's Artist of the USSR on 26 July 1973.

Gara Garayev Gara Abulfaz oghlu Garayev (February 5, 1918May 13, 1982) was a prominent Soviet Azerbaijani composer. Garayev wrote nearly 110 musical pieces,Azad Sharifov"Remembering Gara Garayev: A Legend in His Own Time - 80th Jubilee" in Azerbaijan Inter ...

, Fikrat Amirov and

Arif Malikov Arif Malikov (also Melikov; Baku, 13 September 1933 – Baku, 9 May 2019) was an Azerbaijani composer. He graduated from the Baku Conservatory as a music composer in 1958. He shot to fame in 1961 when his first major composition " Legend of Lov ...

brought her great fame, which was recognized by the awarding of the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

to her. In 1967, Vakilova was granted the title of the

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

. She also became head of the Azerbaijan State Song and Dance Ensemble founded by her teacher Gamar Almaszadeh. From 1953, she taught ballet at the Baku School of Choreography. In 1972, at the age of 45, Leyla Vakilova retired from ballet, even though she continued her teaching career at the School of Choreography until she died in 1999.Leader of the National Ballet
by Tarana Maharramova. ''Kaspi''. February 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vakilova, Leyla Azerbaijani ballerinas Azerbaijani ballet masters Ballet teachers Azerbaijani choreographers 20th-century Azerbaijani educators Women choreographers 20th-century women educators 1927 births 1999 deaths Dancers from Baku People's Artists of the USSR People's Artistes of the Azerbaijan SSR Soviet Azerbaijani people

Career

See also

References