Lubov Nikolayevna Yegorova (; – 18 August 1972) was a Russian ballerina who danced with the

Imperial Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet () is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's ...

and 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 ...

Life and career

Lubov Yegorova was born in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, Russia. She studied ballet at the Imperial Theatre School in St. Petersburg with Ekaterina Vazem, Enrico Cecchetti and Anna Johansson. After graduating in 1898, she started work as a coryphée in the

at Maryinsky Theatre and became a

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 ...

in 1914. A role as Myrtha in ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' ( , ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet () in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first perfor ...

'' brought her to the attention of

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 ...

who cast her in the role of Princess Florine in '' The Sleeping Beauty'' in 1918, where she danced with

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 ...

. She also went on to dance other roles with the

. Yegorova's farewell performance in 1917 at the Maryinsky Theatre was 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 ...

''. However, she continued to dance, and in 1921 she interpreted the role of Aurora in Diaghilev's ''Sleeping Princess'' production in London. After retiring from the stage, she taught as head of the Ballet Russe school in Paris from 1923 to 1968, and founded the company in 1937. She received the Chevalier de l'Ordre des arts et lettres in 1964. Notable students included

Serge Lifar Serge Lifar (, ''Serhіy Mуkhailovуch Lуfar'') ( 15 December 1986) was a Ukrainian dancer, choreographer, and one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the 20th century. Lifar was also a choreographer, director, writer, theoretician abou ...

, Anton Dolin, Ethery Pagava, Yvonne Mounsey,

Catherine Littlefield Catherine Littlefield (September 16, 1905November 19, 1951) was an American ballet dancer, choreographer, ballet teacher, and director. She founded the Philadelphia Ballet (originally the Littlefield Ballet) in Philadelphia in 1935. It was the fi ...

, and

Zelda Fitzgerald Zelda Fitzgerald (; July 24, 1900 – March 10, 1948) was an American novelist, painter, and socialite. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, to a wealthy Southern family, she became locally famous for her beauty and high spirits. In 1920, she marri ...

, who described studying under "Madame" in 1925, in her novel '' Save Me the Waltz''. Another of her students was Lucia Joyce, daughter of the Irish writer

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

.Lucia Joyce - To Dance in the Wake by Carol Loeb Schloss.

Personal life

In November 1917, Yegorova married Prince Nikita Sergeievitch Trubetzkoy (1877–1963), whose father was Director of the Hermitage Museum. Having lost her fortune through mismanagement, she died in a nursing home in Paris in 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yegorova, Lubov 1880 births 1972 deaths 19th-century women from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian ballet dancers Ballets Russes dancers Dancers from Saint Petersburg Mariinsky Ballet dancers Russian princesses by marriage Russian prima ballerinas Ballerinas from the Russian Empire White Russian emigrants to France Trubetskoy family