Lubov Tchernicheva (Любовь Павловна Чернышёва; 1890–1976) was a Russian ballet dancer. She danced with 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 ...

from 1911 to 1929, and continued dancing professionally into her sixties.

Early life

Lubov Pavlovna Tchernicheva 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, ...

in 1890, and trained there at the Imperial Ballet Academy.

Career

Tchernicheva danced with the

Mariinsky 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 ...

from 1908 to 1911, and with the Ballets Russes from 1911 to 1929. She was ballet mistress of the Ballets Russes from 1926 to 1929. She created roles in '' The Good Humoured Ladies'' (1917), '' La Boutique Fantasque'' (1919), ''Pulcinella'' (1920), ''

Les Noces ''The Wedding'', or ''Svadebka (''), is a Russian-language ballet-cantata by Igor Stravinsky scored unusually for four vocal soloists, chorus, percussion and four pianos. Dedicating the work to impresario Sergei Diaghilev, the composer described ...

'' (1924), ''Les Fâcheux'' (1924), ''Zéphire et Flore'' (1925), ''Jack-in-the-Box'' (1926), ''The Triumph of Neptune'' (1926), ''Le Pas d'acier'' (1927), ''Apollon musagète'' (1928), ''The Gods Go a-Begging'' (1928), and ''Francesca da Rimini'' (1937). In 1932 she became ballet mistress of the Ballet Russe of Monte Carlo, and was active in that organization until it dissolved in 1952. She danced in a revival of Fokine's ''Thamar'' at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1935. Her last dancing role was in 1957, at age 66, as Lady Capulet in ''Romeo and Juliet'' at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

. In the 1950s, Tchernicheva and her husband produced Russian ballets in London and New York, including a 1954 revival of The Firebird starring

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 ...

and

Michael Somes Michael George Somes CBE (28 September 191718 November 1994), was an English ballet dancer. He was a principal dancer of The Royal Ballet, London, and the frequent partner of Margot Fonteyn. Early years Somes was born in Horsley, Gloucestersh ...

. The couple were jointly honored with the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award is an honour presented annually by the Royal Academy of Dance, to people who have made a significant contribution to the ballet and dance industry. The award was instituted by Dame Adeline Genee in 1953, ...

in 1966, for the services to dance. She continued teaching in England, into the 1970s.

Personal life

Tchernicheva married ballet director Serge Grigoriev in 1909. They had a son, Vsevolod, whose wife Tamara Grigorieva was also a dancer. Tchernicheva was widowed when he died in 1968. She died in 1976 in

Richmond, Surrey Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

, England, aged 85 years. Her papers are in the

Houghton Library Houghton Library, on the south side of Harvard Yard adjacent to Widener Library, Lamont Library, and Loeb House, is Harvard University's primary repository for rare books and manuscripts. It is part of the Harvard College Library, the library s ...

at Harvard University.

References

External links

*
Portrait of Lubov Tchernicheva as Cleopatra
(c. 1920) by

Laura Knight Dame Laura Knight ( Johnson; 4 August 1877 – 7 July 1970) was an English artist who worked in oils, watercolours, etching, engraving and drypoint. Knight was a painter in the figurative, realist tradition, who embraced English Impressi ...

A 1920s wooden figure of Lubov Tchernicheva
by Vera Willoughby, in the Theatre and Performance Collection,

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tchernicheva, Lubov 1890 births 1976 deaths Russian female dancers