Mia Slavenska, née Čorak (20 February 1916 – 5 October 2002) was a Croatian-American soloist of the Russian Ballet of
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
in 1938–1952 and 1954–1955.
Biography
Mia was born in Slavonski Brod in the Croatian family of the pharmacist Milan Čorak and his wife, housewife Gedwiga Čorak. When their daughter was one year old, the family moved to
Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
. There Mia studied ballet at the "
Josephine Weiss school" and the Russian émigré, ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater and
Diaghilev's Russian Seasons Margarita Frohman. Taking the stage from the age of five, at the age of sixteen she became the
prima ballerina of the ballet troupe of the HNK in Zagreb. For some time she studied in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
with Leo Dubois. Due to the royalist dictatorship of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia under a Serbian monarchy, she was banned from performing in her native Croatia which prompted her and her mother to relocate to Berlin in 1935. One year later, she would perform to great acclaim at the 1936 Berlin Dance Olympics. Her mother enrolled her under a new pseudoyn, Mia Slavenska, where the Croatian dancers were legally bound to perform under the banner of Yugoslavia. Despite the prestige of winning the event, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia continued to refuse her to dance in her Croatian homeland.
Having moved to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in 1937, in the same year she starred in two films - with
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 ...
in "Nights of Fire" and with
Jean Benoit-Levy and
Marie Epstein in "
The Dying Swan".
She studied with
Bronislava Nijinska and other Russian teachers. In 1938 she entered the
Russian Ballet of Monte Carlo. Together with
ballerinas
Markova,
Danilova and
Tumanova she was the leading ballerina of the troupe.
In 1944, she organized her own troupe Ballet Variante in
Hollywood, which existed for some time. In the early 1950s (1952 ), when the Monte Carlo Ballet ceased operations, together with
Frederic Franklin organized the Slavenska Franklin Ballet Company, which existed for three years and closed for economic reasons. Their most significant production was the ballet A Streetcar Named Desire, based on the play of the same name by
Tennessee Williams (1952, choreographer
Valerie Bettis, Her Majesty's Theater, Montreal), in which Mia played the role of Blanche Dubois.
After Franklin, at the request of the impresario
Serge Denhem, reassembled the troupe of the Russian Ballets, she danced there for a while, until Denhem began to vigorously promote Nina Novak. In the second half of the 1950s she danced at the London Festival Ballet with
Anton Dolin and
Alicia Markova.
Among the partners were
Oleg Tupin,
Frederic Franklin and
Milorad Mišković, with whom she was a famous ballet couple of that time.
Mia Čorak was married to Dr. K. Neumann. She died in Los Angeles on 5 October 2002.
Her cremated ashes are interred at the
Mirogoj Cemetery in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
. Video footage of the Roman Catholic procession for her funeral can be seen in the documentary created by her daughter titled "Mia: A Dancer's Journey".
Pedagogical activity
In 1938, while the Russian Ballet of Monte Carlo was touring
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, she opened her own ballet studio in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. There, among her students were sisters Maria and Marjorie Tallchief. After the war (since 1960) she had a small studio in
New York, where
Lucinda Childs was among her students. The latter called Slavenska “a wonderful teacher of the Russian school”, who “dealt with us seriously, was strict and demanded that we exactly follow her instructions”. After moving to Los Angeles, she taught at the University of California (1969-1983) and at the private higher learning visual and performing arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...
(1970-1984).
She also directed the Texas Fort Worth Civic Ballet for three years.
Ballet career
A dancer since the age of four, she studied in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
under Josephine Weiss and made her debut in Baranović's ballet ''Licitarsko srce'' in 1924, at what is today the
Croatian National Theatre. She became the prima ballerina of the Zagreb Opera at the age of 17. At the 1936 Berlin dance Olympics, coinciding with the Olympic games, she won the choreography and dance award. She left Zagreb for
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, where she danced under L. Dubois, G. Krauss and L. von Weiden; and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
under
Lubov Egorova,
Mathilde Kschessinska and
Olga Preobrajenska.
For many years she was the leading ballerina of the famous
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and with whom she moved to U.S. in the outset of the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In France she started working on film. After appearing in Jean Benoit-Levy's film ''
Ballerina'' (1937) and promoting it in the U.S., she remained there as a teacher and dancer. She became an American citizen in 1947.
Mia Slavenska. A dancer with dramatic ability, she was also a favourite teacher
// ''The Guardian'', 12 декабря 2002
See also
* Nuits de feu (1937)
References
External links
Mia Slavenska
November 18, 1939, of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in '' Giselle''
Bila je lijepa, divlja, superstar. A umalo smo je zaboravili
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slavenska, Mia
1916 births
2002 deaths
Croatian ballerinas
American people of Croatian descent
Prima ballerinas
Ballets Russes dancers
People from Slavonski Brod
Yugoslav emigrants to the United States
Naturalized citizens of the United States