Nina Vladimirovna Vyroubova (; 4 June 1921 – 25 June 2007) was a Russian-born French

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 ...

, considered one of the finest of her generation.

Early life

She was born in

Gurzuf Gurzuf or Hurzuf (, , , ) is a resort town (urban-type settlement) in Yalta Municipality of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a territory recognized by a majority of countries as part of Ukraine but incorporated by Russia as the Republic of Cri ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, but 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 ...

as a child with her grandmother and widowed mother, fleeing the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

. Her first ballet teacher was her mother, followed by renowned Russian ballerinas

Olga Preobrajenska Olga Iosifovna Preobrajenska (; born Preobrazhenskaya; – 27 December 1962) was a Russian ballerina of the Russian Imperial Ballet and a ballet instructor. Biography She was born in Saint Petersburg as Olga Preobrazhenskaya (the final sy ...

Vera Trefilova Vera Trefilova () (b Vladikavkaz, 8 Oct. 1875, d Paris, 11 July 1943) was a Russian dancer and teacher. She studied at the Imperial Ballet School in St Petersburg with Ekaterina Vazem and graduated in 1894. She later studied with Evgenia Sokolo ...

and Lyubov Yegorova. In 1937, the 16-year-old Vyroubova made her debut in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

as Swanilda in the comic ballet ''

Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Éti ...

''. She performed with the Ballets Polonais (1939) and the Ballet Russe de Paris (1940). During her work in recitals staged by the French critic

Irène Lidova Irène Lidova ( Kaminskaya; 7 January 1907 – 23 May 2002) was a Russian-French dance critic, writer, presenter and producer. She worked in fashion journalism for the magazine '' Vu'' before reviewing dance for the weekly literary publication ''M ...

from 1941 to 1944, she met the French choreographer, dancer and ballet company director

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Ro ...

. When Petit formed

Les Ballets des Champs-Elysées LES or Les may refer to: People * Les (given name) * Les (surname) * L.E.S. (producer), hip hop producer Space flight * Launch Entry Suit, worn by Space Shuttle crews * Launch escape system, for spacecraft emergencies * Lincoln Experimental S ...

in 1945, his breakthrough work, ''Les Forains'', featured her. It was, however, a revival of the romantic ballet ''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' (; ) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. Bournonville's is the only ve ...

'', with new choreography by

Victor Gsovsky Victor Gsovsky (; 12 January 1902, Saint Petersburg – 14 March 1974, Hamburg) was a Russian ballet dancer, teacher, balletmaster and choreographer. Biography He studied with Mariinsky Theatre prima ballerina Evgenia Sokolova and started his tea ...

, that catapulted Vyroubova to stardom.

Career

At the age of 18, Vyroubova joined the

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...

as a 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 1949,

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 ...

made her the ''

Danseur Étoile 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 dancers ...

'' ("star dancer", equivalent to

prima 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 dancers ...

) of the

, succeeding

Yvette Chauviré Yvette Chauviré (; 22 April 1917 – 19 October 2016) was a French prima ballerina assoluta and actress. She is often described as France's greatest ballerina, and was the mentor of another pair of well-known prima ballerinas named, Sylvie Guill ...

. She was featured in his productions of ''Suite en Blanc'' (1949), ''La Dame in Dramma Per Musica'' (1950), ''

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 ...

'' (1950), ''Blanche-Neige'' (''Snow White'', as the Wicked Queen) (1951), ''Les Noces Fantastiques'' (1955), ''Hamlet'' (1957) and ''L'Amour et son destin'' (1957). In 1957, when Lifar resigned from the Paris Opera Ballet, she followed him to the

Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas Jorge Cuevas Bartholín, known as George de Cuevas (1885 – 22 February 1961), was a Chilean-born ballet impresario and choreographer who was best known for the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas that he formed in 1944. Life and career Cueva ...

touring company, where she starred in

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

’s ''

La sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (; ''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...

''. When

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

defected in 1961, she was paired with him in '' The Sleeping Beauty'' in his first post-defection performance. However, she became furious when he added some impromptu extra steps to his final solo, and she refused to speak to him for five years. After the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas disbanded in 1962, she continued to work freelance. In 1965, a role was created especially for her in the

Hamburg Ballet The Hamburg Ballet is a ballet company based in Hamburg, Germany. Since 1973, it has been directed by the American dancer and choreographer John Neumeier. In addition there is a ballet school, , established in 1978. The performances of the Hamb ...

's ''Abraxis''. After her retirement, she taught in Paris and later in

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

(1983-1988). She died in Paris at the age of 86.

Personal life

Nina Vyroubova was married three times (one of her husbands was Arkadij Kniaseff) and had a son, dancer Yura Kniazeff (born 1951, a soloist with the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca, the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

). Vyroubova appeared in a number of documentaries, including the 1996 ''Les cahiers retrouvés de Nina Vyroubova'' (''The Rediscovered Notebooks of Nina Vyroubova'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vyroubova, Nina 1921 births 2007 deaths People from Yalta Municipality Russian ballerinas French ballerinas Paris Opera Ballet étoiles 20th-century French ballet dancers 20th-century French women Soviet emigrants to France