''Prima ballerina assoluta'' is a title awarded to the most notable of female

ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), 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. B ...

s. To be recognised as a ''prima ballerina assoluta'' is a rare honour, traditionally reserved for the most exceptional dancers of their generation. Originally inspired by the Italian ballet masters of the early

Romantic ballet The Romantic ballet is defined primarily by an era in ballet in which the ideas of Romanticism in art and literature influenced the creation of ballets. The era occurred during the early to mid 19th century primarily at the Théâtre de l'Acadé ...

and literally meaning 'absolute first ballerina', the title was bestowed on

prima ballerinas A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), 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. B ...

who were considered exceptionally talented, performing to a higher standard than other leading ballerinas. The title is rarely applied to dancers today. Recent titles have been awarded symbolically (though no less well-deservedly). Reasons for granting have included public recognition and praise for a prestigious international career, and/or for giving 'exceptional service' to their ballet company. Currently, no universal procedure or common criteria exists for ballet companies to determine whether to grant this title to a dancer. This has led to disputes & conflict amongst those in the ballet community concerning what standards are required to legitimately claim the 'assoluta' moniker. Usually, ballet companies are responsible for determining to grant, then bestow, the 'assoluta' title. In some cases, however, the title is sanctioned or awarded by a government or head of state, thus giving it official status. Unfortunately, some of these awards are used as a political tool rather than being awarded for legitimate artistic achievement. It is also possible (but rare) for a dancer to be awarded 'prima ballerina assoluta' status as a result of prevailing public and critical opinion.

History

The first recorded use of the title as a company rank was in 1894, when French

ballet master A ballet master (also balletmaster, ballet mistress, ''premier maître de ballet'' or ''premier maître de ballet en chef'') is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In mo ...

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (; born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa; 11 March 1818) was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. He is considered one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history ...

bestowed it on

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

ballerina

Pierina Legnani Pierina Legnani (30 September 1863 – 15 November 1930) was an Italian ballerina considered one of the greatest ballerinas of all time. Biography Legnani was born in 1863, in Milan and originally studied with famous ballet dancer Caterina B ...

. He considered her to be the supreme leading ballerina in all of Europe. The second ballerina to be given the title was Legnani's contemporary Mathilde Kschessinska, in 1895. Petipa, however, did not agree that she should hold such a title; although an extraordinary ballerina, he felt that she obtained the title primarily via her connections with the

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

n court, as she had an affair with

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

, as well as two other

Romanov The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russi ...

s ( Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich and her future husband Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich). Legnani's heir in the Italian ballet tradition,

Attilia Radice Attilia Radice (1914–1980) was an Italian ballerina at La Scala in Milan. She is remembered above all for the roles she created at the Rome Opera. Biography Radice studied ballet at the La Scala Theatre Ballet School under Enrico Cecchetti unt ...

trained with Enrico Cecchetti 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 Milan where she became a leading dancer and was appointed ''prima ballerina assoluta'' at

Teatro dell'Opera di Roma The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Rome Opera House) is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat ''Costanzi Theatre'', it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements. The pres ...

in 1935. The only

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 ...

ballerinas to hold the title were

Galina Ulanova Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova (, ; 21 March 1998) was a Russian ballet dancer. She is frequently cited as being one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. Biography Ulanova was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Both parents were the so ...

, acclaimed as ''prima ballerina assoluta'' in 1944, and

Maya Plisetskaya Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya (; 20 November 1925 – 2 May 2015) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer, ballet director, and actress. In post-Soviet times, she held both Lithuanian and Spanish citizenship.

in 1960. The Swiss-born American

Eva Evdokimova Eva Maria Evdokimova-Gregori (December 1, 1948 – April 3, 2009) was an American ''Prima Ballerina Assoluta'' with the Royal Danish, Berlin Opera Ballets, English National Ballet and guest artist with virtually every major ballet company wor ...

became recognised as a ''prima ballerina assoluta'' following guest appearances with the

Kirov 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 ...

in the 1970s, when she was named as such by the company ballet mistress,

Natalia Dudinskaya Natalia Mikhailovna Dudinskaya (29 January 2003) was a Soviet prima ballerina who dominated the Kirov Ballet from the 1930s to the 1950s. Dudinskaya was born on , in Kharkiv. Her mother was , a Ukrainian and Russian ballerina who had been coa ...

. The title was later recognised by a vote of the

Senate of Berlin The Senate of Berlin (; unofficially: ) is the executive body governing the city of Berlin, which at the same time is a state of Germany. According to the Constitution of Berlin the Senate consists of the Governing Mayor of Berlin and up to ten ...

. Other dancers awarded the title include

Anneli Alhanko Anneli Elisabeth Alhanko Skoglund (born 11 December 1953 in Bogotá, Colombia) is a Swedish ballet dancer and actress. She is the daughter of the Finnish consul Erkki Alhanko, who was stationed in Colombia when she was born. From 1971 to 1997 ...

from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

(in 1984),

Alicia Alonso Alicia Alonso (born Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez del Hoyo; 21 December 1920 – 17 October 2019) was a Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer whose company became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955. She is bes ...

from

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Alessandra Ferri Alessandra Ferri OMRI (born 6 May 1963) is an Italian prima ballerina. She danced with the Royal Ballet (1980–1984), American Ballet Theatre (1985–2007) and La Scala Theatre Ballet (1992–2007) and as an international guest artist, before ...

from Italy (in 1992), and

Alicia Markova Dame Alicia Markova Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE (1 December 1910 – 2 December 2004) was a British ballerina and a Choreography (dance), choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her ...

and

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 ...

(in 1979), both from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The only French dancer to hold the title is

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 ...

.''Yvette Chauviré France's Prima Ballerina Assoluta''
Amazon.com. Though the U.S. has no process for designation of the title,

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 ...

referred to the American ballerina

Cynthia Gregory Cynthia Kathleen Gregory (born July 8, 1946) is an American former prima ballerina. Career Born in Los Angeles, Gregory took up dancing when she was five, with the encouragement of her parents, who hoped exercise would stem her history of childho ...

of the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

as the nation's ''prima ballerina assoluta''; however this has never been formally acknowledged. Another not to hold the title is

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova. (born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova; – 23 January 1931) was a Russian prima ballerina. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, but is most recognized for creating ...

, one of the best known ballerinas in history. In

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, the only ballerina granted the title ''prima ballerina assoluta'' (in 1984) was Phyllis Spira (1943–2008).Amanda Botha, ''Phyllis Spira: A Tribute'' (Cape Town: Human & Rousseau, 1988), p. 1.

Honorees

Gallery

File:Cinderella -title role -Pierina Legnani -1893.jpg, Pierina Legnani, in 1893. File:Talisman -Mathilde Kschessinska -Niriti -1909 -4.JPG, Matylda Krzesińska, in 1909. File:Guido Lauri e Attilia Radice.JPG, Attilia Radice, 1950s (photo with Guido Lauri). File:Dudko&Ulanova.jpg, Galina Ulanova, in 1923 (with Mikhail Dudko). File:Portrait of Alicia Markova, "The Dying Swan" LCCN2004663270.jpg, Alicia Markova, in 1948. File:Maya Plisetskaya-Romeo and Juliet-1961.jpg, Maya Plisetskaya, in 1961. File:Anneli Alhanko 2014-02-07.jpg, Anneli Alhanko, 2014. File:Alicia Alonso 1955.jpg, Alicia Alonso, in 1955. File:Margot Fonteyn Cinderella 1957.jpg, Margot Fonteyn, in 1957. File:Mikhail Baryshnikov and Alessandra Ferri.jpg, Alessandra Ferri, 1986 (with

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; ; born January 27, 1948) is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male ...

References

{{Ballet Ballet occupations Prima ballerina assoluta

History

Honorees

Gallery

See also

References