Tania Balachova (Russian: Таня Балашова, diminutive of Татьяна Павловна Балашова atiana Pavlovna Balachova (1902-1973) was a French actress and director of Russian origin. After

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 ...

, she became one of the most influential actor training teachers in France.

Early life

Balachova was born in Saint Petersburg on February 25, 1902. Her family emigrated to Brussels, where she studied at the Royal Conservatory. It was at the conservatory that she met her future husband, the Belgian actor

Raymond Rouleau Raymond Rouleau (; 4 June 1904 – 11 December 1981) was a Belgian actor and film director. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1928 and 1979. He also directed 22 films between 1932 and 1981. Rouleau studied at the Royal Conservatory o ...

Career

Balachova and Rouleau married and moved together to Paris. There, they collaborated with Gaston Baty,

Charles Dullin Charles Dullin (; 8 May 1885 – 11 December 1949) was a French actor, theater manager and director. Career Dullin began his career as an actor in melodrama:185 In 1908, he started his first troupe with Saturnin Fabre, the ''Théâtre de Foire, ...

Louis Jouvet Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet (; 24 December 1887 – 16 August 1951) was a French actor, theatre director and filmmaker. Early life Jouvet was born in Crozon. He had a Stuttering, stutter as a young man and originally trained as a pharmac ...

Georges Pitoëff Georges Pitoëff (Russian: Георгий Питоев; 4 September 1884 – 17 September 1939) was a Russian émigré with an Armenian background who became one of the leading actors and directors in France. Early life and education Pitoëff was ...

, and

Antonin Artaud Antoine Maria Joseph Paul Artaud (; ; 4September 18964March 1948), better known as Antonin Artaud, was a French artist who worked across a variety of media. He is best known for his writings, as well as his work in the theatre and cinema. Widely ...

, among others. They separated in 1940, though they continued to work together professionally. She originated the role of Inès in Jean-Paul Sartre's ''Huis Clos'' o Exitat the Vieux-Colombier Theatre in May 1944.^:30 She went on to become one of the most influential actor-training teachers in France, training many of the next generation of theatre and cinema talent in France.

Death

She died in Bagnoles-de-l'Orne France, on 4 August 1973 of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Notable students

Niels Arestrup Niels Arestrup (; 8 February 1949 – 1 December 2024) was a French-Danish actor, film director and screenwriter. Early life and career Arestrup was born in Paris on 8 February 1949, into a family of modest means; his father was Danish and his ...

Danièle Delorme Gabrielle Danièle Marguerite Andrée Girard (9 October 1926 – 17 October 2015), known by her stage name Danièle Delorme (), was a French actress and film producer, famous for her roles in films directed by Marc Allégret, Julien Duvivier an ...

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Maurice Garrel Maurice Garrel (24 February 1923 – 4 June 2011) was a French film actor. Garrel was born in Saint-Servais, Isère. He appeared in over a hundred films and was nominated twice for a César Award for best supporting actor: in 1991 for ''La ...

Michael Lonsdale Michael Edward Lonsdale Crouch (24 May 1931 – 21 September 2020), commonly known as Michael Lonsdale and sometimes as Michel Lonsdale, was a French-British actor and author who appeared in over 180 films and television shows. He is often ...

Christian Marquand Christian Henri Marquand (15 March 1927 – 22 November 2000) was a French actor. Early life Marquand was born in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, to a Spanish father and an Arab mother. He was the brother of actor Serge Marquand and filmmaker N ...

Antoine Vitez Antoine Vitez (; 20 December 1930 – 30 April 1990) was a French actor, director, and poet. He became a central character and influence on the French theater in the post-war period, especially in the technique of teaching drama. He was also tr ...

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Selected theatre works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balachova, Tania 1902 births French stage actresses 20th-century French actresses French people of Russian descent Actresses from Saint Petersburg 1973 deaths