Victor Gsovsky (; 12 January 1902,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

– 14 March 1974,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

) was a Russian ballet dancer, teacher, balletmaster and choreographer.

Biography

He studied with

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

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 ...

Evgenia Sokolova and started his teaching career while still very young.ru: The ballet encyclopedia (Источник: Балет. Энциклопедия, СЭ, 1981)
/ref>
/ref>Oxford Dictionary of Dance: Victor Gsovsky
/ref>
/ref> In 1925 Victor Gsovsky left Soviet Russia with his wife

Tatjana Gsovsky Tatjana Gsovsky (/''Tatjana Wassiljewna Gsowskaja'', born Issatschenko ; 18 March 1901 – 29 September 1993) was an internationally known ballet dancer and choreographer who was ballet mistress of the Berlin State Opera, Teatro Colón, Deutsche ...

, whom he had met in Krasnodar. Their first engagement was in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, where he worked as dancer and choreographer at the

Berlin State Opera The Staatsoper Unter den Linden ( State Opera under the Lime Trees), also known as the Berlin State Opera (), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of P ...

(1925–1928) before opening a private school in 1928. From 1930 to 1933 he worked as a choreographer for the German UFA Film Company and undertook smaller tours with his wife and the ''Ballet Gsovsky''. From 1937 he was ballet master of the Markova-Dolin company; in 1938 he began teaching in Paris and in 1945 was appointed ballet master of 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 ...

. In 1946–1947 he was ballet master with the Ballets des Champs-Élysées and again in 1948 and 1953; with the Metropolitan Ballet in London in 1947. From 1950 to 1952 he was ballet director of the

Munich State Opera The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...

. After leaving Munich he worked as a choreographer and ballet master in several European locations. He was ballet master in Düsseldorf (1964–1967) and at the Hamburg State Opera (1967–1970). He staged the first post-war production of La Sylphide for the Ballets des Champs-Élysées in 1946. His best-known work by far is the Grand Pas Classique (mus. Auber, 1949), which is still performed in galas around the world. An influential teacher, his students included

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 ...

Nina Vyroubova Nina Vladimirovna Vyroubova (; 4 June 1921 – 25 June 2007) was a Russian-born French ballerina, considered one of the finest of her generation. Early life She was born in Gurzuf, Crimea, but moved to Paris as a child with her grandmother and ...

Colette Marchand Colette Janine Marchand (29 April 1925 – 5 June 2015) was a French prima ballerina and actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1952 for her performance as Marie Charlet in ''Moulin Rouge'', directed by J ...

Violette Verdy Violette Verdy (born Nelly Armande Guillerm; 1 December 1933 – 8 February 2016) was a French ballerina, choreographer, teacher, and writer who worked as a dance company director with the Paris Opera Ballet in France and the Boston Ballet in the ...

, and

Vera Zorina Vera Zorina (January 2, 1917 – April 9, 2003), born Eva Brigitta Hartwig, was a German-Norwegian ballerina, theatre and film actress, and choreographer, chiefly remembered for her films choreographed by her husband George Balanchine. They ...

Works

Victor Gsovsky's choreography includes: * ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

Act II'',

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

, 1945 * ''Grand Pas Classique'' to the ballet music from Daniel Auber's two-act opera ''Le Dieu et La Bayadere'', 1830, created for

and Vladimir Skouratoff in Paris, 1949Wladimir Skouratoff: Sa carrière comme danseur étoile
/ref> * ''Masquerade'', music by

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', w ...

–

Felix Weingartner Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian Conducting, conductor, composer and pianist. Life and career Weingartner was born in Zadar, Zara, Kingdom of Dalmatia, Dalmatia, Austrian Empire (now ...

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

, 1946–1948 (exact date is unknown) * ''

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 ...

'',

, Paris, France, 1948 * ''Hamlet'', music by

Boris Blacher Boris Blacher (30 January 1975) was a German composer and librettist. Life Blacher was born when his parents (of German-Estonian and Russian backgrounds) were living within a Russian-speaking community in the Manchurian town of Niuzhuang () (h ...

(with

, Germany, 1950) * ''Weg zum Licht'', music by

Georges Auric Georges Auric (; 15 February 1899 – 23 July 1983) was a French composer, born in Lodève, Hérault, France. He was considered one of ''Les Six'', a group of artists informally associated with Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie. Before he turned 20 h ...

(1952,

Prinzregententheater The Prinzregententheater, or, as it was called in its first decades, the Prinz-Regenten-Theater, in English the Prince Regent Theatre, is a concert hall and opera house on Prinzregentenplatz in the Bavarian capital of Munich, Germany. Building ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

) * ''Pas de cœur'', music by

Gottfried von Einem Gottfried von Einem (24 January 1918 – 12 July 1996) was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ. Bio ...

(1952,

) Many dancing revues and divertissements.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gsovsky, Victor 1902 births 1974 deaths Ballets Russes dancers Dancers from Saint Petersburg White Russian emigrants to Germany Russian ballet choreographers Male ballet dancers from the Russian Empire Choreographers from the Russian Empire German male ballet dancers German choreographers French choreographers Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany 20th-century German ballet dancers