Vladimir Kostenko (Ukrainian, Володимир Костенко, Russian, Владимир Костенко) (June 11, 1903 – November 7, 1967) was a Ukrainian-born American

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 ...

primarily remembered for his long association with the

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

musical ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

''.

Life and career

Kostenko was born on June 11, 1903, near the city of

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(an area that is today part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). He emigrated to the U.S. in 1938. Soon after his arrival, he began performing with the

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo The company Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo (with a plural name) was formed in 1932 after the death of Sergei Diaghilev and the demise of Ballets Russes. Its director was Wassily de Basil (usually referred to as Colonel W. de Basil), and it ...

under the directorship of

Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...

. In February 1940, Kostenko married ballerina Maria Dmitrievna Korjinska (1912–1994), a native Muscovite of Yugoslavian descent, while the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was touring the American West Coast. Kostenko took over the role of Dream Jud on June 1, 1943, after George Church left the cast of ''Oklahoma!'' just two months into the musical's long run. Church had let the show’s producers know, months earlier, that he wanted to leave, but he was persuaded to stay past the show’s Broadway premier. Kostenko continued to play the part of Dream Jud on Broadway for the following six years before reprising the role in London and later in touring productions across America. During the musical’s long run Kostenko also filled in to play the part of Jess and as supervisor of ballet. His wife Maria also joined the cast of ''Oklahoma'' for its entire Broadway run and later as one of the postcard dancers. In the early 1950s, Kostenko became the director of the San Francisco Studio of Ballet Art, located in the city’s Castro district, where he influenced a number of future performers. Kostenko spent the rest of his life living in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

, becoming an American citizen in 1952 and performing demonstration ballet shows at a various civic functions. He died on November 7, 1967, in San Francisco at the age of sixty-four.California Death Index

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostenko, Vladimir Dancers from Kyiv Ukrainian male ballet dancers 1903 births 1967 deaths Ukrainian male stage actors 20th-century Ukrainian male actors 20th-century American male actors Soviet emigrants to the United States