Ballet men are famous. The most famous ballerinas

They are airy, slender, light. Their dance is unique. Who are these outstanding ballerinas of our century.

Agrippina Vaganova (1879-1951)

One of the most important years in the history of Russian ballet is 1738. Thanks to the proposal of the French dance master Jean-Baptiste Lande and the approval of Peter I, the first ballet dance school in Russia was opened in St. Petersburg, which exists to this day and is called the Academy of Russian Ballet. AND I. Vaganova. It was Agrippina Vaganova who systematized the traditions of classical imperial ballet in Soviet times. In 1957, her name was given to the Leningrad Choreographic School.

Maya Plisetskaya (1925)

An outstanding dancer of the second half of the 20th century, who entered the history of ballet with her phenomenal creative longevity, Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya was born on November 20, 1925 in Moscow.

In June 1934, Maya entered the Moscow Choreographic School, where she successively studied with teachers E. I. Dolinskaya, E. P. Gerdt, M. M. Leontieva, but considers Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova, whom she met already at the Bolshoi Theater, to be her best teacher. , where she was admitted on April 1, 1943.

Mayai Plisetskaya is a symbol of Russian ballet. She performed one of her main parts of Odette-Odile from Swan Lake on April 27, 1947. It was this ballet by Tchaikovsky that became the core of her biography.

Matilda Kshesinskaya (1872-1971)

Born in the family of a dancer F. I. Kshesinsky, a Pole by nationality. In 1890 she graduated from the ballet department of the St. Petersburg Theater School. In 1890-1917 she danced at the Mariinsky Theatre. She became famous in the roles of Aurora ("Sleeping Beauty", 1893), Esmeralda (1899), Teresa ("Cavalry Halt"), etc. Her dance was distinguished by bright artistry and cheerfulness. In the early 1900s she was a member of M. M. Fokine’s ballets: Evnika, Chopiniana, Eros, in 1911-1912 she performed in the Diaghilev Russian Ballet troupe.

Anna Pavlova (1881-1931)

Born in St. Petersburg. After graduating from the St. Petersburg Theater School, in 1899 she was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. She danced roles in the classical ballets The Nutcracker, The Little Humpbacked Horse, Raymonda, La Bayadère, Giselle. Natural data and constant improvement of performing skills helped Pavlova to advance in 1906 to the leading dancers of the troupe.
Collaboration with innovative ballet masters A. Gorsky and, especially, M. Fokin had a huge impact on the identification of new opportunities in Pavlova's performing style. Pavlova performed the main roles in Fokine's ballets Chopiniana, The Pavilion of Armida, Egyptian Nights, and others. ”), which later became a poetic symbol of Russian ballet of the 20th century.

Svetlana Zakharova (1979)

Svetlana Zakharova was born in Lutsk, Ukraine on June 10, 1979. At the age of six, her mother took her to a choreographic circle, where Svetlana was engaged in folk dancing. At the age of ten, she entered the Kiev Choreographic School.

After studying for four months, Zakharova left the school, as her family moved to East Germany in accordance with the new appointment of her father, a military man. Returning six months later to Ukraine, Zakharova again passed the exams at the Kiev Choreographic School and was accepted immediately into the second grade. At the Kiev School, she studied mainly with Valeria Sulegina.

Svetlana performs in many megacities of the world. In April 2008, she was recognized as the star of Milan's famous theater La Scala.

Galina Ulanova (1909-1998)

Galina Sergeevna Ulanova was born in St. Petersburg on January 08, 1910 (December 26, 1909 according to the old style), in a family of ballet masters.

In 1928, Ulanova graduated from the Leningrad Choreographic School. Pretty soon she joined the troupe of the Leningrad State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater (now the Mariinsky).

Beloved Mariinsky Ulanova had to leave during the years of the siege of Leningrad. During the Great Patriotic War, Ulanova danced in the theaters of Perm, Alma-Ata, Sverdlovsk, performing in hospitals in front of the wounded. In 1944 Galina Sergeevna moves to the Bolshoi Theater, where she has periodically performed since 1934.

The real achievement of Galina was the image of Juliet in Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet. Her best dances are also the role of Masha from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, Maria from The Fountain of Bakhchisaray and Giselle Adam.

Tamara Karsavina (1885-1978)

Born in St. Petersburg in the family of the dancer of the Mariinsky Theater Platon Karsavin, grand-niece of Alexei Khomyakov, a prominent philosopher and writer of the 1st half of the 19th century, sister of the philosopher Lev Karsavin.

She studied with A. Gorsky at the Peturburg Theater School, from which she graduated in 1902. While still a pupil, she performed the solo part of Cupid at the premiere of the ballet Don Quixote directed by Gorsky.

She began her ballet activity during the crisis of academicism and the search for a way out of it. Admirers of academic ballet found many flaws in Karsavina's performance. The ballerina improved her performing skills with the best Russian and Italian teachers
The remarkable gift of Karsavina manifested itself in the work on the productions of M. Fokine. Karsavina was the ancestor of fundamentally new trends in the art of ballet at the beginning of the 20th century, later called "intellectual art".

The talented Karsavina quickly achieved the status of a prima ballerina. She performed leading roles in the ballets Carnival, Giselle, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker and many others.

Ulyana Lopatkina (1973)

Ulyana Vyacheslavna Lopatkina was born in Kerch (Ukraine) on October 23, 1973. As a child, she studied in dance circles and in the gymnastics section. At the initiative of her mother, she entered the Academy of Russian Ballet. AND I. Vaganova in Leningrad.

In 1990, as a student, Lopatkina participated in the Second All-Russian Competition. AND I. Vaganova for students of choreographic schools and received the first prize.

In 1995, Ulyana became a prima ballerina. Her track record includes the best roles in classical and modern productions.

Ekaterina Maksimova (1931-2009)

Born in Moscow on February 1, 1939. From childhood, little Katya dreamed of dancing and at the age of ten she entered the Moscow Choreographic School. In the seventh grade, she danced her first role - Masha in The Nutcracker. After college, she entered the service at the Bolshoi Theater, and immediately, practically bypassing the corps de ballet, she began to dance solo parts.

Of particular importance in the work of Maximova was participation in television ballets, which revealed a new quality of her talent - a comedic talent.

Since 1990, Maksimova has been a teacher-repetiteur of the Kremlin Ballet Theatre. Since 1998, he has been a choreographer-repetiteur of the Bolshoi Theatre.

Natalya Dudinskaya (1912-2003)

She was born on August 8, 1912 in Kharkov.
In 1923-1931 she studied at the Leningrad Choreographic School (a student of A.Ya. Vaganova).
In 1931-1962 she was the leading dancer of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theatre. CM. Kirov. She performed the main roles in the ballets Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky, Cinderella by Prokofiev, Raymonda by Glazunov, Giselle by Adam and others.

We admire the craftsmanship of these brilliant ballerinas. They made a huge contribution to the development of Russian ballet!

Ballet is called an integral part of the art of our country. Russian ballet is considered the most authoritative in the world, the standard. This review contains the success stories of five great Russian ballerinas, whom they still look up to.

Anna Pavlova

Curiously, the aspiring ballerina was not put into the corps de ballet, but immediately began to give her responsible roles in productions. Anna Pavlova danced under the guidance of several choreographers, but the most successful and fruitful tandem, which had a fundamental influence on her style of performance, turned out with Mikhail Fokin.

Galina Ulanova

After graduating from the choreographic college in 1928, Ulanova was accepted into the ballet troupe of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theatre. From the very first performances, the young ballerina attracted the attention of viewers and critics. A year later, Ulanova was entrusted to perform the leading part of Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. Giselle is considered one of the triumphant roles of the ballerina. Performing the scene of the heroine's madness, Galina Ulanova did it so soulfully and selflessly that even the men in the hall could not hold back their tears.

Galina Ulanova danced on stage until the age of 50. She has always been strict and demanding of herself. Even in old age, the ballerina started every morning with classes and weighed 49 kg.

Olga Lepeshinskaya

Olga Lepeshinskaya easily coped both with the classics of ballet ("Swan Lake", "Sleeping Beauty"), and with modern productions ("The Red Poppy", "The Flame of Paris".) During the Great Patriotic War, Lepeshinskaya fearlessly performed at the front, raising her combat soldier spirit.

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Olga Lepeshinskaya -
ballerina with passionate temperament. | Photo: www.etoretro.ru.

Maya Plisetskaya

Aunt Plisetskaya was a Bolshoi ballerina, so Maya also began attending choreography classes. The girl achieved great success in this field and after graduating from college she was accepted into the troupe of the Bolshoi Theater.

After the ballerina was fired from the Bolshoi Theater in 1990, she did not despair and continued to give solo performances. Overflowing energy, and allowed Plisetskaya to make her debut in the production of "Ave Maya" on the day of her 70th birthday.

Ludmila Semenyaka

Semenyaka coped with any part so naturally and naturally that from the outside it seemed as if she was not making any effort, but simply enjoying the dance. In 1976, Lyudmila Ivanovna was awarded the Anna Pavlova Prize from the Paris Academy of Dance.

But he mastered the art of ballet in Russia, and performed in the USA for most of his life.

On April 18, the famous dancer, choreographer, choreographer, theater director and actor, teacher and People's Artist of the USSR Vladimir Vasilyev will celebrate his 75th birthday. Created by Yuri Grigorovich specifically for Vasiliev, the part of Spartacus became a symbol of the national ballet of the Bolshoi Theater in the second half of the 20th century. “At the age of 28, he made a role that immediately got into that chosen series of general cultural and timeless significance, where Anna Pavlova’s Swan, Galina Ulanova’s Juliet, Maya Plisetskaya’s Carmen,” wrote Asaf Messerer, ballet dancer, choreographer and uncle of the unsurpassed Maya Plisetskaya .

Back in the chreographic school, a unique duet of Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maksimova was formed -

his wife and constant partner, a ballerina, for whom he created ballets, concert numbers and films. This duet has been repeatedly recognized as "golden", "the best in the world", called "a legend of the 20th century". But does everyone remember that, in addition to television recordings of ballet performances in which Vasilyev participated, such as Spartacus, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, Stone Flower, Cinderella, there were in his biography and art paintings , ballet films? These are "The Tale of the Humpbacked Horse", "Spartacus", "Gigolo and Gigoletta". Since 1971, Vasiliev acted as a choreographer, staged a number of ballets on the Soviet and foreign stages, as well as the television ballets Anyuta and House by the Road to the music of V. A. Gavrilin. In the film "Fuete" Vladimir Vasilyev acted both as a choreographer and as a co-director. Well, the great Franco Zeffirelli himself invited Vasilyev and Maksimova to the film version of La Traviata!

Mikhail Baryshnikov

But to another famous dancer, one of the most famous representatives of male dance in the 20th century, born in the USSR - Mikhail Baryshnikov - Joseph Brodsky himself dedicated several poems: "Classical ballet is a castle of beauty ..." and "We used to water the lawn from a watering can ...". Baryshnikov's name is even mentioned in the book Needful Things by Stephen King.

In the cinema, Mikhail Nikolayevich had a chance to play several roles. But in his biography there is an interesting story connected with the TV play "Fiesta", staged by Sergei Yuryevich Yursky, based on the novel "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway. When Baryshnikov made his debut on the stage of the Kirov Theatre,

It turned out that the scene had not seen such a dancer for a long time. In the city they started talking about the fact that this young student, in his talent, is perhaps equal to Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev. And Sergei Yursky took an unexpected step - he invited the ballet dancer to the dramatic role of the Matador in his performance "Fiesta". How can a dramatic artist prove that he is a bullfighter? Of course, here the question is, first of all, in plastic. Ballet actor - what was needed. It was Baryshnikov who could best play the real Spain. But in 1974, Mikhail Baryshnikov did not return from a tour in Canada and became a defector. As it was then supposed, everything connected with his name had to be destroyed. In particular, there was also a film with a recording of the play "Fiesta", but on the Leningrad television, the editor Elena Nisimova hid the film, thanks to which the recording was preserved in the archive.

And abroad, Mikhail Baryshnikov played in several films, such as White Nights, Jack Ryan: Chaos Theory. He was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in the film Turning Point. The film was presented with eleven nominations for the award, but did not receive a single one. In one of the scenes of this picture, Mikhail Baryshnikov performs Vladimir Vysotsky's song "Crystal House". The dancer also starred in the last episodes of the last season of the Sex and the City series as Carrie Bradshaw's next lover, Russian artist Alexander Petrovsky. Immediately after their plot acquaintance, Petrovsky invites the journalist to the Russian Samovar restaurant in New York, which, by the way, Baryshnikov is the owner of.

Maya Plisetskaya

A whole era in our art, an outstanding personality, a brilliant ballerina, a talented actress and an interesting woman - this is all about Maya Plisetskaya. She is always up to date. And during her active creative life, ballerinas, and now - the standard in everything. It is Maya Mikhailovna who personifies Russian ballet for many. And it is difficult to find a person in the world who does not know this name. Otherwise, an asteroid would not have been named after Plisetskaya, and the Moscow musical rock band Klyuchevaya would not have composed a song called Maya Plisetskaya, which became a hit and the group’s hallmark for many years. And there is no more symbolic name, inextricably linked with ballet and choreography. And even cinematography.

For the first time on the movie screen, the famous ballerina appeared in 1951 in the film by Vera Stroeva "The Big Concert". And then, of course, there were shootings in the ballet films Swan Lake and The Tale of the Little Humpbacked Horse. The prima of the Bolshoi Theater was invited to the film-opera Khovanshchina. She took an active part in the television adaptation of the ballets Bolero and Isadora, The Seagull and The Lady with the Dog. In 1974 Maya Plisetskaya and soloist of the Bolshoi Theater Alexander Bogatyrev starred for television in the number "Nocturne" to the music of F. Chopin, from the ballet "In the Night" by the outstanding American choreographer Jerome Robbins.

In the very famous adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina, directed by Alexander Zarkhi in 1967, Maya Plisetskaya played the role of Betsy. Then Maya Plisetskaya starred as the singer Desiree in the film "Tchaikovsky" directed by Igor Talankin. In 1976, director Anatoly Efros invited the ballet star to the television film "Fantasy" based on Ivan Turgenev's story "Spring Waters". The ballerina brilliantly played the role of Polozova. The action of the picture was "commented" by choreographic duets staged by choreographer Valentin Elizariev. And the director Jonas Vaitkus in 1985 called her to his film "Zodiac", where Maya Mikhailovna played the muse of Mikalojus-Konstantinas Čiurlionis. In addition, the prima of the Bolshoi Theater starred in many documentaries.

Galina Ulanova

And, of course, one cannot recall the “goddess of dance” Galina Ulanova. Until now, the phenomenon of the ballerina's talent remains a mystery. She received almost all the awards that existed in the USSR, as well as awards from other countries. Among the unofficial awards are various titles awarded to her by critics and viewers:

"the soul of Russian ballet", "an ordinary goddess". And the composer Sergei Sergeevich Prokofiev called Galina Sergeevna "the genius of Russian ballet, his elusive soul and his inspired poetry." In her dance there was always reticence, understatement, detachment and deepening into herself. Ulanova was the same in life - she rarely appeared in public, she kept herself closed.

After finishing her ballet career, she began working as a teacher. Over the years, she studied with such famous dancers as Ekaterina Maksimova and Vladimir Vasiliev, Lyudmila Semenyaka, Nikolai Tsiskaridze and many others. During her career, she starred in six films, most of which were documentaries: Ballet Soloist, Masters of the Russian Ballet, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle and documentaries.

The dance style of this ballerina cannot be confused with anyone else. A clear, carefully honed gesture, measured movement around the stage, extreme laconism of costumes and movements - these are the features that immediately distinguish M. Plisetskaya.

After graduating from the Moscow Choreographic School, where Plisetskaya studied with teachers E. P. Gerdt and M. M. Leontieva, from 1943 she worked at the Bolshoi Theater. From the very beginning of her career, Plisetskaya's special artistic individuality manifested itself. Her work is distinguished by a rare combination of purity of line with imperious expression and rebellious dynamics of dance. And her excellent external data - a big step, a high, light jump, swift rotations, unusually flexible, expressive hands and the finest musicality - once again confirm that Plisetskaya not only became a ballerina, but was born one.

Anna Pavlovna Pavlova(February 12, 1881 – January 23, 1931), Russian ballerina

Pavlova's art is a unique phenomenon in the history of world ballet. For the first time, she turned academic dance into a mass art form, close and understandable even to the most unprepared public.

Legends envelop her entire life from birth to death. According to the documents, her father was a soldier of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. However, even during the life of the ballerina, newspapers wrote about her aristocratic origin.

Galina Sergeevna Ulanova(January 8, 1910 – March 21, 1998), Russian ballerina

Ulanova's work constituted a whole epoch in the history of world ballet. She not only admired the filigree art of dance, but with every movement she conveyed the state of mind of her heroine, her mood and character.

The future ballerina was born into a family where dance was a profession. Her father was a famous dancer and choreographer, and her mother was a ballerina and teacher. Therefore, the admission of Ulanova to the Leningrad Choreographic School was completely natural. At first, she studied with her mother, and then the famous ballerina A. Ya. Vaganova became her teacher.

In 1928, Ulanova brilliantly graduated from college and was accepted into the troupe of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theatre. Soon she became the leading performer of parts of the classical repertoire - in P. Tchaikovsky's ballets "Swan Lake" and "The Nutcracker", A. Adam "Giselle" and others. In 1944 she became a soloist with the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

Marius Ivanovich Petipa(March 11, 1818 - July 14, 1910), Russian artist, choreographer.

The name of Marius Petipa is known to everyone who is at least a little familiar with the history of ballet. Wherever today there are ballet theaters and schools, where films and TV shows dedicated to ballet are shown, books about this amazing art are published, this person is known and honored. Although he was born in France, he worked all his life in Russia and is one of the founders of modern ballet.

Petipa once admitted that from birth his whole life was connected with the stage. Indeed, his father and mother were famous ballet dancers and lived in the major port city of Marseille. But Marius's childhood did not pass in the south of France, but in Brussels, where the family moved immediately after his birth in connection with the new appointment of his father.

Marius' musical abilities were noticed very early, and he was immediately sent to the Great College and the Conservatory in the violin class. But his first teacher was his father, who led a ballet class at the theater. In Brussels, Petipa first appeared on stage as a dancer.

He was only twelve years old at the time. And already at sixteen he became a dancer and choreographer in Nantes. True, he worked there for only a year and then, together with his father, went on his first foreign tour to New York. But, despite the purely commercial success that accompanied them, they quickly left America, realizing that there was no one there to appreciate their art.

Returning to France, Petipa realized that he needed to get a deeper education, and became a student of the famous choreographer Vestris. Classes quickly yielded results: in just two months he became a dancer, and later a choreographer at the ballet theater in Bordeaux.

Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev(March 31, 1872 - August 19, 1929), Russian theatrical figure, impresario, publisher.

Diaghilev did not know his mother, she died in childbirth. He was raised by his stepmother, who treated him the same as her own children. Therefore, for Diaghilev, the death of his half-brother in Soviet times became a real tragedy. Perhaps that is why he stopped striving for his homeland.

Diaghilev's father was a hereditary nobleman, a cavalry guard. But due to debts, he was forced to leave the army and settle in Perm, which at that time was considered a Russian outback. His house almost immediately becomes the center of the cultural life of the city. Parents often played music and sang at the evenings held in their house. Their son also took music lessons. Sergei received such a versatile education that when he ended up in St. Petersburg after graduating from the gymnasium, he was in no way inferior in his knowledge to his St. Petersburg peers and even sometimes surpassed them in the level of erudition and in the level of knowledge of history and Russian culture.

Diaghilev's appearance turned out to be deceptive: the big provincial, who seemed to be a lout, was quite well-read, fluent in several languages. He easily entered the university environment and became a student of the law faculty of St. Petersburg University.

At the same time, he plunged into the theatrical and musical life of the capital. The young man takes private piano lessons from the Italian A. Cotogni, attends a class at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, tries to compose music, and studies the history of artistic styles. During the holidays, Diaghilev makes the first trip to Europe. He seems to be looking for his vocation, turning to various fields of art. Among his friends are L. Bakst, E. Lansere, K. Somov - the future core of the "World of Art" association.

Vaclav Fomich Nijinsky(March 12, 1890 – April 8, 1950), Russian dancer and choreographer.

In the 1880s, a troupe of Polish dancers performed successfully in Russia. A husband and wife, Tomasz and Eleonora Nijinsky, served in it. They became the parents of the future great dancer. Theater and dance entered Vaclav's life from the first months of his life. As he later wrote, "the desire to dance was as natural to me as breathing."

In 1898 he entered the St. Petersburg Ballet School, graduated in 1907 and was admitted to the Mariinsky Theatre. The outstanding talent of a dancer and actor immediately brought Nijinsky to the position of prime minister. He performed many parts of the academic repertoire and was a partner of such brilliant ballerinas as, O. I. Preobrazhenskaya, A. P. Pavlova,.

Already at the age of 18, Nijinsky danced the main parts in almost all the new ballets staged at the Mariinsky Theater. In 1907 he danced the White Slave in the Pavilion of Armida, in 1908 he danced the Slave in Egyptian Nights and the Youth in Chopiniana staged by M. M. Fokine, and a year later he performed the role of the Hurricane in the ballet The Talisman by Drigo staged by N. G. Legat.

And yet, in 1911, Nijinsky was fired from the Mariinsky Theater because, while performing in the ballet Giselle, he arbitrarily put on a new costume designed by A. N. Benois. Entering the stage half-naked, the actor irritated the members of the royal family who were sitting in the boxes. Even the fact that by this time he was one of the most famous dancers of Russian ballet could not protect him from dismissal.

Ekaterina Sergeevna Maksimova(February 1, 1939 - April 28, 2009), Russian Soviet and Russian ballerina, choreographer, choreographer, teacher, People's Artist of the USSR.

This unique ballerina did not leave the stage for thirty-five years. However, Maksimova is still connected with ballet today, since she is a teacher-repetiteur of the Kremlin Ballet Theatre.

Ekaterina Maksimova received a special education at the Moscow Choreographic School, where her teacher was the famous E. P. Gerdt. While still a student, Maksimova received the first prize at the All-Union Ballet Competition in Moscow in 1957.

She began her service to the arts in 1958. After graduating from college, the young ballerina came to the Bolshoi Theater and worked there until 1988. Small in stature, perfectly built and surprisingly plastic, it seemed that nature itself was intended for classical roles. But it soon became obvious that her possibilities were truly limitless: she performed both classical and modern parts with equal brilliance.

The secret of Maximova's success lies in the fact that she continued to study all her life. The famous ballerina G. Ulanova shared her wealth of experience with her. It was from her that the young ballet actress adopted the art of dramatic dance. It is no coincidence that, unlike many ballet actors, she played a number of roles in ballet television performances. Maximova's unusually expressive face with large eyes displayed the most subtle nuances when performing comedic, lyrical and dramatic roles. In addition, she brilliantly succeeded not only in female, but also in male parts, as, for example, in the ballet performance "Chapliniana".

Sergei Mikhailovich Lifar(April 2 (15), 1905 - December 15, 1986), Russian and French dancer, choreographer, teacher, collector and artist.

Sergey Lifar was born in Kyiv in the family of a prominent official, his mother came from the family of the famous grain merchant Marchenko. He received his initial education in his native city, enrolling in 1914 to study at the Kiev Imperial Lyceum, where he received the training necessary for a future officer.

At the same time, from 1913 to 1919, Lifar attended piano lessons at the Taras Shevchenko Conservatory. Deciding to devote his life to ballet, in 1921 he entered the State School of Arts (dance class) at the Kyiv Opera and received the basics of choreographic education in the studio of B. Nijinska.

In 1923, on the recommendation of the teacher, along with four other of his students, Lifar was invited to view the troupe "Russian Ballet" S.P. Diaghilev. Sergei managed to pass the competition and get into the famous team. Since that time, the difficult process of turning a novice amateur into a professional dancer began. Lifar was given lessons by the famous teacher E. Cecchetti.

At the same time, he learned a lot from professionals: after all, the best dancers of Russia traditionally came to the Diaghilev troupe. In addition, not having his own ideas, Diaghilev carefully collected the best that was in Russian choreography, supported the search for George Balanchine, Mikhail Fokine. Famous Russian artists were engaged in scenography and theatrical scenery. Therefore, the Russian Ballet gradually turned into one of the best teams in the world.

A few years after the death of Maris Liepa, it was decided to immortalize five of his drawings in the form of medallions. They are made under the direction of the Italian master D. Montebello in Russia and are sold at the evenings in memory of Liepa in Moscow and Paris. True, the first edition amounted to only one hundred - one hundred and fifty medallions.

After graduating from the Riga Choreographic School under V. Blinov, Maris Liepa came to Moscow to study at the Moscow Choreographic School under N. Tarasov. After graduating in 1955, he never returned to his historical homeland and worked in Moscow almost all his life. Here he received recognition from fans and his fame as an outstanding ballet dancer.

Immediately after graduating from college, Maris Liepa joined the troupe of the Stanislavsky Theater, where he danced the part of Lionel in the ballet Joan of Arc, Phoebe, Conrad. Already in these parts, the main features of his talent appeared - a combination of excellent technique with vivid expressiveness of each movement. The work of the young artist attracted the attention of leading ballet experts, and since 1960 Liepa has become a member of the Bolshoi Theater team.

Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya(Maria-Matilda Adamovna-Feliksovna-Valerievna Kzhesinska) (August 19 (31), 1872 - December 6, 1971), Russian ballerina.

Matilda Kshesinskaya was tiny, only 1 meter 53 centimeters tall, and the future ballerina could boast of her forms, unlike her thin friends. But, despite neither the growth nor the somewhat extra weight for the ballet, the name of Kshesinskaya for many decades did not leave the pages of the gossip column, where she was presented among the heroines of scandals and "fatal women". This ballerina was the mistress of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II (when he was still heir to the throne), as well as the wife of Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich. She was talked about as a fantastic beauty, but meanwhile she differed only in an unusually beautiful figure. At one time, Kshesinskaya was a famous ballerina. And although in terms of talent she was much inferior to, say, such a contemporary as Anna Pavlova, she nevertheless took her place in Russian ballet art.

Kshesinskaya was born into a hereditary artistic environment that has been associated with ballet for several generations. Matilda's father was a famous dancer, was the leading artist of the imperial theaters.

The father became the first teacher of his youngest daughter. Following her older sister and brother, Matilda was accepted into the choreographic school, after which she began her long service in the imperial theaters.

The myths about only women's parts in dance have long gone into oblivion. Today, men rightfully occupy the leading roles, without them we cannot imagine modern ballet.

Top 5 most famous ballet dancers

Vaclav Fomich Nijinsky

Founder of male ballet of the 20th century. Born in a family of dancers in 1890. In 1907, after graduating from college, he began performing with the Mariinsky Theater, almost immediately playing the main roles. Nijinsky had a technique that was unique at that time, especially inconspicuous in life, he completely reincarnated as his hero. His jumping-flights of a bird were inimitable. Nijinsky's innovations and experiments were not always successful; he seemed to be ahead of his time and the public did not understand him. In 1919 was the last performance of the artist. Later, the ballet adopted his style of expressionism and completely new plastic movements. Despite the short period of creativity (10 years), he was and remains an idol.

Vasiliev Vladimir Viktorovich

Born in 1940 in a working-class family. In 1947, for company, I went to a dance club with a friend. And after 2 years in 1949 he was admitted to the choreographic school, where he impressed his teachers with skill and virtuosity. After college, in 1958 he was invited to the Bolshoi Ballet Company, where, almost immediately, he began to play the main roles. The party of Spartak became the most enchanting, after which Vasilyev was nicknamed the "god of dance." With his movements, he conveyed the slightest accents in the music, merging with it into a single whole. Vasiliev was awarded several awards, became a laureate of many competitions, winning first prizes and gold medals.

Gorsky Alexander Alekseevich

In 1889 he began to dance in the corps de ballet, after 11 years he became the premiere of the troupe. The author of the textbook of Stepanov's system of dance movements. Dance theory teacher at the ballet school. Gorsky is a ballet reformer. He introduced the laws of drama and a sense of authenticity into the ballet. His production of Don Quixote is still staged in theaters, although at that time it did not cause enthusiasm among critics. As a choreographer, Gorsky made a great contribution to the development and improvement. Many famous ballets staged by Gorsky according to their interpretation began to take on a new life.

Ermolaev Alexey Nikolaevich

Being a 16-year-old graduate of the school, Ermolaev plays the god of the wind - his first party in the ballet "Talisman". The choreographer of the theater immediately saw the unbridled energy and strength of the guy and created images for his character. A fan of ballet, he rebuilt all the parts for himself, rehearsing at night by candlelight. Yermolay changed the usual image of the male role in ballet, his virtuoso movements - triple rounds in the air, double revoltades, dancers still cannot repeat.

Fokin Mikhail Mikhailovich

Italian, born in a family of ballet dancers in 1850. He studied at the Florentine Academy of Dance J. Lepri. From 1870 he performed on the stage of the La Scala Theatre. Master of facial expressions and pas de deux. Author of methods for the development of ballet dance technique.