Famous ballet dancers of world history. The most famous ballerinas

March 17, the great Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev would have turned 78 years old. The ballet classic Roland Petit called Nureyev dangerous, the press called him a frantic Tatar, rock stars and royalty confessed to him in love. ELLE is about "ballet Russians" who have achieved success in the West.

Sarah Bernard considered Nijinsky the greatest actor in the world, the press - nothing less than the eighth wonder of the world. A native of Kyiv, a dancer at the Mariinsky Theatre, Nijinsky made his mark in Paris, where he impressed the audience and critics with his phenomenal technique, plasticity and taste. And the most striking thing is that his career as a dancer lasted only ten years. In 1917, he appeared on the stage for the last time, and until his death in 1950, he struggled with schizophrenia, moving around psychiatric clinics. Nijinsky's influence on world ballet is difficult to overestimate, and his diaries are still deciphered and interpreted differently by specialists.

One of the main stars of Russian ballet in the world, Nuriev was a real pop star, flamboyant and scandalous. A heavy, quarrelsome character, arrogance, a stormy personal life and a tendency to outrageous did not obscure the main thing - the incredible talent of Nureyev, who managed to combine the traditions of ballet and current, as they say now, trends. A native of Ufa, a long-awaited son who did not live up to the hopes of his military father, who contemptuously called Rudolph a “ballerina”, made his most famous jump not on stage, but in the control zone of the Paris airport. In 1961, the Soviet dancer Nuriev unexpectedly gave up with 30 francs in his pocket, asking for political asylum. Thus began the ascent of Nureyev to the world ballet Olympus. Fame, money, luxury, parties at Studio 54, gold, brocade, rumors of romance with Freddie Mercury, Yves Saint Laurent, Elton John - and the best roles in the London Royal Ballet, directorship in the ballet group of the Paris Grand Opera. The last hundred days of his life, completely ill, Nuriev spent in his beloved Paris. There he is buried.

Another famous representative of the ballet, who can be safely called a pop star, is in many ways similar to Nureyev: childhood in the Soviet provinces (if you consider Riga as a province, it’s still not Moscow or Leningrad), complete misunderstanding on the part of his father and a real artistic take-off outside THE USSR. Having remained in the West in 1974, Baryshnikov quickly established himself at the top: first he headed the legendary New York City Ballet, then for nine years, from 1980 to 1989, he directed the no less famous American Ballet Theatre. Also actively and quite successfully, albeit unevenly, he acted in films, became a socialite, met with Hollywood beauties - Jessica Lange and Liza Minnelli. And to the new public, far from ballet (and, by the way, from Joseph Brodsky, with whom Baryshnikov had a real friendship), this incredible person became known thanks to a small but noticeable role in the TV series Sex and the City. Sarah Jessica Parker, his big fan. called Mikhail Baryshnikov tough boy - "tough guy". Who would argue.

Vladimir Vasiliev is a symbol of the Bolshoi Theater and the entire Russian ballet of the second half of the 20th century. Due to the fact that Vasiliev lived in the Soviet Union, his popularity in the West is much inferior to the glory of the same Baryshnikov, although art lovers, of course, know and appreciate him. Vasiliev worked mainly in Europe, gradually changing his profession to a choreographer. Kazan and Paris, Rome and Perm, Vilnius and Rio - the geography of Vasiliev's creative movements affirms and confirms his cosmopolitanism.

The blond giant, the star of the Bolshoi, Godunov, in August 1979, while on tour in the States, decided not to return home. A terrible drama broke out, in which not only the artist himself and his wife, ballerina Lyudmila Vlasova, were involved, but also Joseph Brodsky, the FBI, and even the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union. Remaining in the States, Godunov joined the famous American Ballet Theatre, which he eventually left after a quarrel with his best friend Mikhail Baryshnikov. Then there was work within the framework of his own project "Godunov and Friends", success, an affair with actress Jacqueline Bisset and a sharp departure from the profession. Bisset persuaded Alexander to start a career in cinema, and he partially succeeded: "Witness" with Harrison Ford and especially "Die Hard" made yesterday's ballet dancer a five-minute Hollywood star. However, Godunov himself did not like to be on the sidelines, although now those who had not even been interested in ballet before learned about "this Russian".

He never returned to dancing, and in 1995 he died at the age of 45. “I believe that he did not take root and died of loneliness,” said Joseph Brodsky, who took an active part in his fate as a “defector”.

In pre-revolutionary Russia, ballet was very popular. Despite the fact that after the revolution, many dancers of the Imperial Theater left the country and began to perform on the stages of foreign theaters, there were many artists left in Russia who were able to revive ballet art in the country and found the Soviet ballet. And in this they were helped by the first people's commissar for education, Anatoly Lunacharsky, who made a lot of efforts to preserve and develop this type of art in a dilapidated state. In the 30s of the 20th century, the first stars of the Soviet ballet began to appear. Many of them received the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR and the USSR:

Ekaterina Geltser;
Agrippina Vaganova;
Galina Ulanovna;
Olga Lepeshinskaya;
Vasily Tikhomirov;
Mikhail Gabovich;
Alexey Ermolaev;
Rostislav Zakharov;
Asaf Messerer;
Konstantin Sergeev and others.

40s - 50s

During these years, the Imperial Theater of St. Petersburg was renamed the Ballet. Kirov (now the Mariinsky Theatre), and the honored ballerina Agrippina Vaganova, a student of Petipa and Chekketi, became the artistic director of this theater. She was forced to transform storylines, subordinating them to Soviet ideological principles. So, for example, the ending of the ballet "Swan Lake" was changed from tragic to sublime. And the Imperial Ballet School became known as the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute. Future stars of the Soviet ballet studied here. After the death of an outstanding ballerina in 1957, this educational institution was renamed the Agrippina Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. That is how it is called to this day. The most popular ballet theaters in the country were the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and the Theater. Kirov (Mariinsky Theatre) in Leningrad. The repertoire of the theaters included works by both foreign and Russian and Soviet composers. Especially popular were: the ballets Cinderella and Romeo and Juliet, etc. The ballet did not stop acting during the years of the Patriotic War. However, it reached its heyday in the middle of the century. Hungry for cultural events during the war years, the Soviet people flooded the theater halls, and each new performance was sold out. Ballet figures were very popular. During these years, new stars of the Soviet ballet appeared: Tatyana Zimina, Maya Plisetskaya, Yuri Grigorovich, Maris Liepa, Raisa Struchkova, Boris Bregvadze, Vera Dubrovina, Inna Zubkovskaya, Askold Makarov, Tamara Seifert, Nadezhda Nadezhdina, Vera Orlova, Violetta Bovt and others.

60s - 70s

In subsequent years, Soviet ballet became the hallmark of the USSR. The troupes of the Bolshoi and Kirov theaters successfully toured all over the world, even went beyond the Iron Curtain. Some stars of the Soviet ballet, having found themselves "over the hill" and having weighed all the pros and cons, decided to stay there and asked for political asylum. They were considered traitors in their homeland, and the media wrote about the famous "defectors". Alexander Godunov, Natalia Markova, Valery Panov, Rudolf Nureyev - all of them had great success and were in demand on the ballet stages of the most prestigious theaters in the world. However, the Soviet ballet dancer Great Rudolf Nureyev won the greatest popularity in the world. He became a legend in the history of world culture. Since 1961, he did not return from a Paris tour and became the premiere in Covent Garden, and since the 1980s he became the head of the Grand Opera in Paris.

Conclusion

Today, Russian ballet does not lose its popularity, and young artists nurtured by Soviet choreographers are in demand all over the world. Russian figures of ballet art in the 21st century are free in their actions. They can freely enter into contracts and perform on the stages of foreign theaters and, with their brilliant performances, prove to everyone and everything that Russian ballet is the best in the whole world.

If there is an art capable of capturing the heart of everyone without exception, penetrating the soul, filling it with joy, empathy, making it rejoice or cry, while capturing the entire auditorium, then this is the art of ballet.
Classical Russian ballet is not only famous ballerinas and dancers, but also composers who wrote specifically for Russian ballet. To this day, all over the world, Russian ballerinas are considered the best, most slender, hardy, hardworking.

Uliana Lopatkina is a famous prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theatre. Inspired by the work of G. Ulanova and M. Plisetskaya, she forever connected her life with ballet and entered the choreographic school. However, upon admission, she was given a very modest assessment. She fully revealed herself in the pre-graduation class. Everyone saw in her dance not only impeccable technical mastery of the dance, but also character, grace, zest. Talent or fruits of great work? Later, in one of her interviews, she admits: “Stars are not born!”, Which means, after all, diligence and will determine success. So it is in fact. Uliana Lopatkina is a very hardworking student, only this ability allowed her to become a real virtuoso in ballet.

Ulyana Lopatkina is a stately ballerina with an individual performance style and a certain attitude towards the hero, the audience, and herself. Maybe that's why she now has Maria Taglioni's medallion, which was kept by the great Galina Ulanova and transferred to Ulyana Lopatkina, according to her will.

Much has been said and written about the beauty and grace of Maya Plisetskaya.

Maya Plisetskaya is admired by the whole world. Often the movements of her flexible arms and body are compared with the flutter of the wings of a swimming swan, the transformation of a girl into a bird. Odette performed by Maya Plisetskaya eventually became a world legend. A critic of the Parisian newspaper Le Figaro assured that her hands in Swan Lake were moving “inhumanly” and that “when Plisetskaya begins to wave-like movements of her hands, you no longer know whether these are hands or wings, or her hands turn into the movement of the waves along which the swan swims.

Vladimir Vasiliev can rightly be considered a legend of the Russian ballet. The only ballet dancer who was awarded the title of "The Best Dancer of the World" by the Paris Academy of Dance and who was declared by critics as "the god of dance", "a miracle of art", "perfection". He once introduced a new technique, which, combined with the deep artistry of its performance characteristic of him, is still considered the standard of male dance.

Ekaterina Maksimova is a famous Soviet ballerina, whose work has taken a worthy place among the masterpieces of this art. Her images had an amazing quality: they combined childish inspiration, purity and the actions of an adult personality. This feature was achieved by the extraordinary ease and grace of Maximova's choreography, the drawing of which was characterized by tones of light and joy. Each appearance of the dancer on stage was an ode to lyrics and youth. Thanks to the teacher of the choreographic school, E.P. Gerdt, Ekaterina Maksimova focused not only on the impeccable performance of the dance, but also on the transfer of the whole gamut of feelings that excite her heroine. The inner world of the created images was conveyed by a special facial expression, a special acting talent.

Natalya Bessmertnova is the most romantic ballerina of the 20th century.
A master of lyricism, she captivated not with the technical "collapse" of thirty-two fouettes, but with the atmosphere (now they will say - aura) of the dance. Her art is the strongest impression of a lifetime. The ability to take the viewer into a world where there is nothing mortal for several hours, it was for this that she was adored by fans and admirers.

The dancing abilities and artistry of Lyudmila Semenyaka first appeared in the choreographic circle of the Zhdanov Palace of Pioneers.

At the age of 10 she entered the Leningrad Academic Choreographic School. Vaganova, at 12 - made her debut on the stage of the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theater in the solo part of little Marie in the ballet The Nutcracker.
In 1969, at the First International Ballet Competition in Moscow, she was awarded the III prize.
From 1970 to 1972 she worked at the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theatre. She continued to study under the guidance of Irina Kolpakova.
In 1972, Yuri Grigorovich invited her to the Bolshoi Theater. In the same year, the artist made a successful debut in the performance of the Bolshoi Theater "Swan Lake".
In 1976, she won the 1st prize and a gold medal at the 1st International Ballet Competition in Tokyo, and in Paris, Serge Lifar presented her with the Anna Pavlova Prize of the Paris Academy of Dance.

Svetlana Zakharova was born in Lutsk on June 10, 1979. In 1989 she entered the Kiev Choreographic School. After studying there for six years, she took part in the competition of young dancers Vaganova-Prix in St. Petersburg. She received the second prize and an offer to go to the graduation course at the Academy of Russian Ballet named after A. Ya. Vaganova. In 1996, Zakharova graduated from the academy, being among the first graduates of Elena Evteeva, a famous ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater in the past. In the same year, she was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater and in the next season she took the position of soloist.

In April 2008, Svetlana Zakharova was recognized as the star of the famous La Scala theater in Milan.
She has performed in Moscow, St. Petersburg, London, Berlin, Paris, Vienna, Milan, Madrid, Tokyo, Baku, New York, Amsterdam, etc.

About M. V. Kondratieva

“If Terpsichore existed in reality, Marina Kondratieva would be her embodiment. You don't know and you can't catch when it sinks to the ground. Now you see only her eyes, then light graceful legs, then only one expressive hands. Together, they tell marvelous stories in convincing language. But here is a barely noticeable turn of the shoulder - and it is not there ... and it seems that it was not there at all. She, like an early pink cloud, now appears, then melts before our eyes.

Kasyan Goleizovsky, ballet dancer, outstanding Russian choreographer

“Her dance evoked in me associations with Japanese painting, the thinnest and most expressive strokes, with transparent strokes of watercolors.”

Lyudmila Semenyaka, People's Artist of the USSR

“The highest professionalism of Kondratieva delights not only in her solo performances, but also in duets and in ensembles with other soloists. Being a reliable partner is also an art. And how to achieve it remains a secret for many.

Maris Liepa, People's Artist of the USSR

“Purity and lightness were inherent not only in her dance, but also in her soul. Of course, it was a real Muse.

Yaroslav Sekh, Bolshoi Theater dancer

There are special, "star" people in art, endowed, in addition to talent, diligence, charm and creative power, also with some kind of light, flight. About Marisa Liepa: he is in flight, in long jumps, as if protracted, through the entire space of the stage. Like a stretched spring. On the day of the performance, in the morning, he was compressed like a spring, and it was important not to lose this state, the spring worked when the curtain went up.

Thirteen-year-old serious Riga boy: first participation in a competition in Moscow. The first pas de deux from The Nutcracker. First success. Only from that moment did he decide that ballet was his destiny.
He was passionate, passionate in any manifestation. . Liepa runs skipping to the classes for the students, light, indistinguishable from them, young, in the crowd. And he also teaches easily and passionately, falling to his knees, igniting himself and praising, praising unrestrainedly, because he knows: ballet is a gigantic work.
He lived his life like a torch or a star - he flared up and went out. He could not, probably, survive, fade away. He knew how and only wanted to live. "I feel like a racing driver, I keep flying and flying and I can't stop." "When I leave the Bolshoi, I will die." The Bolshoi was his only theatre. He was a maximalist, a romantic. And ballet was his only destiny.

Of course, these are far from all the stars of Russian ballet who shone and are shining now on many stages of the world. But it is not possible to tell about all at once in one message. Thank you for attention.

The art of dance has been a universal form of self-expression since ancient times. Body language is understood by any person in the world, which is why dancing is so popular. From ballet to modern dance, from hip-hop to salsa, from oriental dance to flamenco, dance as a high art has flourished in recent decades.

But when it comes to individual dancers, it can be very difficult to choose one of the best. If you are interested in dancing and people who have devoted their whole lives to it, then we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the list of the most famous and popular dancers of the 20th century.

10 most famous dancers of the 20th century

1. RUDOLF NURIEV

The artist was born in Russia and at the age of twenty he became a soloist of the Mariinsky Theater. In 1961, Nureyev asked for political asylum, allegedly in connection with the oppression of him by the authorities, and received it in France. Then the artist tours with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas.

Eyewitnesses claim that Nureyev was surprisingly charismatic, and his emotional duet performance with Fontaine in Romeo and Juliet remains to this day one of the most powerful duet performances in the history of ballet.

Unfortunately, Nuriev became one of the first victims of HIV and died of AIDS in 1993. Twenty years later, we are still enjoying the great legacy he left behind.

2. MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV

Mikhail Baryshnikov is one of the greatest ballet dancers of all time, considered by many critics to be the best. Before joining the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater in 1967, Baryshnikov studied ballet at the Vaganova School in Leningrad. Since the beginning of his career at the Mariinsky Theater, Mikhail has taken leading roles in dozens of productions.

Baryshnikov played a key role in establishing ballet as part of popular culture in the late 1970s and early 80s, and was the face of the art for over two decades.

Today Mikhail Baryshnikov is perhaps the most influential and famous dancer of our time.

3. FRED ASTER AND GINGER ROGERS

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - this great dancing couple is today in third place in the ranking of the most famous dancers of the 20th century. The couple was very harmonious, he gave her a class, and she made him even more charismatic. Their performances were accessible to the broadest masses, and the audience answered them with sincere love.

The heyday of the career of Astaire and Rogers fell on the Great Depression and the moment was extremely successful: many Americans at that time were barely making ends meet, and the fiery dances of the couple allowed them to at least briefly escape from reality and have fun.

4. JOAQUIN CORTES

Joaquin Cortez is the youngest dancer on our list. Although he hasn't finished his career yet and may not have danced his most famous dance, Cortez is one of the few dancers in history who has been given the title of sex symbol and is insanely popular with both women and men. Madonna and Jennifer Lopez claim to adore him, while Naomi Campbell and Mira Sorvino join the ranks of the women whose heart he has broken.

It's safe to say that Joaquin Cortes is one of the greatest flamenco dancers in the world. Among his male admirers are Tarantino, Armani, Al Pacino, Banderas and Sting. Fans call him the god of flamenco, and if you watch at least one recording of his performance, you will understand why. At the age of forty-four, Cortes is still alone, one day he said: "Dancing is my wife, my only woman."

5. MICHAEL JACKSON

Michael Jackson was the man who made dance an important element of modern pop music. Most of today's pop stars like Justin Bieber, Usher, Justin Timberlake have admitted to being heavily influenced by Michael Jackson's style at various times.

His contribution to dance is enormous. Jackson was an innovator who created new dance moves on his own. His natural grace, flexibility and sense of rhythm contributed to the emergence of the trademark "Jackson style". His colleagues called him a "sponge" for his ability to seek and find new ideas and techniques wherever he was.

Jackson looked for inspiration in the works of James Brown, Marcel Marceau, Gene Kelly and, strange as it may sound, in the performances of classical ballet dancers. Michael Jackson's originality and unique style made him famous, and today he stands alongside other giants of popular music such as Elvis and the Beatles.

6. SILVI GUILLEM

At forty-eight, Sylvie Guillem continues to be one of the most popular ballerinas in the world. Guillem has changed the face of ballet, her performances go beyond its classical boundaries.

Instead of building a classical career as a ballerina, Guillem made a bold choice, participating equally in the productions of the Paris Opera and in the projects of William Forsythe. Along with Maria Callas in the opera world, Sylvie Guillem re-shaped the popular image of the ballerina.

7 Gene Kelly

Gene Kelly was one of the most famous stars of Hollywood musicals. Kelly's rooms harmoniously combined ballet elements and modern dance movements - it was his own unique style. Kelly brought new dance influences to theater productions.

Kelly's legacy is his music video, recognizable and loved around the world. More than one generation of American dancers find something of their own in his movements and style.

8. Josephine Baker

Although the name of Josephine Baker is associated primarily with the heyday of jazz music - the golden age of jazz, her influence on emerging and contemporary stars is still great.

Josephine Baker is one of the first stars of African descent. She arrived in Paris in 1925 and literally captivated the public with her combination of exotic charm and talent. Josephine performed at the Folies Bergère, and this was a good start to her career. In France, the artist did not feel as widespread racial prejudice as it was in the United States at that time.

At the end of her life, Josephine returned to the stage. She died in 1975 from a cerebral hemorrhage.

9. MARTHA GRAHAM

Martha Graham is considered the mother of modern dance. She created more than one hundred and fifty unique choreographic numbers and had a huge impact on all areas of modern dance.

Her technique is different from the classical one, and movements such as contraction, release and spiral are her own find. Graham went even further and created a "language of movement" based on the expressive possibilities of the human body.

10. VACLAV NIJINSKY

Vaslav Nijinsky was one of the most talented ballet dancers in history. Unfortunately, there are no recordings of his performance left, so it is currently unrealistic to appreciate his incredible talent.

Nijinsky was known for his amazing ability to defy gravity, which was embodied in his magnificent jumps. Vaclav was the partner of the legendary Anna Pavlova.

Nijinsky left the stage in 1919 at the age of twenty-nine. He was ill with schizophrenia and frequent nervous breakdowns did not allow him to continue his work. The artist spent the last years of his life in psychiatric hospitals and shelters.

VACLAV NIJINSKY

RUDOLF NURIEV

MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV

Another famous representative of the ballet, who can safely be called a pop star, Mikhail Baryshnikov is in many ways similar to Nureyev: childhood in the Soviet province (if you consider Riga as a province, it’s still not Moscow or Leningrad), complete misunderstanding on the part of his father and a real artistic take-off outside the USSR. Having remained in the West in 1974, Baryshnikov quickly established himself at the top: first he headed the legendary New York City Ballet, then for nine years, from 1980 to 1989, he directed the no less famous American Ballet Theatre. Also actively and quite successfully, albeit unevenly, he acted in films, became a socialite, met with Hollywood beauties - Jessica Lange and Liza Minnelli. And to the new public, far from ballet (and, by the way, from Joseph Brodsky, with whom Baryshnikov had a real friendship), this incredible person became known thanks to a small but noticeable role in the TV series Sex and the City. Sarah Jessica Parker, his big fan. called Mikhail Baryshnikov tough boy - "tough guy". Who would argue.

VLADIMIR VASILIEV

ALEXANDER GODUNOV