#soviet ballet

DANCE WORLD-CLASS BALLET OR FACE THE GULAG -- WHICH WILL IT BE?

PIC INFO: Resolution at 2465x3974 -- Spotlight on a Soviet-era film poster for the feature film "Young Ballet of the World" (1970). Artwork by notable poster artist and Member of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR, Sergei Datskevich (1919-1977).

POSTER OVERVIEW: "A Soviet-era film poster for a feature on the first International Ballet Competition for young ballet dancers held in Moscow -- "Молодой балет мира" / "Young World Ballet" -- showing a ballerina (possibly the prima ballerina Ludmila Semenyaka b. 1952) in an elegant pose in front of a world map shaded like a theatre curtain with the title above and the credits below.

Now a firm tradition in the ballet world, this ballet competition was founded in 1969 by the legends of the Russian Ballet: Igor Moiseyev (1906-2007), Olga Lepeshinskaya (1916-2008) and Galina Ulanova (1910-1998); held every four years and judged by an international jury; this first competition in 1969 was won by the renowned ballet dancer and choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov (b. 1948)."

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November the 14th marked the 143rd anniversary since the birth of Ekaterina Geltser (14 November 1876 - 12 December 1962).

Ekaterina Geltzer. Russian-Soviet dancer who is generally regarded as the first ‘Soviet’ ballerina. She was the daughter of Vasily Geltser, mime artist and ballet master at the Bolshoi Ballet (who also co-wrote the original libretto for Swan Lake) and studied at the Bolshoi School from 1884, graduating into the company in 1894.She took further studies with Christian Johansson and Petipa in St Petersburg. In 1896 she went to St Petersburg to dance with the Mariinsky for two years, then returned to the Bolshoi where she was promoted to first ballerina in 1901.

A stocky dancer with a robust, even heroic style, Geltser was the definitive Bolshoi ballerina in the early part of the 20th century, her forceful stage personality showcased especially in the dramatic roles of Gorsky.

She created the role of Swanilda in Gorsky's new staging of Coppélia (1905), Colombine in his Harlequinade (1907), the title role in his Salammbô (1910), Medora in his 1912 staging of Le Corsaire, and Tsar-Maiden in his Little Humpbacked Horse (1914). She also danced the traditional ballerina repertory, excelling most in the demi-caractère roles of Kitri and Esmeralda. She appeared with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in Paris in 1910; the following year at the Alhambra Theatre in London with dancers from the Bolshoi. She also appeared at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York with Mordkin's All-Star Imperial Russian Ballet, dancing Odette-Odile in the first complete Swan Lake ever seen in America (1911).

One of her most significant creations was the role of Tao-Hoa in the groundbreaking Soviet ballet The Red Poppy (1927), choreographed by her husband and stage partner Vassily Tikhomirov. She retired from the Bolshoi in 1935, although continued to tour extensively in Russia.

She was one of the first ballerinas to be awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR (1925). - Oxford  Reference

November the 14th marked the 143rd anniversary since the birth of Ekaterina Geltser (14 November 1876 - 12 December 1962).

Ekaterina Geltzer. Russian-Soviet dancer who is generally regarded as the first ‘Soviet’ ballerina. She was the daughter of Vasily Geltser, mime artist and ballet master at the Bolshoi Ballet (who also co-wrote the original libretto for Swan Lake) and studied at the Bolshoi School from 1884, graduating into the company in 1894.She took further studies with Christian Johansson and Petipa in St Petersburg. In 1896 she went to St Petersburg to dance with the Mariinsky for two years, then returned to the Bolshoi where she was promoted to first ballerina in 1901. 

A stocky dancer with a robust, even heroic style, Geltser was the definitive Bolshoi ballerina in the early part of the 20th century, her forceful stage personality showcased especially in the dramatic roles of Gorsky. 

She created the role of Swanilda in Gorsky's new staging of Coppélia (1905), Colombine in his Harlequinade (1907), the title role in his Salammbô (1910), Medora in his 1912 staging of Le Corsaire, and Tsar-Maiden in his Little Humpbacked Horse (1914). She also danced the traditional ballerina repertory, excelling most in the demi-caractère roles of Kitri and Esmeralda. She appeared with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in Paris in 1910; the following year at the Alhambra Theatre in London with dancers from the Bolshoi. She also appeared at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York with Mordkin's All-Star Imperial Russian Ballet, dancing Odette-Odile in the first complete Swan Lake ever seen in America (1911). 

One of her most significant creations was the role of Tao-Hoa in the groundbreaking Soviet ballet The Red Poppy (1927), choreographed by her husband and stage partner Vassily Tikhomirov. She retired from the Bolshoi in 1935, although continued to tour extensively in Russia. 

She was one of the first ballerinas to be awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR (1925). - Oxford  Reference