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Tatiana Riabouchinska | |
|---|---|
| Татьяна Михайловна Рябушинская | |
 Tatiana Riabouchinska, circa 1938 Photographer: Maurice Seymour | |
| Born | Tatiana Mikhailovna Riabouchinska (or Ryabushinskaya) 23 May 1917 |
| Died | 24 August 2000(2000-08-24) (aged 83) Los Angeles, U.S |
| Occupation(s) | Ballerina, ballet instructor |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Tanica Lichine |
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Tatiana Mikhailovna Riabouchinska (Russian:Татья́на Миха́йловна Рябуши́нская, 23 May 1917 – 24 August 2000) was aRussian Americanprima ballerina and teacher. Famous at age 14 as one of the three "Baby Ballerinas" of theBallet Russe de Monte Carlo in the 1930s, she matured into an artist whom critics called "the most unusual dancer of her generation."[1]
She was born inMoscow a few months before theOctober Revolution in 1917. Because her father was a banker to theTsar Nicholas II, the whole family was put under house arrest by revolutionaries. But, with the help of their servants, her mother and the four children escaped and fled through theCaucasus, arriving eventually in the south of France. A few years after they had settled in Paris, where there was a large Russian émigré community, Tatiana, known as Tania, began her ballet studies with Alexandre Volinine, who had trained at theBolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. She also studied withMathilde Kschessinska, a friend of the family who had beenprima ballerina assoluta of the Saint Petersburg Imperial Theaters.[2] Under Volinine's tutelage, the girl developed strength, elevation, and speed; under Kschessinska, quick footwork and lyricalport de bras.[citation needed]
At 14, Riabouchinska was chosen by Nikita Balieff to join his Franco-Russian vaudeville troupe, Le Théâtre de la Chauve-Souris (The Bat Theater), often billed simply asLa Chauve-Souris. In the 1931 edition of their revue, which featured Russian songs, dances, and comedy numbers, she appeared in two short ballets,Diana Hunts the Stag andThe Romantic Adventures of an Italian Ballerina and a Marquis. In Paris, she was seen by choreographer and ballet masterGeorge Balanchine, who quickly signed her for theBallet Russe de Monte Carlo, then being organized by ColonelWassily de Basil and his associates. She joined that company after the American tour of La Chauve-Souris. She and two other young dancers in the company became known as theBaby Ballerinas.[3]
In 1932, in her first season with the de Basil company, Riabouchinska created the role of the Child inLéonide Massine'sJeux d'Enfants and in two works by Balanchine,La Concurrence andLe Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Subsequently, she created roles in other Massine works, including the first three of his famous, and controversial, "symphonic" ballets: Frivolity inLes Présages (1933), set toTchaikovsky'sFifth Symphony; the third and fourth movements ofChoreartium (1933), set toBrahms'sFourth Symphony; and Reverie inSymphonie Fantastique (1936), byBerlioz.
AfterMichel Fokine joined the company, he created the roles of the Golden Cockerel inLe Coq d'Or (1937), the title role ofCendrillon (1938), and the Florentine Beauty inPaganini (1939) especially for her. Besides these roles, she danced in many other ballets in the company repertory. ForLes Sylphides, perhaps Fokine's most famous work, she was coached by the choreographer himself. Her dancing of the Prelude, with exquisite pointework, soft little jumps, feathery landings, and liquid arm movements, became legendary, and she retained the role throughout her career.
Riabouchinska also created many roles in ballets choreographed byDavid Lichine, a principal dancer in the de Basil company, who made a second career as a choreographer. Besides leading roles inNocturne (1933) andLes Imaginaires (1934), she embodied the Chief Spirit inLe Pavillon (1936), the Angelic Apparition inFrancesca da Rimini (1937), the Flower Girl inLe Lion Amoureux (1937), and the Romantic Girl inGraduation Ball (1940), a joyous characterization that became another of her signature roles.[4]
Riabouchinska remained with the de Basil company, which was finally renamed as theOriginal Ballet Russe, until 1942. The conflict of World War II disrupted its normal operations, and the company had to stop touring in Europe.
She married David Lichine in 1943, and the two of them embarked on a joint career as free agents, dancing and choreographing for many companies in the United States, England, France, and Argentina. They had one daughter, Tanica Lichine.
In the United States, Riabouchinska also appeared on Broadway in an unsuccessful operetta entitledPolonaise (1945), choreographed by Lichine to music ofFrédéric Chopin. She appeared in a Hollywood film,Make Mine Music (1946), in which she and Lichine danced his choreography in the "Two Silhouettes" sequence.[5] Throughout their years of dancing together, they were one of the ballet world's most admired and beloved couples.
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In 1953, the Lichines retired to Los Angeles, where they devoted their energies to their dance academy in Beverly Hills. They also founded and directed several small performing groups. After David Lichine died in 1972, Riabouchinska continued to teach for many years, counting a number of Hollywood celebrities among her students.
In the late 1990s, she was filmed teaching class in her studio and reminiscing about her years with the de Basil company. This footage, along with many archival film clips of her performances with the company, is included in the documentary filmBallets Russes (2005), a Goldfine/Geller production.
sources:https://studylib.net/doc/7464135/oklahoma-history-reader
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