Behind the Scenes at the Ballets Russes: Stories from a Silver Age

by Michael Meylac, John Neumeier (Afterword), Ismene Brown (Foreword by), Rosanna Kelly (Translator)

Overview

The Ballets Russes was perhaps the most iconic, yet at the same time mysterious, ballet company of the twentieth century. Inspired by the unique vision of their founder Sergei Diaghilev, the company gained a large international following. In the mid-twentieth century - during the tumultuous years of World War II and the Cold War - the Ballets Russes companies kept the spirit and traditions of Russian ballet alive in the West, touring extensively in America, Europe and Australia.

This important new book uncovers previously-unseen interviews and provides insights into the lives of the great figures of the age - from the dancers Anna Pavlova and Alicia Markova to the choreographers Leonide Massine, George Balanchine and Anton Dolin. The dancers' own words reveal what life was really like for the stars of the Ballets Russes and provide fascinating new insights into one of the most vibrant and creative groups of artists of the modern age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350210943
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/11/2021
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.06(h) x 1.11(d)

About the Author

Michael Meylac is Professor of Russian Literature at the University of Strasbourg. He is the author of editions and studies of the Oberiou poets and of studies on the Provencal troubadours. Rosanna Kelly is an author and translator, based in London.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements xi

Foreword Ismene Brown xiii

Author's Preface to the English Edition: The West in Russia and Russia in the West - a Permeable Membrane xvii

Lineage of the Ballets Russes Companies xxiii

Part I The Ballets Russes

An Introduction 3

In The Shadow of Diaghilev 13

Rachel Cameron on Tamara Karsavina: Her whole being shone with a marvellous inner beauty… 13

Balanchine spotted me at a class and asked me to work with him Tamara Geva 19

I told Diaghilev, 'If I'm good enough for the Mariinsky Theatre, I should be good enough for you' Alexandra (Choura) Danilova 25

Remembering Colonel De Basil's Ballets Russes: The 'Baby Ballerinas' 41

That nickname stuck to us fast! Irina Baronova 41

Anna Pavlova said to me, 'Oh you are a darling, clever girll' Tamara Toumanova 57

We rehearsed on the steamship… Tatiana Riabouchinska 67

Remembering Colonel de Basil's Ballets Russes: Dancers 71

We left Yalta on the last English steamer Marika Besobrasova 71

One way or another, everything goes back to Diaghilev Tatiana Leskova 83

I was able to step into a role at the last minute… George Zoritch 92

I was roped into opera and ballet translations… Tamara Tchinarova (Finch) 100

To encourage the Queen of England, the whole company sang, 'Bottoms up, bottoms up!' Anna Volkova 111

It's every man for himself in ballet Miguel Terekhov 120

Every country produces its own type of artist Marjorie Tallchief 129

We lived all of our life in dance Anatoly Joukowsky 132

Tatiana Stepanova and her mother 142

Oh, you just want to pinch more money from me! Alexandra Stepanova 143

Three Russians make a fair, five make a bazaar Tatiana Stepanova 147

The Ballets Russes in Australia 154

We Australians… Rachel Cameron 155

Here I am, and still a dancer! Tamara Tchinarova (Finch) 162

The Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo In America 166

An argument started between Nijinska and Dolin -pachimu? [why?]' Frederic Franklin 166

I want a childish-looking Venus! Nini Theilade 185

Prince, would you bring me a glass of water? Héléne Traïline 192

For me, to work on stage is the same as living and breathing Nina Novak 202

Part II The Marquis De Cuevas and Others

Maria Kirillova (de Fredericks): Madame de Fredericks always retains her charm and courage 211

I expect champagne from you, and you give me Coca-Cola Ethéry Pagava 223

A new style of classical dance alongside a fiery Serbian temperament Milorad Miskovitch 231

Trés élégant at Egorova's; trés authentique at Preobrajenska's Héléne Sadowska 238

I fell in love with dance even before I started dancing Vladimir Oukhtomsky 246

In France, male dance has always been in the shadows Vladimir Skouratoff 251

Boy, come over here, explain it to these blockheads! Boris Traïline 255

Don't worry, dearie, let's just dance the waltz Nicholas Polajenko 265

There was something so amazingly lyrical about the Russian ballet training! Jean Babilée 272

Rudi said, 'You come 5 o'clock and bring boy' Maina Gielgud 284

Afterword John Neumeier, Nijinsky and the Diaghilev Tradition 297

Like a tree, the art of ballet has many roots… John Neumeier 301

Dramatis Personae 311

Illustrations 313

Index of Names 321

Index of Ballets 331

Editorial Reviews

Meylac's love of ballet has gifted balletomanes with genuinely evocative reading, providing dancers' tidbits from this unforgettable ballet era.” —Dance International Magazine

From the Publisher

"valuable supplementary collection of interviews with important participants, today mostly dead, assiduously conducted by Michael Meylac over a period of many years and fluently translated by Rosanna Kelly. [...] Supurb illustrations grace this book, which will be of enormous interest to balletomanes and considerable scholarly value to dance historians."

Literary Review

"Published in hardback by I B Tauris Press is Behind the Scenes at the Ballets Russes, a fascinating collection of interviews carried out by Michael Meylac over a period of nearly 20 years. Translated by Rosanna Kelly, Meylac spoke to many surviving members of the Ballets Russes companies, including Alexandra Danilova, Irina Baronova, Tamara Toumanova, and Frederic Franklin, who detailed to him the events of their dancing lives in conversations that give a real flavour of that glamorous period in ballet history."

Dancing Times