The daughter of an aristocratic family, Goncharova studied painting and sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Moscow. After an early preoccupation with sculpture, in 1904 she began seriously to paint, experimenting with the Cubist and Futurist styles during the next few years. It was as a synthesis of these movements that Goncharova and Larionov, whom she later married, conceived of Rayonism, which sought to portray in two dimensions the spatial qualities of reflected light. In 1912 Goncharova took part in Roger Fry's Postimpressionist exhibition in London and in the second exhibition of Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) in Munich.
Goncharova earned a high reputation in Moscow for her scenery and costume designs for the Kamerny Theatre. When she and Larionov moved to Paris in 1914 she became a designer for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, her vibrant, Byzantine-inspired designs for the ballet “Coq d'Or” being especially notable.
Bolshoi Theatre
▪ Russian theatrical company
Russian Bolshoy Teatr, official name State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia
leading theatre company for ballet and opera in Russia. The original group, which was made up of several smaller troupes, was organized in Moscow in the mid-1770s, performing primarily at the mansion of Count R.I. Vorontsov. In 1780 the first permanent theatre building in Moscow was opened as the company's home, but it burned in 1805. A year later the Bolshoi Theatre was made a government institution, and a new building was opened in 1825. It, too, was destroyed by fire, in 1853, but it was rebuilt and enlarged in 1856 to accommodate an audience of more than 2,000. By the end of the 19th century the Bolshoi's operatic and ballet productions of Russian and other European works were influencing the performing arts throughout the Western world. In 1924 a smaller auditorium was added to the theatre complex, and in 1961 the Kremlin Palace of Congresses, with a capacity of about 6,000, was acquired as a third performing space for bigger productions.
The company was kept intact during the Russian Revolution of 1917, both world wars, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1990–91. Since the mid-1950s the opera and ballet troupes have traveled extensively.
Plisetskaya, Maya
▪ Russian ballerina
born Nov. 20, 1925, Moscow
prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, admired particularly for her technical virtuosity, expressive use of her arms, and ability to integrate acting with dancing.
A niece of the dancers Asaf and Sulamith Messerer, Plisetskaya studied with Paul Gerdt's daughter Yelizaveta and with Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova and graduated from the Bolshoi school in 1943. Plisetskaya was noted for her unique, individualistic portrayals in both Soviet and classic ballets; her repertory included Zarema in The Fountain of Bakhchisaray, Laurencia, the Mistress of the Copper Mountain in The Stone Flower, Kitri in Don Quixote, Giselle, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, and the dual character Odette-Odile in Swan Lake, frequently considered her greatest role. She performed in a number of countries, including the U.S., India, and China, and was a guest artist with the Paris Opéra in 1961 and 1964. Her performances have been recorded in the films Stars of the Russian Ballet (1953), Swan Lake (1957), and Plisetskaya Dances (1966). In 1964 she received a Lenin Prize for outstanding work in the arts. She appeared in ballets by such non-Soviet choreographers as Roland Petit, Maurice Béjart, and Alberto Alonso. From 1975 she also performed with the Ballet de XXe Siècle of Brussels. Her first choreography was Anna Karenina (1972).
Nureyev, Rudolf
▪ Russian dancer
in full Rudolf Hametovich Nureyev
born March 17, 1938, Irkutsk, Russian S.F.S.R. [now Russia]
died Jan. 6, 1993, Paris, France
ballet dancer whose suspended leaps and fast turns were often compared to Vaslav Nijinsky's legendary feats. He was a flamboyant performer and a charismatic celebrity who revived the prominence of male ballet roles and significantly widened the audience for ballet.
Of Tatar descent, Nureyev began his ballet studies at 11, left school at 15, and supported himself by dancing. At 17 he entered the Leningrad Ballet School, where he was taught by Aleksandr Pushkin. He was an outstanding but rebellious student, refusing to join the Komsomol (Communist youth organization), disobeying curfew regulations, and learning English privately.
After graduating in 1958, he became soloist with the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Kirov (now Mariinsky (Mariinsky Ballet)) Ballet and danced leading roles with its touring company. While in Paris with the Kirov Ballet in June 1961, Nureyev eluded Soviet security men at the airport and requested asylum in France. He said later that the rigidly organized Soviet ballet had limited his opportunities to dance frequently and to perform in a variety of roles.
After his defection he danced with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas and made his American debut in 1962, appearing on American television and with Ruth Page's Chicago Opera Ballet. Later that year he joined the Royal Ballet (London) as permanent guest artist, but he never became a member of a major dance troupe in the West, preferring to work with various companies on a temporary basis.
Nureyev became well known as Dame Margot Fonteyn (Fonteyn, Dame Margot)'s favourite partner. Dancing with her, he interpreted such roles as Albrecht in Giselle, Armand in Marguerite and Armand, and Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake. He was a popular guest artist in companies large and small throughout the world. Also working as a choreographer, Nureyev reworked Swan Lake (Vienna, 1964), giving the dominant role to the male dancer. His version of Sergey Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet (1977) was produced by the London Festival Ballet, and his Manfred (1979) was performed by the Paris Opéra Ballet. In 1980 Nureyev staged The Nutcracker for the Berlin Ballet, and in 1981, owing to a further resurgence of interest in dance in Italy, Nureyev staged his version of Romeo and Juliet at La Scala, with Fonteyn as Lady Capulet. Nureyev's capabilities also extended to modern repertoires, and he performed in works by Martha Graham, Murray Louis, and Paul Taylor. Graham created the role of Lucifer (1975) for him, and in 1978 Nureyev appeared in the American premiers of Canarsie Venus and Vivace, choreographed for him by Louis.
His autobiography, Nureyev, was published in 1962. In 1973 he codirected (with Robert Helpmann) and starred in a filmed version of Don Quixote, and he had acting roles in the films Valentino (1977) and Exposed (1983).
Nureyev became an Austrian citizen in 1982. From 1983 to 1989 he was artistic director of the Paris Opéra Ballet.
Baryshnikov, Mikhail
▪ Russian-American dancer
in full Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov
born Jan. 28, 1948, Riga, Latvia, U.S.S.R.
Soviet-born American ballet dancer who was the preeminent male classical dancer of the 1970s and '80s. He subsequently became a noted dance director.
The son of Russian parents in Latvia, Baryshnikov entered Riga's opera ballet school at age 12. The success that he achieved there convinced him to devote himself to dancing. In 1963 he was admitted to the Vaganova ballet school (the training school for the Kirov (now Mariinsky) Ballet in Leningrad [St. Petersburg]), where he was instructed by Aleksandr Pushkin. In 1966 he joined the Kirov Ballet (Mariinsky Ballet) as a soloist without having to serve the customary apprenticeship as a member of the corps de ballet. As the Kirov Ballet's premier danseur noble, Baryshnikov appeared in the leading roles in Gorianka (1968) and Vestris (1969), two original ballets that had been especially choreographed for him.
Baryshnikov was extremely popular with Soviet audiences, but he began to chafe at the official restrictions that were placed upon him as an artist, particularly the prohibition on his performance of contemporary foreign ballets. While on a dance tour in Toronto in June 1974, Baryshnikov defected and was granted asylum by the Canadian government. Soon thereafter he began a series of highly successful appearances before North American audiences. As a dancer, his great physical prowess and unsurpassed leaping ability enabled him to perform the most difficult combinations of steps with remarkable elegance of line.