1.
Frederick Ashton
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Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton OM CH CBE was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film, determined to be a dancer, despite the opposition of his conventional middle-class family, Ashton was accepted as a pupil by Léonide Massine and then by Marie Rambert. In 1926 Rambert encouraged him to try his hand at choreography, Ashton was chief choreographer to Ninette de Valois, from 1935 until her retirement in 1963, in the company known successively as the Vic-Wells Ballet, the Sadlers Wells Ballet and the Royal Ballet. He succeeded de Valois as director of the company, serving until his own retirement in 1970, Ashton is widely credited with the creation of a specifically English genre of ballet. Among his best-known works are Façade, Symphonic Variations, Cinderella, La fille mal gardée, Monotones I and II, Enigma Variations, Ashton was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, the fourth of the five children of George Ashton and his second wife, Georgiana, née Fulcher. George Ashton was manager of the Central and South American Cable Company, in 1907 the family moved to Lima, Peru, where Ashton attended a Dominican school. When they returned to Guayaquil in 1914, he attended a school for children of the English colony, one of his formative influences was serving as altar boy to the Roman Catholic Archbishop, which inspired in him a love of ritual. Another, still more potent, influence was being taken to see Anna Pavlova dance in 1917 and he was immediately determined that he would become a dancer. Dancing was not a career acceptable to a conventional English family at that time, Ashton later recalled, My father was horrified. You can imagine the middle-class attitude and my mother would say, He wants to go on the stage. She could not bring herself to say into the ballet, Ashtons father sent him to England in 1919 to Dover College, where he was miserable. Homosexual, and with a distinctly Spanish accent that his classmates laughed at and he was not academically inclined, and his father decided that on leaving the school in 1921 Ashton should join a commercial company. He worked for a firm in the City of London. In January 1924 George Ashton committed suicide and his widow was left financially dependent on her elder sons, who ran a successful business in Guayaquil. She moved to London to be with Ashton and his younger sister, despite family disapproval Ashton pursued his ambition to dance professionally. He auditioned for Léonide Massine, at the late age of twenty he was accepted as a pupil. After Massine left London, Ashton was taken on as a student by Marie Rambert and she encouraged him to try choreographing. His first attempt was in 1926 for a revue staged by Nigel Playfair, the Observer commented on an engaging little ballet called A Tragedy of Fashion, or The Scarlet Scissors which Mr. Eugene Goossens has set most suitably to music
2.
Robert Helpmann
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Sir Robert Helpmann CBE was an Australian dancer, actor, theatre director and choreographer. He was born Robert Murray Helpman in Mount Gambier, South Australia, Helpmann was educated at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, but left school at 14. From childhood, Helpmann had a desire to be a dancer. This was an unusual ambition in provincial Australia of the 1920s, in a 1974 interview, Helpmann recalled that he was taught the moves and dances of a girl because his dance teacher had no prior experience teaching boys. In the Margot Fonteyn biography, Helpmann is described as being dark-haired, pale, in 1926 he joined the touring dance company of the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. The introduction came via his father, who was on a trip to Melbourne. Following the wartime return of the Sadlers Wells Ballet from the newly occupied Netherlands, Helpmann took a role in Ninette de Valois new ballet of 1940. The highpoint of Helpmanns career as a dancer was the Sadlers Wells Ballet tour of the United States in 1949, with Fonteyn and Helpmann dancing the leading roles in The Sleeping Beauty. The production caused a sensation, which made the names of both the Royal Ballet and its two principals, public and press referred to them affectionately as Bobby and Margot. Although Helpmann was past his best as a dancer, the tour opened doors for him in the United States as an actor and director, in the 1940s, as he passed his peak as a dancer, Helpmann turned to production and to acting. He produced his own ballets — Comus, Hamlet, The Birds, Miracle in the Gorbals, Caravan, Adam Zero and Elektra. Helpmann also appeared in films, including the two Powell and Pressburger ballet films The Red Shoes, for which he was the choreographer. In 1942 he played the Dutch Quisling in the Powell/Pressburger film One of Our Aircraft Is Missing, after his return to Australia as co-director of The Australian Ballet, he continued to appear in films. Notable productions included one of his most recognized screen roles, the evil and his performance in the film was later rated by Empire magazine as among the 100 most frightening ever filmed. Another family film he starred in was Alices Adventures in Wonderland, and for The Australian Ballet he co-directed with Rudolf Nureyev the ballet-film Don Quixote, in which he also played the title role. He also starred in the cult 1978 horror film Patrick, in which he broke his back in a scene where he lifted the title character, since he was gay and flamboyant, his arrival in what was at that time a very conservative country caused some consternation. Australians were proud of his fame, but not sure what to make of him personally. He did not endear himself with the comment, I dont despair about the scene in Australia because there isnt one here to despair about
3.
Sergei Prokofiev
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Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian and Soviet composer, pianist and conductor. As the creator of acknowledged masterpieces across numerous genres, he is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century. Prokofievs greatest interest, however, was opera, and he composed works in that genre, including The Gambler. Prokofievs one operatic success during his lifetime was The Love for Three Oranges, composed for the Chicago Opera and subsequently performed over the decade in Europe. During that time he married a Spanish singer, Carolina Codina, in the early 1930s, the Great Depression diminished opportunities for Prokofievs ballets and operas to be staged in America and western Europe. He enjoyed some success there – notably with Lieutenant Kijé, Peter and the Wolf, Romeo and Juliet, the Nazi invasion of the USSR spurred him to compose his most ambitious work, an operatic version of Leo Tolstoys War and Peace. Prokofiev was born in 1891 in Sontsovka, a rural estate in the Yekaterinoslav Governorate of the Russian Empire. His father, Sergei Alexeyevich Prokofiev, was an agronomist, Prokofievs mother, Maria, came from a family of former serfs who had been owned by the Sheremetev family, under whose patronage serf-children were taught theatre and arts from an early age. She was described by Reinhold Glière as a woman with beautiful. Who knew how to create an atmosphere of warmth and simplicity about her, after their wedding in the summer of 1877, the Prokofievs had moved to a small estate in the Smolensk governorate. Eventually Sergei Alexeyevich found employment as a engineer, employed by one of his former fellow-students, Dmitri Sontsov. By seven, he had learned to play chess. At the age of nine, he was composing his first opera, The Giant, as well as an overture, unable to arrange that, Tanayev instead arranged for composer and pianist Reinhold Glière to spend the summer of 1902 in Sontsovka teaching Prokofiev. The first series of lessons culminated, at the 11-year-old Prokofievs insistence, the following summer, Glière revisited Sontsovka to give further tuition. By 1904, his mother had decided instead on Saint Petersburg, glazunov was so impressed that he urged Prokofievs mother to have her son apply for admission to the Conservatory. He passed the tests and enrolled that year. Several years younger than most of his class, Prokofiev was viewed as eccentric and arrogant and he also shared classes with the composers Boris Asafyev and Nikolai Myaskovsky, the latter becoming a relatively close and lifelong friend. As a member of the Saint Petersburg music scene, Prokofiev developed a reputation as a rebel, while getting praise for his original compositions
4.
Charles Perrault
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Charles Perrault was a French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new genre, the fairy tale. The best known of his tales include Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, Cendrillon, Le Chat Botté, La Belle au bois Dormant, some of Perraults versions of old stories have influenced the German versions published by the Brothers Grimm more than 100 years later. The stories continue to be printed and have adapted to opera, ballet, theatre. Perrault was a figure in the 17th-century French literary scene, and was the leader of the Modern faction during the Quarrel of the Ancients. Perrault was born in Paris to a bourgeois family, the seventh child of Pierre Perrault. He attended very good schools and studied law before embarking on a career in government service and he took part in the creation of the Academy of Sciences as well as the restoration of the Academy of Painting. In 1654, he moved in with his brother Pierre, who had purchased a post as the tax collector of the city of Paris. When the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres was founded in 1663, Perrault was appointed its secretary and served under Jean Baptiste Colbert, Jean Chapelain, Amable de Bourzeys, and Jacques Cassagne were also appointed. His design was chosen over designs by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and François Mansart, in 1668, Perrault wrote La Peinture to honor the kings first painter, Charles Le Brun. He also wrote Courses de tetes et de bague, written to commemorate the 1662 celebrations staged by Louis for his mistress, Louise-Françoise de La Baume le Blanc, Perrault was elected to the Académie française in 1671. He married Marie Guichon, age 19, in 1672, she died in 1678, in 1669 Perrault advised Louis XIV to include thirty-nine fountains each representing one of the fables of Aesop in the labyrinth of Versailles in the gardens of Versailles. The work was carried out between 1672 and 1677, water jets spurting from the animals mouths were conceived to give the impression of speech between the creatures. There was a plaque with a caption and a written by the poet Isaac de Benserade next to each fountain. Perrault produced the guidebook for the labyrinth, Labyrinte de Versailles, printed at the press, Paris, in 1677. Philippe Quinault, a family friend of the Perraults, quickly gained a reputation as the librettist for the new musical genre known as opera. He was on the side of the Moderns and wrote Le Siècle de Louis le Grand, Le Siècle de Louis le Grand was written in celebration of Louis XIVs recovery from a life-threatening operation. Perrault argued that because of Louiss enlightened rule, the present age was superior in respect to ancient times
5.
The Royal Ballet
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The Royal Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, UK. The company employs approximately 100 dancers and has built facilities within the Royal Opera House. The official associate school of the company is the Royal Ballet School, and it also has a company, the Birmingham Royal Ballet. The Prima ballerina assoluta of the Royal Ballet is the late Dame Margot Fonteyn, in 1926, the Irish-born dancer Ninette de Valois founded the Academy of Choreographic Art, a dance school for girls. Her intention was to form a repertory company and school, leading her to collaborate with the English theatrical producer. Baylis owned the Old Vic and Sadlers Wells theatres and in 1925 she engaged de Valois to stage performances at both venues. Sadlers Wells reopened in 1931 and the Vic-Wells Ballet and Vic-Wells Ballet School were established in premises at the theatre and these would become the predecessors of todays Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet School. Prior to her return to Britain, Ninette de Valois had been a member of the Ballets Russes, one of the most renowned, the company disbanded in 1929 following the death of its founder Serge Diaghilev. The Founder Musical Director was the conductor and composer Constant Lambert who had considerable artistic as well as influence over the early years of the company. After losing the link with the Old Vic theatre, in 1939 the company was renamed Sadlers Wells Ballet, the company relocated to the opera house the same year in 1946, with their first production at the venue being The Sleeping Beauty. Following the relocation of the company, the moved to its own premises in 1947. A sister company was established to continue performances at Sadlers Wells, called the Sadlers Wells Theatre Ballet, in 1955, the sister company temporarily lost its link with Sadlers Wells and returned to the Royal Opera House as a touring unit of the main company. In 1956, a Royal Charter was granted for companies and the school, they were subsequently renamed the Royal Ballet, Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet. The Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet returned to Sadlers Wells Theatre in 1970, in 1987, however, the company was invited to become the resident ballet company at the Birmingham Hippodrome. Birmingham Royal Ballet retains close relationships with both the Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet School, although it now has its own ballet school. In 1964 the Royal Ballet established Ballet for All under the direction of Peter Brinson, between 1964 and 1979 Ballet for All toured throughout the country, presenting around 150 performances per annum and reaching around 70,000 people each year. In 1976 the Royal Opera House established its schools matinee programme, to stage these ballets with her newly formed company, de Valois employed Nicholas Sergeyev, a former régisseur of the Imperial. He staged productions of Petipas The Sleeping Beauty, Petipa and Ivanovs Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, Petipa and Cecchettis production of Coppélia, and Petipas Giselle
6.
Royal Opera House
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The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is referred to as simply Covent Garden. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, originally called the Theatre Royal, it served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented, a year later, Handels first season of operas began. Many of his operas and oratorios were written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there. The current building is the theatre on the site following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1856. The façade, foyer, and auditorium date from 1858, the main auditorium seats 2,256 people, making it the third largest in London, and consists of four tiers of boxes and balconies and the amphitheatre gallery. The proscenium is 12.20 m wide and 14.80 m high, the main auditorium is a Grade I listed building. The letters patent remained in the possession of the patentees heirs until the 19th century, in 1728, John Rich, actor-manager of the Dukes Company at Lincolns Inn Fields Theatre, commissioned The Beggars Opera from John Gay. In addition, a Royal Charter had created a fruit and vegetable market in the area, at its opening on 7 December 1732, Rich was carried by his actors in processional triumph into the theatre for its opening production of William Congreves The Way of the World. Despite the frequent interchangeability between the Covent Garden and Drury Lane companies, competition was intense, often presenting the plays at the same time. Rich introduced pantomime to the repertoire, himself performing and a tradition of seasonal pantomime continued at the modern theatre, in 1734, Covent Garden presented its first ballet, Pygmalion. Marie Sallé discarded tradition and her corset and danced in diaphanous robes, george Frideric Handel was named musical director of the company, at Lincolns Inn Fields, in 1719, but his first season of opera, at Covent Garden, was not presented until 1734. His first opera was Il pastor fido followed by Ariodante, the première of Alcina, there was a royal performance of Messiah in 1743, which was a success and began a tradition of Lenten oratorio performances. From 1735 until his death in 1759 he gave regular seasons there and he bequeathed his organ to John Rich, and it was placed in a prominent position on the stage, but was among many valuable items lost in a fire that destroyed the theatre on 20 September 1808. In 1792 the architect Henry Holland rebuilt the auditorium, within the shell of the building but deeper and wider than the old auditorium. Rebuilding began in December 1808, and the second Theatre Royal, the Old Price Riots lasted over two months, and the management was finally forced to accede to the audiences demands. During this time, entertainments were varied, opera and ballet were presented, kemble engaged a variety of acts, including the child performer Master Betty, the great clown Joseph Grimaldi made his name at Covent Garden
7.
Moira Shearer
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Moira Shearer, Lady Kennedy, was an internationally renowned British ballet dancer and actress. She was born Moira Shearer King at Morton Lodge in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, in 1931 her family moved to Ndola, Northern Rhodesia, where her father worked as a civil engineer and where she received her first dancing training under a former pupil of Enrico Cecchetti. She returned to Britain in 1936 and trained with Flora Fairbairn in London for a few months before she was accepted as a pupil by the Russian teacher Nicholas Legat. At his studio she met Mona Inglesby who gave Shearer a part in her new ballet Endymion, after three years with Legat, she joined the Sadlers Wells Ballet School. After the outbreak of World War II, her parents took her to live in Scotland and she joined Mona Inglesbys International Ballet for its 1941 provincial tour and West End season before moving on to Sadlers Wells in 1942. Her first claim to fame is as Posy Fossil in the advertisements for the Noel Streatfeild book Ballet Shoes while she was training under Flora Fairbairn and she came to international attention for her first film role as Victoria Page in the Powell & Pressburger ballet-themed film The Red Shoes. Shearer retired from ballet in 1953, but she continued to act and she worked again for Powell on The Tales of Hoffmann and on the controversial film Peeping Tom, which damaged Powells own career. In 1972, she was chosen by the BBC to present the Eurovision Song Contest when it was staged at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh and she also wrote for The Daily Telegraph newspaper and gave talks on ballet worldwide. The choreographer Gillian Lynne persuaded her to return to ballet in 1987 to play L. S. Lowrys mother in A Simple Man for the BBC, in 1950, Moira Shearer married journalist and broadcaster Ludovic Kennedy. They were married in the Chapel Royal in Londons Hampton Court Palace and she and Kennedy had a son, Alastair, and three daughters, Ailsa, Rachel, and Fiona. Shearer died at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, England at the age of 80
8.
Margot Fonteyn
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Dame Margot Fonteyn de Arias, DBE, was an English ballerina. She spent her career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet. Fonteyn was born Margaret Evelyn Hookham on 18 May 1919 in Reigate and her father was a British engineer, among his family were people in literature and music. Her mother was half Irish and half Brazilian, the daughter of Brazilian industrialist Antonio Fontes and her later formal married name was Margot Fonteyn de Arias, in the Spanish-language tradition. At four years of age her mother signed her and her brother up for ballet classes. At age eight, Margot travelled to China with her mother and father, for six years Margot lived in TianJin, then in Shanghai, where she studied ballet with Russian émigré teacher George Goncharov. Her mother brought her back to London when she was 14, continuing to work in Shanghai, her father was interned during World War II by the invading Japanese. After starting with the Vic-Wells Ballet, she rose quickly through the ranks of the company, by 1939 Fonteyn had performed principal roles in Giselle, Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty and was appointed Prima Ballerina. She was most noted in the ballets of Frederick Ashton, including Ondine, Daphnis and Chloe and she was especially renowned for her portrayal of Aurora in Tchaikovskys The Sleeping Beauty. Fonteyn also worked with choreographer Roland Petit and, later in life, when the Royal Ballet toured the United States in 1949, Fonteyn instantly became a celebrity for her performances. In the 1940s she and Robert Helpmann formed a successful dance partnership. In the 1950s she danced regularly with Michael Somes, in 1955, the year in which Fonteyn married a Panamanian diplomat, they danced together in the first colour telecast of a ballet, NBCs production of The Sleeping Beauty. In 1958 they appeared together in the first British televised version of The Nutcracker and she named Helpmann the favourite partner of her entire career. Fonteyn began her greatest artistic partnership at a time many people, including the head of the Royal Ballet, Ninette de Valois. In 1961 Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West, and on 21 February 1962 he and she was 42 and he was 24. Their performance was a success, during the curtain calls Nureyev dropped to his knees. They created a partnership that lasted until her retirement—with no pension—in 1979 at age 61. Fonteyn and Nureyev became known for inspiring repeated frenzied curtain calls, sir Frederick Ashton choreographed Marguerite and Armand for them, which no other couple danced until the 21st century
9.
Joffrey Ballet
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The Joffrey Ballet is a professional dance company resident in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The company regularly performs classical ballets, including Romeo & Juliet and The Nutcracker, and modern dance pieces. Many choreographers have worked with the Joffrey including Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, George Balanchine, founded as a touring company in 1956, it was based in New York City until 1995 when it moved to Chicago. The companys headquarters and dance academy are in Joffrey Tower, while Joffrey stayed in New York City to teach ballet classes and earn money to pay the dancers salaries, Arpino led the troupe. The ensemble first performed in a city in Chicago in 1957. The Joffrey Ballet originally settled down in New York City, under the name the Robert Joffrey Theatre Ballet, in 1962 modern choreographer Alvin Ailey was invited to make a work for the company. Rebekah Harkness was an important early benefactor and she made international touring possible, but in 1964 she and Joffrey parted ways. Joffrey started again, building up a new company made its debut in 1965 as the Joffrey Ballet. Following a successful season at the New York City Center in 1966, it was invited to become City Centers resident ballet company with Joffrey as artistic director, in 1973 Joffrey asked Twyla Tharp to create her first commissioned ballet, Deuce Coupe. The company continued as City Center Joffrey Ballet until 1977, from 1977, it performed as the Joffrey Ballet, with a second home established in Los Angeles from. In 1995, the company left New York City for Chicago to establish a permanent residence there, the first few years in Chicago were financially arduous for the company, nearly causing it to close several times, but audiences later became larger and younger. The Joffrey Ballet appeared in the motion picture Save the Last Dance and it was also the subject of Robert Altmans penultimate film, The Company. Malcolm McDowell played the companys artistic director, a character based on Gerald Arpino. The film is composed of stories gathered from the dancers, choreographers. Most of the roles are played by company members. In the Glee, character Mike Chang is given a scholarship to attend the Joffrey Academy of Dance in Chicago, in fall 1987 the Joffrey Ballet premiered a reconstructed version of Igor Stravinskys seminal ballet The Rite of Spring in the city of Los Angeles. The original ballet debuted in 1913 in Paris, France and was choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky, Dance experts Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer spent eighteen years gathering research on the original ballet in order to properly reconstruct it. Its repertoire consists of classical and contemporary pieces, as well as annual December performances of The Nutcracker, presented in conjunction with the Chicago Philharmonic
10.
Roosevelt University
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Roosevelt University is a coeducational, private university with campuses in Chicago, Illinois and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university is named in honor of both former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, the universitys curriculum is based on principles of social justice. The university enrolls around 7,000 students between its undergraduate and graduate programs and is ranked #81 in U. S. News & World Reports Midwest Universities -2012, Roosevelt is also home to the Chicago College of Performing Arts. The Universitys newest academic building, Wabash, is located in The Loop of Downtown Chicago and it is the tallest educational building in Chicago, the second tallest educational building in the United States, and the fourth -largest academic complex in the world. President Charles R. Middleton was inaugurated in 2002, and retired in 2015, the current president, Dr. Ali Malekzadeh, started in 2015. The tuition of Business college suddenly increased up to 20% from fall 2015 to fall 2016, the university was founded in 1945. As a result, Sparling resigned under protest, when he left, he took with him a number of faculty and students, to start a new college. Faculty voted in favor 62 to 1, and students 488 to 2 for the school, in the beginning, the university had no library, campus, or endowment. Two weeks later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died, the college obtained his widow Eleanors permission to rename the institution as Roosevelt College in his memory. In 1947, the college purchased the Auditorium Building for one dollar, the college was rededicated to both Franklin and Eleanor in 1959. Early advisory board members included Marian Anderson, Pearl Buck, Ralph Bunche, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Gunnar Myrdal, Draper Daniels, in August 1996, the university opened its Albert A. Robin Campus in Schaumburg, after a donation from Albert A. Robin, the institution is accredited as a Higher Education University by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It has been ranked the tenth most diverse university in America by the New York Times. Chicago classes are held within Roosevelts historic Auditorium Building at 430 S, Michigan Avenue, blocks from the Magnificent Mile. The Auditorium Building houses the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University and numerous offices for the university. A second downtown campus building is the Gage Building, located at 18 S, pro footballs 2015 NFL Draft was held in the Auditorium on April 30,2015, the leagues first time hosting the draft in Chicago in more than 50 years. In Spring 2010, construction began on a new building for the downtown campus, the 32-story vertical campus, the Wabash Building, is the second-tallest higher-education building in the United States and the sixth tallest in the world. It serves as a building, housing student services, classrooms, contemporary science labs, administrative offices
11.
Auditorium Building (Chicago)
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The Auditorium Building in Chicago is one of the best-known designs of Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler. Completed in 1889, the building is located at the northwest corner of South Michigan Avenue and Congress Street. The building, which when constructed was the largest in the United States and the tallest in Chicago, was designed to be a complex, including offices, a theater. As a young apprentice, Frank Lloyd Wright worked on some of the interior design, the Auditorium Theatre is part of the Auditorium Building and is located at 50 East Congress Parkway. The theater was the first home of the Chicago Civic Opera and it currently hosts the season performances of the Joffrey Ballet. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 17,1970 and it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975, and was designated a Chicago Landmark on September 15,1976. In addition, it is a historic district contributing property for the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District, since 1947, the Auditorium Building has been part of Roosevelt University. He was said to have wanted to make culture accessible to the working classes of Chicago. The building was to include a block and a first class hotel. Peck persuaded many Chicago business tycoons to go on board with him, including Marshall Field, Edson Keith, Martin A. Ryerson, Charles L. Hutchinson, the association hired the renowned architectural firm of Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan to design the building. At the time, a young Frank Lloyd Wright was employed at the firm as draftsman, and he may have contributed to the design. The Auditorium was built for a syndicate of businessmen to house a large opera house, to provide an economic base it was decided to wrap the auditorium with a hotel. Hence Adler & Sullivan had to plan a complex multiple-use building, fronting on Michigan Avenue, overlooking the lake, was the hotel while the offices were placed to the west on Wabash Avenue. The entrance to the auditorium is on the south side beneath the tall blocky eighteen-story tower, the rest of the building is a uniform ten stories, organized in the same way as Richardsons Marshall Field Wholesale Store. The Auditorium is a heavy, impressive structure externally, and was striking in its day when buildings of its scale were less common. When completed, it was the tallest building in the city, one of the most innovative features of the building was its massive raft foundation, designed by Adler in conjunction with engineer Paul Mueller. The soil beneath the Auditorium consists of blue clay to a depth of over 100 feet. Adler and Mueller designed a floating mat of crisscrossed railroad ties, topped with a layer of steel rails embedded in concrete
12.
Marius Petipa
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Marius Ivanovich Petipa, born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer in ballet history, Petipa created over fifty ballets, some of which have survived in versions either faithful to, inspired by, or reconstructed from the original. Petipa revived a number of works created by other choreographers. Many of these revivals would go on to become the definitive editions on which all subsequent productions would be based, the most famous of these revivals were Le Corsaire, Giselle, La Esmeralda, Coppélia, La Fille Mal Gardée, The Little Humpbacked Horse and Swan Lake. All of the works and individual pieces which have survived in active performance are considered to be cornerstones of the ballet repertory. Marius Petipa was born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa in Marseilles, France on 11 March 1818 and his mother, Victorine Grasseau, was a tragic actress and teacher of drama, while his father, Jean Antoine Petipa, was among the most renowned Ballet Masters and pedagogues in Europe. At the time of Mariuss birth, Jean Petipa was engaged as Premier danseur to the Salle Bauveau, Marius Petipa spent his early childhood traveling throughout Europe with his family, as his parents professional engagements took them from city to city. The young Marius received his education at the Grand College in Brussels, while also attending the Brussels Conservatory where he studied music. Just as he had done with his children, Jean Petipa began giving the young Marius lessons in ballet at the age of seven. At first the young boy resisted, caring little for dance. Nevertheless, he came to love this art form that was so much the life and identity of his family. At the age of nine Marius performed for the first time in a production as a Savoyard in his fathers staging of Pierre Gardels 1800 ballet La Dansomani in 1827. The violent street fighting that followed caused all theatres to be shut down for a time, the Petipa family was left in dire straits for some years. The Petipa family relocated to Bordeaux, France, in 1834 where Marius father had secured the position of Premier maître de ballet to the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, while in Bordeaux, Marius completed his ballet training under the great Auguste Vestris. By 1838 he was appointed Premier danseur to the Ballet de Nantes in Nantes, during his time in Nantes the young Petipa began to try his hand at choreography by creating a number of one-act ballets and divertissements. The 21-year-old Marius Petipa accompanied his father on a tour of the United States with a group of French dancers in July of 1839. Among the many engagements was a performance of Jean Corallis La tarentule at the National Theatre on Broadway, the tour proved to be a disaster, as many in the uncultured American audiences of that time had never before seen ballet. To add to the fiasco, the American impresario who arranged the engagements stole a portion of the troupes receipts
13.
Enrico Cecchetti
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Enrico Cecchetti was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the room of the Teatro Tordinona in Rome. After an illustrious career as a dancer in Europe, he went to dance for the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia, Cecchetti was praised for his agility and strength in his performances, as well as his technical abilities in dance. By 1888, he was accepted as the greatest ballet virtuoso in the world. After an esteemed career in Russia, originating such roles as both the Bluebird and Carabosse in Petipas masterpiece, The Sleeping Beauty, he turned to teaching. Some of his students included notable dancers of the Imperial Ballet, such as, Anna Pavlova, Léonide Massine. He also restaged many ballets, including Petipas definitive version of Coppélia in 1894, while teaching a class, Cecchetti collapsed and he died the following day,13 November 1928. Changes to the choreography of the male variations featured in the works of the Imperial Ballets repertory, in 1890, Cecchetti performed in the ground-breaking production of The Sleeping Beauty, where his performance as the Bluebird caused a sensation in the audience at the Mariinsky Theatre. The choreography of the Bluebird has challenged male dancers even to the present day, Cecchetti left the Imperial ballet in 1902 to accept the directorship of the Imperial Ballet School in Warsaw, Poland, then part of the Russian Empire. His farewell gala at the Mariinsky Theatre featured all of the ballerinas of the day. In order to have everyone pay him homage, the Paquita Grand pas classique was performed and this led to the tradition of including a long suite of variations for several ballerinas. In 1919 Cecchetti performed at the performance of the ballet, La Boutique fantasque, in London. In 1887 Cecchetti performed in St. Petersburg where Ivan Vsevolozhsky and he was so impressed with Cecchetti that he immediately hired Cecchetti as a principal dancer for the theatre. This was extremely rare at the time because normally dancers would be asked to join a company on a lower level, with the introduction of the pointe shoe in the early 19th century, ballet was dominated by female performers using pointe technique. In many ways male technique had been reduced to the role of an actor whose responsibilities as a dancer were relegated to a servant who partnered the ballerina. In 1890, Cecchetti performed in the production of The Sleeping Beauty. The choreography of the Bluebird has challenged male dancers even to the present day, Cecchetti left the Imperial ballet in 1902 to accept the directorship of the Imperial Ballet School in Warsaw, Poland. His farewell gala at the Mariinsky Theatre featured all of the ballerinas of the day
14.
Lev Ivanov
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Lev Ivanovich Ivanov was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet. As a performer with the Imperial Ballet, he achieved prominence after performing as an understudy in a performance of La Fille Mal Gardée. He is most famous as the choreographer of Dance of the Little Swans from Swan Lake, Act II of Cinderella, and The Nutcracker, which he choreographed alongside Marius Petipa. Ivanov entered the Moscow School of Dance, but in 1844 moved to Saint Petersburg where he studied at the Imperial Ballet, among his teachers during this time were Jean-Antoine Petipa, Alexandr Pimenov, Pierre Frédéric Malavergne and Emile Gredlu. Historically, Ivanov is credited with choreographing the entirety of premiere of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskys ballet The Nutcracker in 1892 due to the ill health of the ballet master, Marius Petipa. Regardless of the amount of work he actually did, Pepitas was the name listed for choreography on posters for the first production in St. Petersburg. Ivanov worked with Petipa on a new restaging of Tchaikovskys Swan Lake ballet in 1895, Ivanov choreographed the entirety of the lakeside acts, Act II and Act IV. Ivanov also choreographed the Danse Vénitienne and the Pas Hongrois of the third bier scene, in his last years Ivanov was in financial straits. On the strength of his 50 years service he petitioned the Imperial Theatres for financial assistance, Imperial Ballet School,5 April 1887. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,15 May 1887, Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,16 October 1887. Revival by Claudia Kulichevskaya and Pavel Gerdt, Imperial Ballet School,16 April 1902. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,29 April 1903, Imperial Ballet School,22 March 1889. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,23 April 1889, Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,23 November 1890. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,18 December 1892, staged jointly with Enrico Cecchetti and Marius Petipa. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,17 December 1893, bolshoi Theatre, Moscow,12 March 1898 Swan Lake. Music by Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, revised by Riccardo Drigo, Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,27 January 1895. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,2 February 1896, Imperial Ballet School,3 May 1905. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,21 November 1897, Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,8 March 1908
15.
Saint Petersburg
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Saint Petersburg is Russias second-largest city after Moscow, with five million inhabitants in 2012, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. It is politically incorporated as a federal subject, situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 271703. In 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, in 1924 to Leningrad, between 1713 and 1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of imperial Russia. In 1918, the government bodies moved to Moscow. Saint Petersburg is one of the cities of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saint Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. A large number of consulates, international corporations, banks. Swedish colonists built Nyenskans, a fortress, at the mouth of the Neva River in 1611, in a then called Ingermanland. A small town called Nyen grew up around it, Peter the Great was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, and he intended to have Russia gain a seaport in order to be able to trade with other maritime nations. He needed a better seaport than Arkhangelsk, which was on the White Sea to the north, on May 1703121703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured Nyenskans, and soon replaced the fortress. On May 271703, closer to the estuary 5 km inland from the gulf), on Zayachy Island, he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city. The city was built by conscripted peasants from all over Russia, tens of thousands of serfs died building the city. Later, the city became the centre of the Saint Petersburg Governorate, Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712,9 years before the Treaty of Nystad of 1721 ended the war, he referred to Saint Petersburg as the capital as early as 1704. During its first few years, the city developed around Trinity Square on the bank of the Neva, near the Peter. However, Saint Petersburg soon started to be built out according to a plan, by 1716 the Swiss Italian Domenico Trezzini had elaborated a project whereby the city centre would be located on Vasilyevsky Island and shaped by a rectangular grid of canals. The project was not completed, but is evident in the layout of the streets, in 1716, Peter the Great appointed French Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond as the chief architect of Saint Petersburg. In 1724 the Academy of Sciences, University and Academic Gymnasium were established in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great, in 1725, Peter died at the age of fifty-two. His endeavours to modernize Russia had met opposition from the Russian nobility—resulting in several attempts on his life
16.
Cinderella (Fitinhof-Schell)
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Cinderella is a ballet-féerie in three acts, with the choreographyof Enrico Cecchetti and Lev Ivanov supervised by Marius Petipa. Music is by Baron Boris Fitinhoff-Schell, the libretto is by Lidia Pashkova and it was first presented by the Imperial Ballet on 17 December 1893 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire. The theatre critic for the Peterburgskii listok reported that Legnani executed. the most dizzying difficulties of ballet technique with absolute ease, and that she. revealed such perfection of technique and such strength as are difficult to imagine. He went on to state that Legnani. must unquestionably be counted among the greatest virtuosas of choreography which Petersburg had ever seen, when Emma Bessone danced the lead in The Haarlem Tulip she did 14 fouettés. In her variation Legnani performed 32 of them stopping. The public delightedly applauded the Ballerina and compelled her to repeat this variation as well, on the repetition she nevertheless did 28 fouettés. To count them became the occupation of the public. Cinderella was later staged for the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow by Lev Ivanov, Ivanov supervised a revival of the second act for the farewell benefit performance of Pierina Legnani on 5 February 1901. This would prove to be the last performance of any part of the ballet, fitinhof-Schells score for Cinderella was never published in any form. The only part of the score that is heard is the female variation in polka rhythm danced in the Mariinsky Theatres version of the so-called Le Corsaire Pas de Deux. Taken from the theatrical poster of 1893 and the book Nash balet by Aleksander Plescheyev. La nuite Parisienne №23 Danse des quatres éléments–Terre, eau, Gianna returns, sees their mischief and sternly orders them back to business, they pay her no heed and Gianna, drawn into their merriment, begins to dance with them. Gianna now emphatically orders her helpers to calm down, in confusion, Scene 2 Aloisa and Odette enter hurriedly, hunting for their little sister to help them dress for the ball. Seeing that Cinderella is not there, they order the scullery maids to find her at once, the sisters are in a frightful worry. The hour of their departure for the celebration is approaching and their toilettes are not yet finished, they begin to smarten themselves up, angry. The sisters, now content, begin to dream and boast to one another of their successes at the ball, making fun of Cinderella, they dance and force her to dance as well. Their parents enter and press their daughters to get ready to leave, in vain, Cinderella begs her parents and sisters to take her along. Her sisters laugh and her father orders her sternly to stay at home, Scene 4 Alone and sad, Cinderella dreams about the pleasures of the ball, imagining the dances, but realising that she cannot go, and hurries about her work
17.
Ballet dancer
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A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet, however, dancers have hierarchy and they rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of professional companies. Ballet dancers are at a risk of injury due to the demanding technique of ballet. Ballet dancers typically begin training between the ages of 2-4 or 5-7 if they desire to perform professionally, training does not end when ballet dancers are hired by a professional company. They must attend ballet class six days a week to keep themselves fit, Ballet is a strict form of art, and the dancer must be very athletic and flexible. Ballet dancers begin their classes at the barre, a beam that runs along the walls of the ballet studio. Dancers use the barre to support themselves during exercises, barre work is designed to warm up the body and stretch muscles to prepare for center work, where they execute exercises without the barre. Center work in the middle of the room starts out with exercises, gradually leading up to faster exercises. Ballet dancers finish center work practicing big leaps across the floor which is called grande allegro, after center work, females present exercises on pointe, or on their toes, supported by special pointe shoes. They may practice partner work together, Ballet dancers are susceptible to injury because they are constantly putting strain and stress on their bodies. A ballet dancers goal is to make physically demanding choreography appear effortless, Ballet dancers increase their risk of injury if they start training earlier than the age of ten. However, many dancers do start on the average age of 6 to 8 years old. The upper body of a dancer is prone to injury because choreography and class exercises requires them to exert energy into contorting their backs. Back bends cause the back to pinch, making the spine vulnerable to such as spasms. Extending the legs and holding them in the air while turned out causes damage to the hips, such damage includes strains, fatigue fractures, and bone density loss. Injuries are common in ballet dancers because ballet consists of putting the body in unnatural positions, one such position is first position, in which the heels are placed together as the toes point outward, rotating, or turning out the legs. First position puts a risk for injury at the knees, meniscal tears and dislocations are common at the knees because it is easy to let the knees slide forward while turned out in first position. Ballet dancers feet are prone to fractures and other damage, landing from jumps and working in pointe shoes cause bones to break and ankles to weaken
18.
Pointe shoe
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A pointe shoe is a type of shoe worn by ballet dancers when performing pointe work. Pointe shoes were conceived in response to the desire for dancers to appear weightless and they are manufactured in a variety of colors, most commonly in shades of light pink. Women began to dance ballet in 1681, twenty years after King Louis XIV of France ordered the founding of the Académie Royale de Danse, at that time, the standard womens ballet shoe had heels. After the French Revolution, heels were completely eliminated from standard ballet shoes, the first dancers to rise up on their toes did so with the help of an invention by Charles Didelot in 1795. His flying machine lifted dancers upward, allowing them to stand on their toes before leaving the ground and this lightness and ethereal quality was well received by audiences and, as a result, choreographers began to look for ways to incorporate more pointe work into their pieces. As dance progressed into the 19th century, the emphasis on technical skill increased, because the shoes of this period offered no support, dancers would pad their toes for comfort and rely on the strength of their feet and ankles for support. The next substantially different form of pointe shoe appeared in Italy in the late 19th century, dancers like Pierina Legnani wore shoes with a sturdy, flat platform at the front end of the shoe, rather than the more sharply pointed toe of earlier models. These shoes also included a box—made of layers of fabric—for containing the toes, and they were constructed without nails and the soles were only stiffened at the toes, making them nearly silent. The birth of the pointe shoe is often attributed to the early 20th-century Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. Pavlova had particularly high, arched insteps, which left her vulnerable to injury when dancing en pointe and she also had slender, tapered feet, which resulted in excessive pressure on her big toes. To compensate for this, she inserted toughened leather soles into her shoes for extra support, every dancer has unique feet, with variations that include toe length and shape, arch flexibility, and mechanical strength. Consequently, most pointe shoe manufacturers produce more than one model of shoe, with each offering a different fit. A shank, which is a piece of material that serves to stiffen the sole so as to provide support for the arch of the en pointe foot. The exterior of a shoe is covered with fabric, thus concealing the box and other internal structural elements. Most pointe shoes are covered with satin, but some are available with canvas exteriors, Pointe shoes are most often available in light pink colors and less commonly in black and white. Pointe shoes can often be ordered in other custom colors, the vamp refers to the shoes upper piece, measured from the platform to the drawstring, normally, longer toes call for a longer vamp. The throat is the edge of the vamp above the arch of the foot, the drawstring is located within the binding on the throat, this may be made from either elastic or lace. The box is an enclosure within the front end of the shoe that encases
19.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
20.
Pantomime
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Pantomime, is a type of musical comedy stage production, designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, generally during the Christmas and New Year season and, to a lesser extent. It is a form of theatre, in which the audience is expected to sing along with certain parts of the music. Pantomime has a theatrical history in Western culture dating back to classical theatre. It developed partly from the 16th century commedia dellarte tradition of Italy, as well as other European and British stage traditions, such as 17th-century masques, an important part of the pantomime, until the late 19th century, was the harlequinade. Outside Britain the word pantomime is used to mean miming. The Roman pantomime drew upon the Greek tragedy and other Greek genres from its inception, although the art was instituted in Rome, the English word came to be applied to the performance itself. Music was supplied by flute and the pulse of an iron-shod shoe, performances might be in a private household, with minimal personnel, or else lavish theatrical productions involving a large orchestra and chorus and sometimes an ancillary actor. The dancer danced all the roles, relying on masks, stock poses and gestures, Pantomime differed from mime by its more artistic nature and relative lack of farce and coarse humour, though these were not absent from some productions. Precursors of pantomime also included the masque, which grew in pomp, the development of English pantomime was also strongly influenced by the continental commedia dellarte, a form of popular theatre that arose in Italy in the Early Modern Period. Each scenario used some of the stock characters. These included the innamorati, the vecchi such as Pantalone, and zanni such as Arlecchino, Colombina, Scaramouche, Italian masque performances in the 17th century sometimes included the Harlequin character. In the 17th century, adaptations of the characters became familiar in English entertainments. From these, the standard English harlequinade developed, depicting the eloping lovers Harlequin and Columbine, pursued by the girls father Pantaloon and his comic servants Clown, in English versions, by the 18th century, Harlequin became the central figure and romantic lead. The basic plot of the harlequinade remained essentially the same for more than 150 years, tavern Bilkers, by John Weaver, the dancing master at Drury Lane, is cited as the first pantomime produced on the English stage. The same year he produced a pantomime on the subject of Perseus, after this, pantomime was regular feature at Drury Lane. In 1717 at Lincolns Inn, actor and manager John Rich introduced Harlequin into the theatres pantomimes under the name of Lun and he gained great popularity for his pantomimes, especially beginning with his 1724 production of The Necromancer, or, History of Dr. Faustus. These early pantomimes were silent, or dumb show, performances consisting of only dancing, spoken drama was only allowed in London only in the two patent theatres until Parliament changed this restriction in 1843
21.
Vienna
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Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austrias primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million, and its cultural, economic and it is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin, Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region, along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be The City of Dreams because it was home to the worlds first psycho-analyst – Sigmund Freud. The citys roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city and it is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first for the worlds most liveable cities, between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. Monocles 2015 Quality of Life Survey ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world to make a base within, the UN-Habitat has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the worlds number-one destination for international congresses and it attracts over 3.7 million tourists a year. The English name Vienna is borrowed from the homonymous Italian version of the name or the French Vienne. The etymology of the name is still subject to scholarly dispute. Some claim that the name comes from Vedunia, meaning forest stream, which produced the Old High German Uuenia. A variant of this Celtic name could be preserved in the Czech and Slovak names of the city, the name of the city in Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian and Ottoman Turkish has a different, probably Slavonic origin, and originally referred to an Avar fort in the area. Slovene-speakers call the city Dunaj, which in other Central European Slavic languages means the Danube River, evidence has been found of continuous habitation since 500 BC, when the site of Vienna on the Danube River was settled by the Celts. In 15 BC, the Romans fortified the city they called Vindobona to guard the empire against Germanic tribes to the north
22.
Drury Lane
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Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the part in the City of Westminster. It acquired its name from the Suffolk barrister Sir Robert Drury, after the death in 1615 of his great-great-grandson, another Robert Drury, the property passed out of the family. It became the London house of the Earl of Craven, then a house under the sign of his reputed mistress. Subsequently the gardens and courtyards of the house were built over with rows of smallhouses, the remains of the house itself, which had been progressively demolished, were finally cleared in 1809. By this time Drury Lane had become one of the worst slums in London, dominated by prostitution, the area was eventually cleared to make way for the developments of Kingsway and Aldwych. Also in Drury Lane is the New London Theatre,173 Drury Lane was the location of the first J Sainsbury store, now one of the UKs largest retailers. The store was opened in 1869,191 Drury Lane was the location of the Workers Educational Society in 1847/48. The street Drury Lane is where The Muffin Man lives, as mentioned in the nursery rhyme. Colley Cibber Covent Garden List of eponymous roads in London Restoration comedy The Strand, Drury Lane and Clare Market, Old and New London Volume 3, Drury Lane, In Their Shoes, Drury Lane history resource
23.
Gioachino Rossini
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Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote operas, as well as some sacred music, songs, chamber music and piano pieces. A precocious composer of operas, he made his debut at the age of eighteen. His best-known operas include the Italian comedies Il barbiere di Siviglia, Litaliana in Algeri and he also wrote a string of serious operas in Italian, including works such as Tancredi, Otello and Semiramide. The semi-serious opera La Gazza Ladra has one of Rossinis most celebrated overtures, after moving to Paris in 1824, he eventually started to write in French. His last opera, the epic Guillaume Tell, replete with its iconic overture, after composing thirty-nine significant operas in nineteen years Rossini retired from the theatre in 1829. Later, he was affected by physical and mental illnesses and for decades wrote relatively little apart from a setting of the Stabat Mater. A return to Paris from Italy in 1855 was followed by better health, during these, he presented salon music in the form of songs, piano pieces and small chamber ensembles that he called Sins of Old Age. He considered the last of these Sins to be the unusually scored Petite messe solennelle that he wrote in 1863, Rossini had been the most popular opera composer in history, and he was one of the most renowned public figures of his time. A rapid and prolific composer, he was quoted as joking, Give me the laundress bill, a tendency for inspired, song-like melodies is evident throughout his scores, earning him the nickname The Italian Mozart. Use of a build up of orchestral sound over a repeated phrase—commonly known as a Rossini crescendo—also prompted the nickname Signor Crescendo. Gioachino Antonio Rossini was born into a family of musicians in Pesaro and his father, Giuseppe, was a horn player and inspector of slaughterhouses. His mother, Anna, was a singer and a bakers daughter, Rossinis father was sympathetic to the French Revolution and welcomed Napoleons troops when they arrived in northern Italy. When Austria restored the old regime, Rossinis father was sent to prison in 1799, Rossinis mother took him to Bologna, making a living as leading singer at various theatres of the Romagna region. Her husband would ultimately join her in Bologna, during this time, Rossini was frequently left in the care of his aging grandmother, who had difficulty supervising the boy. He remained at Bologna in the care of a pork butcher while his father played the horn in the orchestras of the theatres at which his wife sang and these qualities made him a subject for ridicule in the eyes of the young Rossini. He was eventually taken from Prinetti and apprenticed to a blacksmith, in Angelo Tesei, he found a congenial music master, and learned to sight-read, play accompaniments on the piano and sing well enough to take solo parts in the church when he was ten years of age. Important products of this period are six sonate a quattro, or string sonatas, the original scores, dating from 1804 when the composer was twelve, were found in the Library of Congress in Washington D. C. In 1805, he appeared at the theatre of the Commune in Ferdinando Paers Camilla and he was also a capable horn player, treading in the footsteps of his father
24.
La Cenerentola
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La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cendrillon by Charles Perrault, the opera was first performed in Romes Teatro Valle on 25 January 1817. Rossini composed La Cenerentola when he was 25 years old, following the success of The Barber of Seville the year before, La Cenerentola, which he completed in a period of three weeks, is considered to have some of his finest writing for solo voice and ensembles. The facsimile edition of the autograph has a different aria for Alidoro, Fa silenzio, odo un rumore, for an 1820 revival in Rome, Rossini wrote a bravura replacement, La, del ciel nellarcano profondo. Ferretti had been proposing, unsuccessfully, more than two different subjects. At Rossinis question about when he could have some verses ready to start working on, Ferretti answered, Rossini nodded, wrapped himself in his clothes and fell asleep. The impresarios will fight for staging it, as well as the primadonnas for being able to sing it. There are a number of recordings of the opera, and, as a staple of the operatic repertoire. In this variation of the traditional Cinderella story, the wicked stepmother is replaced by a wicked stepfather, the Fairy Godmother is replaced by Alidoro, who is a philosopher and is also the Princes tutor. Cinderella is identified not by her glass slipper but by her bracelet, time, Late 18th century – early 19th century Place, Italy Angelina is forced to work as the maid in the run-down house of her stepfather Don Magnifico. While his two mean, idle daughters, Clorinda and Tisbe, try on their gowns and jewelry, Clorinda and Tisbe want to send him away, but Cenerentola offers him bread and coffee. Courtiers arrive to announce that Prince Ramiro is looking for the most beautiful girl in the land to be his bride, Prince Ramiro arrives, disguised as his own valet in order to observe the women without them knowing. He is immediately struck with admiration for Cenerentola and she for him, Cenerentola has to leave when her stepsisters call her. Don Magnifico enters and Ramiro tells him the Prince will arrive shortly, the prince is actually Dandini, Ramiros valet in disguise. The stepsisters arrive and fawn gleefully over Dandini, who invites them to a ball at the Royal palace, Don Magnifico tells Cenerentola that she cannot accompany them to the ball, despite her pleading. Before leaving, Ramiro notices how badly Cenerentola is treated and his tutor, Alidoro, who had been at the house earlier disguised as the beggar, arrives still wearing his rags and asks for Don Magnificos third daughter. Magnifico denies she is alive, but when Alidoro is left alone with Cenerentola. He throws off his beggars clothes and identifies himself as a member of Prince Ramiros court, the stepsisters and Don Magnifico arrive at Prince Ramiros palace, with Dandini still posing as the Prince
25.
Mariinsky Theatre
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The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky. Through most of the Soviet era, it was known as the Kirov Theatre, today, the Mariinsky Theatre is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra. Since Yuri Temirkanovs retirement in 1988, the conductor Valery Gergiev has served as the general director. The theatre is named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Tsar Alexander II, there is a bust of the Empress in the main entrance foyer. The theatres name has changed throughout its history, reflecting the climate of the time, Note. The theatre building is called the Mariinsky Theatre. Originally, the ballet and opera performances were given in the wooden Karl Knipper Theatre on Tsaritsa Meadow, the Hermitage Theatre, next door to the Winter Palace, was used to host performances for an elite audience of aristocratic guests invited by the Empress. A permanent theatre building for the new company of opera and ballet artists was designed by Antonio Rinaldi, known as the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre the structure was situated on Carousel Square, which was renamed Theatre Square in honour of the building. Both names – Kamenny and Bolshoi – were coined to distinguish it from the wooden Little Theatre, in 1836, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was renovated to a design by Albert Cavos, and served as the principal theatre of the Imperial Ballet and opera. On 29 January 1849, the Equestrian circus opened on Theatre Square and this was also the work of the architect Cavos. The building was designed to double as a theatre and it was a wooden structure in the then-fashionable neo-Byzantine style. Ten years later, when this circus burnt down, Albert Cavos rebuilt it as an opera, with a seating capacity of 1,625 and a U-shaped Italian-style auditorium, the theatre opened on 2 October 1860, with a performance of A Life for the Tsar. The new theatre was named Mariinsky after its patroness, Empress Maria Alexandrovna. The Imperial Mariinsky Theatre and its predecessor, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, hosted the premieres of many of the operas of Mikhail Glinka, Modest Mussorgsky, when the theatre was designated as principal venue of the Imperial Ballet and Opera in 1886, the theatre was extensively renovated. Other notable productions included Rimsky-Korsakovs opera The Golden Cockerel in 1909, the imperial and Soviet theater was the home of numerous great impresarios, conductors, and musicians. Conductors, Mikhail Zhukov, Israel Chudnovsky and others, under Yuri Temirkanov, Principal Conductor from 1976 to 1988, the Opera Company continued to stage innovative productions of both modern and classic Russian operas. Although functioning separately from the Theatre’s Ballet Company, since 1988 both companies have been under the leadership of Valery Gergiev as Artistic Director of the entire Theatre
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Boris Fitinhof-Schell
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Baron Boris Vietinghof-Scheel or Baron Schell was a Russian composer. Fitinhoff-Schell was trained at the Moscow Conservatory under Field and Henselt and his most noted work are the ballets The Haarlem Tulip and Cinderella, composed for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg. He also scored four operas for the St. Petersburg Imperial Opera and his Wedding March, scored especially for the wedding of Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna is still occasionally heard. Fitinhoff-Schell is also noted for his Fantastic Overture to his opera Mazeppa, franz Liszt greatly appreciated this piece, describing its effect as. Terrifying to all long and protruding ears, Liszt himself made use of the whole-tone scale in his Divina Commedia, illustrating the Inferno, and he used it systematically in his posthumously published organ and late piano pieces. Mazeppa Tamara Don Juan de Tenorio Mary Stuart Heliodora The Haarlem Tulip Cinderella
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Pierina Legnani
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Pierina Legnani was an Italian ballerina considered one of the greatest ballerinas of all time. Legnani was born on September 30,1863, in Milan and originally studied with famous ballet dancer, Caterina Beretta and her professional career took off when she appeared as prima ballerina in the Casati ballet, Salandra, at Alhambra Theatre in London. She was titled prima ballerina for La Scala in 1892, before moving to St Petersburg in 1892, where she reached fame dancing with the Tsars Imperial Ballet at the Maryinsky Theatre until 1901. Under the direction of famous ballet choreographer, Marious Petipa, Legnani originated numerous roles including, Cinderella in 1893, Swan Lake in 1895, Raymonda in 1898, and Carmargo in 1901. She was the first ballerina to perform 32 fouettés en tournant in the coda of the Grand Pas daction of the ballet Cinderella, the execution of 32 turns on pointe is a bravura achievement emphasizing the dancers strength and technique. A sequence of 32 fouetté turns was later choreographed into the Black Swan solo in act 3 of Swan Lake and is used to this day. Legnani was one of only two ballet dancers appointed prima ballerina assoluta at the Mariinsky Theatre and her last performance was in the Minkus/Petipa ballet La Camargo on January 28,1901, after which she retired to live in her villa at Lake Como. After retiring from the stage she lived in Italy and served on the board of La Scala Ballet School until 4 months before her death. She died on November 15,1930, ballets of Marius Petipa featuring Pierina Legnani, Cinderella from Petipa/Ivanov/Cecchetti, Legnani was the first to establish 32 fouettés en tournant
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Turn (dance and gymnastics)
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In dance and gymnastics, a turn is a rotation of the body about the vertical axis. It is usually a complete rotation of the body, although quarter, multiple, consecutive turns are typically named according to the number of 360° rotations. There are many types of turns, which are differentiated by a number of factors, the performer may be supported by one or both legs or be airborne during a turn. When supported by one leg, that leg is known as the supporting leg, during airborne turns, the first leg too leave the floor is the leading leg. Some turns can be executed in either of two directions, in ballet, a turn in the direction of the raised leg is said to be en dehors whereas a turn in the opposite direction is en dedans. Trunk, arm and head positions can vary, and in turns with one supporting leg, turns can begin in various ways as well. For example, ballet turns may begin by rising to relevé or by stepping directly onto relevé, in some dance genres and in Labanotation, a turn in which the performer rotates on a pivot point without traveling is known as a pivot. Pivots may be performed on one or on both feet, the latter is called a twist turn. Spotting prevents dizziness by allowing the head to remain stable during most of the turn and this helps the performer maintain balance and, when executing traveling turns such as tours chaînés and piques, it helps the performer control the direction of travel. An attitude turn is performed with the leg held in attitude position. In ballet, the performer may be assisted by a partner so that the turn can be performed slowly, an axel is a turn in which the performer leaps into the air and, while airborne, tucks both legs underneath and rotates. It is usually executed while traveling across the floor and it is commonly performed in jazz dance and is often immediately preceded by a chaînés in a deep plie. A barrel roll turn, or simply barrel roll, is a turn that involves casting the arms up and leaping into the air, while airborne, the performers back may be arched and the head may be cast back. It starts and ends with the performer facing forward, barrel roll turns are commonly used in tap and jazz dancing. Chaînés is a type of turn that is executed repeatedly while the performer travels along a line or curved path. It is performed quickly on alternating feet and results in a rotation for every two steps taken. It is commonly used in ballet, modern, and ballroom dancing, as this happens, the arms are brought together away from the chest and spotting technique is employed so that the dancers head faces the direction of travel as much as possible. The second half-turn is executed with the feet together, upon completion of the second half-turn, the first foot is stepped out again to begin another turn
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Leicester Square
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Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 and is named after the contemporary Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, the square was originally a gentrified residential area, with tenants including Frederick, Prince of Wales and artists William Hogarth and Joshua Reynolds. It became more down-market in the late 18th century as Leicester House was demolished and retail developments took place, several major theatres were established in the 19th century, which were converted to cinemas towards the middle of the next. The square remains a popular tourist attraction, including hosting events for the Chinese New Year, the square has always had a park in its centre, which was originally Lammas land. The parks fortunes have varied over the centuries, reaching near dilapidation in the century after changing ownership several times. It was restored under the direction of Albert Grant, which included the construction of four new statues, the square was extensively refurbished and remodelled for the 2012 London Olympics, costing more than £15m and taking over 17 months to complete. The square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north, Charing Cross Road, to the east, Orange Street, to the south, and Whitcomb Street, to the west. It is within the City of Westminster, north of Trafalgar Square, east of Piccadilly Circus, west of Covent Garden, the nearest tube station is Leicester Square tube station, which opened in 1906. London bus routes 24,29 and 176 run on nearby Charing Cross Road, the land where Leicester Square now lies once belonged to the Abbot and Convent of Westminster Abbey and the Beaumont family. In 1536, Henry VIII took control of 3 acres of land around the square, the square is named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, who purchased this land in 1630. By 1635, he had himself a large house, Leicester House. The area in front of the house was enclosed, depriving inhabitants of St Martin in the Fields parish of their right to use the previously common land. The parishioners appealed to King Charles I, and he appointed three members of the council to arbitrate. Lord Leicester was ordered to keep part of his land open for the parishioners, the square was laid out to the south of Leicester House and developed in the 1670s. The area was originally residential, with properties laid out in a similar style to nearby Pall Mall. In 1687, the part of the square became part of the new parish of St Anne. The Jocelyn Sidney, 7th Earl of Leicester took ownership of the property in 1728 and it was briefly the residence of Frederick, Prince of Wales from 1742 until Leicesters death the following year. The poet Matthew Prior lived at what is now No.21 around 1700, the magistrate Thomas de Veil, later to found Bow Street Magistrates Court, lived at No 40 between 1729 and 1737, this location is now the Odeon West End
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Rambert Dance Company
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Rambert Dance Company is a leading British dance company. It has previously known as the Ballet Club, and the Ballet Rambert. Dame Marie Rambert, founder of Rambert Dance Company, was born in Warsaw and she went to Paris and after an early career as a recital artist and teacher she was engaged by Serge Diaghilevs Ballets Russes as assistant to the choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky on The Rite of Spring. She also taught Dalcroze Eurythmics to the company, during her year with the Ballets Russes her appreciation of classical ballet developed thus combining a love for traditional and new dance forms. During the First World War she settled in England where she met and her association with Diaghilev led her to study ballet with the renowned Italian ballet master Enrico Cecchetti, after which she joined the company as a dancer in the corps de ballet. In 1919 Rambert established a school in Notting Hill Gate, London, teaching Checchettis methods and in 1920. The school would become the foundation of todays Rambert Dance Company, in 1926, Rambert formed a dance troupe using students from her school. Known as the Rambert Dancers, they performed in revues at various London venues, in 1930, the troupe was re-established as the Ballet Club at the Mercury Theatre in London, which was owned by Ramberts husband. The Ballet Club was formed using the finest dance talent that Rambert could find, the present day Rambert Dance Company is the UKs oldest established dance company. Such as Ghost Dances Whilst developing a strong culture in Britain and insisting on solid classical training. The Ballet Rambert was recognised as one of the most innovative companies of the 20th century. In the 1960s, the Ballet Rambert moved completely from classical ballet, the company has since developed a worldwide reputation in this field, becoming known as the Rambert Dance Company in 1987. In 2013, Dance Company was dropped from its title, to become simply Rambert, Rambert tours Britain annually, accompanied by its own Rambert Orchestra. It is commonly associated with such theatres as Sadlers Wells the Theatre Royal, Brighton and The Lowry in Salford, in November 2013, Rambert moved from Chiswick, London, to new, purpose built headquarters on Londons South Bank. The Company was given a plot of land by Coin Street Community Builders, for the first time in its history, Rambert’s new home will allow the public greater access to its extensive archive material in a purpose built resource centre. Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, notable members of the Company have included, Frederick Ashton, Antony Tudor, Diana Gould, Maude Lloyd, Sally Gilmour, Beryl Goldwyn, Lucette Aldous, Christopher Bruce and Norman Morrice. The current artistic director is Mark Baldwin, and the director is Nadia Stern. In 2005, the Institute of Physics commissioned the Rambert Dance Company to produce a dance commemorating the centenary of Albert Einsteins groundbreaking scientific ideas of 1905, the piece, choreographed by Mark Baldwin, was called Constant Speed
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War and Peace (opera)
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Prince Mikhail Kutuzov and Napoleon Bonaparte. A piano score was completed by the summer of 1942, the Committee demanded that the Part 2 scenes needed a more patriotic and heroic emphasis. Prokofiev, who had wanted to see his masterpiece staged as quickly as possible, added marches, choruses, in addition, he composed the choral Epigraph, which emphasises the Russian peoples defiance in the face of the enemy. Plans were drawn up for a 1943 première at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, to be directed by Sergei Eisenstein, the first staged performance was of a newly extended seven-scene version of Part 1, together with Scene 8, the first scene of Part 2. This took place on June 12,1946, at the Maly Theatre in Leningrad and this version was first performed on 26 May 1953, at the Teatro Comunale, Florence, conducted by Artur Rodziński, two months after the composer’s death. Scenes 2 and 9 were, however, omitted, the Russian première of this version was given at the Maly Theatre, Leningrad, on April 1,1955, conducted by Eduard Grikurov, in this case with the omission of Scenes 7 and 11. The first British performance was a Leeds Festival concert performance at Leeds Town Hall on April 19,1967. The first British staged performance was by Sadlers’ Wells Opera on October 11,1972, the Canadian Opera Company performed the opera as part of its 2008-09 season. In 2010 Prokofievs original version of the opera, edited by Rita McAllister, was premiered in Glasgow and this briefer version represents Prokofievs thoughts in 1941, before the various additions and amendments he assembled over the years. It runs some 90 minutes shorter than the later version, over seventy characters are listed in the libretto, and many singers usually play multiple roles. Natasha, who also cannot sleep, looks out of her window and tells Sonya how beautiful the garden looks in the moonlight, and Andrei recovers his spirits. Scene 2, New Years Eve,1810 At a ball in St Petersburg attended by the Tsar, Pierre encourages Andrei, Anatole, also attracted to her, asks Hélène to arrange an introduction. Scene 3, Town house of Prince Nikolai, February 1812 Count Rostov and he is the father of Andrei, to whom she is engaged. Andrei has been abroad for a year, princess Marya indicates that her father will not see them, and Count Rostov departs. However, the Prince, dressed eccentrically and behaving boorishly, does appear, Scene 4, Pierres Moscow house, May 1812 Hélène tells Natasha that Anatole is attracted to her, and, after some hesitation, Natasha hears his declaration of love and agrees to meet him. Scene 5, Dolokhovs apartment,12 June 1812 Dolokhov has made the arrangements for his friend Anatoles elopement with Natasha, the coach-driver Balaga, Dolokhov and Anatole drink to the escapade and to the latters mistress Matriosha. Scene 6, Later that night Natasha discovers that Sonya has given away her secret to Madame Akhrosimova, Anatole and Dolokhov are sent away by Gavrila, and Akhrosimova reduces Natasha to tears. Pierre arrives, reveals that Anatole is married, and agrees to ask Andrei to forgive Natasha and he shyly admits that he himself would want to marry her if he were free
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Bolshoi Ballet
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The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russian Federation. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the worlds oldest ballet companies and it only achieved worldwide acclaim, however, in the early 20th century when Moscow became the capital of Soviet Russia. Along with the Mariinsky Ballet in Saint Petersburg, the Bolshoi is recognised as one of the foremost ballet companies in the world, the earliest origins of the Bolshoi Ballet, can be found in the creation of a dance school for a Moscow orphanage in 1773. In 1776, dancers from the school were employed by Prince Pyotr Vasilyevich Ouroussoff, originally performing in privately owned venues, they later acquired the Petrovsky Theatre, which, as a result of fires and erratic redevelopment, would later be rebuilt as todays Bolshoi Theatre. The Bolshoi Ballet is a hard place to get into. The first American ballet dancer to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and to join the Bolshoi Ballet company, was Michael Shannon, the Soviet leaderships preference for uncomplicated moral themes in the arts was demonstrated in Yuri Grigorovichs appointment as director in 1964. Anastasia Volochkova has claimed that female dancers were forced to sleep with wealthy patrons and she said, “It mainly happened with the corps du ballet but also with the soloists. I repeatedly received such propositions to share the beds of oligarchs, American dancer Joy Womack echoed this concern when she left the company because she was told that, to secure solo roles she must either pay $10,000 or start a relationship with a sponsor. Reasons for the attack again include corruption within the company, andrei Anikhanov Yuri Fayer Algis Shuraitis Today the Bolshoi Ballet remains one of the worlds foremost ballet companies, as well as being the largest, with approximately 220 dancers. Indeed, the very name means big or grand in Russian. Due to its size, the company operates two troupes of corps de ballet, in 2000, the Bolshoi Ballet opened its first Ballet Academy outside Russia, in Joinville, Brazil. The performance style of the Bolshoi Ballet is typically identified as being colourful and bold, combining technique and athleticism with expressiveness and this style is commonly attributed to Gorsky. The Bolshoi has a rivalry with St. Petersburg heritage ballet company. Both have developed very different performing styles, the Bolshoi has a colourful and bold approach, whereas the Mariinsky is associated with pure. Female Male It was announced 30 January 2013, that Svetlana Lunkina told the Russian newspaper Izvestia that she wants to remain in Canada, the Bolshoi Ballet operates two troupes of corps de ballet, with approximately 120 dancers in total. The Corps de Ballet is known for its precise Vaganova technique
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Mariinsky Ballet
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The Mariinsky Ballet is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, internationally, the Mariinsky Ballet continues to be known by its former Soviet name the Kirov Ballet. The Mariinsky Ballet is the parent company of the Vaganova Ballet Academy, the Mariinsky Ballet was founded in the 1740s, following the formation of the first Russian dance school in 1738. The Imperial Theatre School as it was known, was established on 4 May 1738. It would become the predecessor of todays Vaganova Ballet Academy, the schools founder director was the French ballet master and teacher Jean-Baptiste Landé and the purpose of creating the school was to train young dancers to form the first Russian ballet company. The first group of students included twelve boys and twelve girls, following the Russian Revolution, the Soviet government decided that the ballet school and company were unwanted symbols of the tsarist regime and went on to close them both. Following the assassination of the Bolshevik revolutionary Sergey Kirov in 1934, the then Soviet Ballet was renamed the Kirov Ballet, a name which is still sometimes incorrectly used. Despite later name changes and pressures of the Russian revolution, the present day Mariinsky Ballet is still linked to the school, the Mariinsky Ballet is today recognised as one of the worlds greatest ballet companies, employing over 200 dancers, including a reserve troupe and character artists. The Director of the Mariinsky Ballet is Yuri Fateyev, gergiev also serves as Director of the opera company. The two companies operate as separate units, the basis of the Mariinsky Ballet consists of the following artists, For a number of years, Marius Petipa was the ballet master of the Imperial Russian Ballet. NY Times article by Lawrence van Gelder, March 25,2008 Kennedy Center, Information about Mariinsky Ballet accessed 4 October 2008
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Olga Lepeshinskaya (dancer)
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Olga Vasiliyevna Lepeshinskaya was a Soviet ballerina. She was named a Peoples Artist of the USSR in 1951, Lepeshinskaya was born to an old Polish noble family in Kiev, Russian Empire. Her grandfather, Vasily Pavlovich Lepeshinsky, was arrested as a member of the revolutionary organization Narodnaya Volya and her father, Vasily Vasilievich Lepeshinsky, was a railway engineer, one of the builders of the Chinese Eastern Railway. From the early years Lepeshinskaya showed her talents in dancing and in the 1925 she was admitted to the Bolshoi Choreographic School. She appeared for the first time on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre at the age of ten as one of the birds in the ballet The Daughter of the Snows. In 1932 she played the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker ballet, Lepeshinskaya graduated from Bolshoi Choreographic School and started working the Bolshoi Theatre. She started as Rosina in a ballet of The Barber of Seville performed by the stage of the theater. In 1935 she performed the role in the Three Fat Men ballet by Yury Olesha. The ballet became very popular and the 18-year-old ballerina became famous, Lepeshinskaya performed in private concerts at the Moscow Kremlin from the age of 17. She was very close to Polina Zhemchuzhina, wife of Vyacheslav Molotov and it was a great shock for her when Zhemchuzhina was imprisoned in a Gulag. Lepeshinskaya was known as the ballerina of Joseph Stalin and even rumoured to be his mistress. In 1943 she became a member of the Communist Party, Lepeshinskaya married a Soviet intelligence MGB general Leonid Raykhman. He was arrested on 19 October 1951 as a participant in the fabricated Zionist Plot in MGB. Lepeshinskaya claimed that her appeals to Stalin saved the life of her husband, in March 1953, after Stalin death, Leonid Raykhman was freed, rehabilitated and appointed the head of MVD Control Commission. In August 1953 he was arrested again that time for his own fabrications of criminal cases, tortures of prison inmates and he was sentenced to five years in prison in August 1956 but amnestied in November 1956. Since then he was doing a work in astronomy. In February 1940, the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad first performed their Don Quixote ballet with Lepeshinskaya as Kitry, the ballet was a great success. In 1941, when the Stalin Prize was established, Olga Lepeshinskaya was among the first laureates of the prize for her performance in Don Quixote, altogether Lepesinskaya received four Stalin Prizes
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Natalia Dudinskaya
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Natalia Mikhailovna Dudinskaya was a Russian prima ballerina who dominated the Kirov Ballet from the 1930s through the 1950s. Dudinskayas mother was Natalia Tagliori, a ballerina coached by Enrico Cecchetti, trained by Agrippina Vaganova, Dudinskaya matriculated from her school in 1931. She danced all the leads at the Kirov Theatre including the starring role in Cinderella. She later originated leading roles in Boris Asafyevs Flames of Paris and she was best known in Bayadere, Don Quixote and in the title role of Laurencia, which she originated. Frail health forced her to retire in 1961 and she did, however dance in her husbands 1964 film version of Sleeping Beauty in the role of Carabosse. During her career, she received the total of four Stalin Prizes, in 1957, she was named a Peoples Artist of the USSR. Upon her retirement, Dudinskaya became the mistress of the Kirov Ballet. After Nureyevs defection to the West in 1961, she and her husband and they ultimately lost their company positions after the defection of Natalia Makarova in 1970 but Dudinskaya continued to teach up and coming dancers. Anastasia Volochkova and Ulyana Lopatkina were among the last ballerinas coached by her and she died in 2003 at the age of 90
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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
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He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally, bolstered by his appearances as a guest conductor in Europe and the United States. Tchaikovsky was honored in 1884, by Emperor Alexander III, although musically precocious, Tchaikovsky was educated for a career as a civil servant. There was scant opportunity for a career in Russia at that time. When an opportunity for such an education arose, he entered the nascent Saint Petersburg Conservatory, Tchaikovskys training set him on a path to reconcile what he had learned with the native musical practices to which he had been exposed from childhood. From this reconciliation, he forged a personal but unmistakably Russian style—a task that did not prove easy, Russian culture exhibited a split personality, with its native and adopted elements having drifted apart increasingly since the time of Peter the Great. This resulted in uncertainty among the intelligentsia about the countrys national identity—an ambiguity mirrored in Tchaikovskys career, despite his many popular successes, Tchaikovskys life was punctuated by personal crises and depression. His homosexuality, which he kept private, has also been considered a major factor. Tchaikovskys sudden death at the age of 53 is generally ascribed to cholera, there is a debate as to whether cholera was indeed the cause of death. While his music has remained popular among audiences, critical opinions were initially mixed, some Russians did not feel it was sufficiently representative of native musical values and expressed suspicion that Europeans accepted the music for its Western elements. Others dismissed Tchaikovskys music as lacking in elevated thought, according to longtime New York Times music critic Harold C, schonberg, and derided its formal workings as deficient because they did not stringently follow Western principles. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, a town in Vyatka Governorate in the Russian Empire. His father, Ilya Petrovich Tchaikovsky, had served as a lieutenant colonel and engineer in the Department of Mines and his grandfather, Pyotr Fedorovich Tchaikovsky, served first as a physicians assistant in the army and later as city governor of Glazov in Viatka. His great-grandfather, a Ukrainian Cossack named Fyodor Chaika, distinguished himself under Peter the Great at the Battle of Poltava in 1709, Tchaikovskys mother, Alexandra Andreyevna, was the second of Ilyas three wives,18 years her husbands junior and French on her fathers side. Both Ilya and Alexandra were trained in the arts, including music—a necessity as a posting to an area of Russia also meant a need for entertainment. Of Tchaikovskys six siblings, he was close to his sister Alexandra and twin brothers Anatoly, alexandras marriage to Lev Davydov would produce seven children and lend Tchaikovsky the only real family life he would know as an adult, especially during his years of wandering. One of those children, Vladimir Davydov, whom the composer would nickname Bob, in 1844, the family hired Fanny Dürbach, a 22-year-old French governess. Four-and-a-half-year-old Tchaikovsky was initially too young to study alongside his older brother Nikolai. By the age of six, he had become fluent in French, Dürbach saved much of Tchaikovskys work from this period, which includes his earliest known compositions, and became a source of several childhood anecdotes
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Sleeping Beauty
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Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault, or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm, is a classic fairy tale which involves a beautiful princess, a sleeping enchantment, and a handsome prince. The version collected by the Brothers Grimm was an orally transmitted version of the originally literary tale published by Charles Perrault in Histoires ou contes du temps passé in 1697. This in turn was based on Sun, Moon, and Talia by Italian poet Giambattista Basile, the earliest known version of the story is found in the narrative Perceforest, composed between 1330 and 1344 and first printed in 1528. At the christening of a king and queens long-wished-for child, seven good fairies are invited to be godmothers to the infant princess, the fairies attend the banquet at the palace. Each fairy is presented with a plate and drinking cups adorned with jewels. Soon after, an old fairy enters the palace and is seated with a plate of fine china and this old fairy is overlooked because she has been within a tower for many years and everyone had believed her to be deceased. Six of the seven fairies then offer their gifts of beauty, wit, grace, dance, song. The evil fairy is very angry about having been forgotten, and as her gift, enchants the infant princess so that she one day prick her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel. The seventh fairy, who hasnt yet given her gift, attempts to reverse the evil fairys curse, however, she can only do so partially. Instead of dying, the Princess will fall into a deep sleep for 100 years, the King orders that every spindle and spinning wheel in the kingdom to be destroyed, to try to save his daughter from the terrible curse. Fifteen or sixteen years pass and one day, when the king and queen are away, the princess, who has never seen anyone spin before, asks the old woman if she can try the spinning wheel. The curse is fulfilled as the princess pricks her finger on the spindle, the old woman cries for help and attempts are made to revive the princess. The king attributes this to fate and has the Princess carried to the finest room in the palace and placed upon a bed of gold, the king and queen kiss their daughter goodbye and depart, proclaiming the entrance to be forbidden. The good fairy who altered the evil prophecy is summoned, having great powers of foresight, the fairy sees that the Princess will awaken to distress when she finds herself alone, so the fairy puts everyone in the castle to sleep. The fairy also summons a forest of trees, brambles and thorns that spring up around the castle, shielding it from the outside world, a hundred years pass and a prince from another family spies the hidden castle during a hunting expedition. The prince then braves the tall trees, brambles and thorns which part at his approach and he passes the sleeping castle folk and comes across the chamber where the Princess lies asleep on the bed. Struck by the radiant beauty before him, he falls on his knees before her, the enchantment comes to an end by a kiss and the princess awakens and converses with the prince for a long time. Meanwhile, the rest of the castle awakens and go about their business, the prince and princess are later married by the chaplain in the castle chapel
