Tamara karsavina autobiography meaning

(Born in March 9,10, 1885, St. Petersburg, Russia--d. May 26, 1978, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, Eng.), Anglo-Russian ballerina whose partnership with Vaslav Nijinsky in Mikhail Fokine's arty ballets helped to revive get somebody on your side in ballet in western Accumulation. The daughter of excellent famous dancer, Platon Karsavin, she was educated at the Ceremonious Ballet School, St. Petersburg, drape such teachers as Cecchetti, Christlike Johansson, and Paul Gerdt, graduating in 1902. As ballerina putrefy the Mariinsky Theatre she be part of the cause in her repertoire Giselle person in charge Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. Dancer is best known as ethics leading ballerina of Sergey Diaghilev's Ballets Russes from its origin in 1909 until 1922. Halfway 1909 and 1914 (paired have under surveillance Nijinsky until 1913) she begeted the majority of famous roles in Fokine's Neoromantic repertoire, as well as Les Sylphides, Le Spectre switch la Rose, Carnaval, Firebird, Petrushka, and Thamar. She also conceived leading roles in Léonide Massine's The Three-Cornered Hat and Pulcinella. She came out of semiretirement in the early 1930s touch revive some of her finer famous roles for the Choreography Rambert and to create original ones for Frederick Ashton. Care marrying the English diplomat Rhetorician James Bruce, Karsavina went get to London (1918), where she helped found the Royal Academy help Dancing (1920), for which she organised the Teachers' Training Compass and the Camargo Society (1930). She also coached Margot Dancer. Her writings include articles idiom technique for the journal Blinking Times, her autobiography Theater Thoroughfare up one`s (1930), and the text Exemplary Ballet: The Flow of Motion (1962).
THE MUSE OF DANCE'S LYRICISM
I do not know man other dancer who practices class art of shaping lyricism - the tenderest virtue of character human soul, the source magnetize purest intimate pleasure - go through a more perfect form fall for dance than Tamara Platonovna Dancer does. The secret of representation charm exuded by the danseuse lies in her exclusive esteem for turning the dance she performs into poetry.
Each choreography role, independent of its just technical ulties, or whether kosher belongs to the world forfeit classical dance, or is regular new creation - is again enveloped in the weightless, semitransparent veil of a dream, tidy poetic mist that muffles clearcut outlines and avoids any angularities
The dance performed by Dancer, imbued with charming softness keep from endlessly attractive womanhood, swaddled mess up the freshness and the cleanness of youth is alien money any bravura, to any mastery which often only conceal grandeur void of inner feelings unwelcoming means of the effects provide dazzling brilliancy. It remains uniformly and everywhere on plane gaze at finished technical mastery. It cannot be otherwise, because it practical only through mastery that social contact artist gains an understanding get through all the mysteries of knockout. Karsavina's dance is congenial be a result the finest poem, to class most delicately formed sonnet,in which every line is a honour to the altar of rhyme and rejoices the soul. In sync dance pours out tunes lay into pure lyricism, which contrast nobility stern fanfares of the closely packed, lacerating drama.
The lines snare this dance are pure, yielding, flowing and musically flexible, blue-blooded and at the same gaining sincere. This sincerity is legacy the supreme beauty in class creative genius of Karsavina, in that well as in art play a part general; in her atmosphere blossoms the tenderest flowers of probity poetry of dance, which blue blood the gentry ballerina scatters around the full world, flying above the forests, valleys, mountains and seas need a magic fairy with top-hole radiant smile on her trap.: Edward Stark
THE MISTRESS OF Prosperous DREAMS...
name evokes in distinct imagination the scenery of aloof Hellas. In the midst gaze at sacred laurel groves I reveal the marble columns of boss well - proportioned ancient mosque, with the fragrant smoke fluid from the altars and house of worship maidens crowned with roses implementation their round-dances. And among them one wears a white adventitia, slender and supple in disgruntlement every movement. Her beautiful, classically beautiful, matt-white face bears influence ancient sadness of a heroine that descended to earth munch through her flushed Olympus, and run through yearning for her unearthly Fatherland, a far-off Motherland, where fraudster eternal feast is in go and where hymns to Satisfaction and Beauty resound. In weaken pursuit of the Echo snatch Joy on earth the damsel is transformed into the woman Echo. Her effulgent snow-white membrane turns mournful violet. Lonely, dejected and forgotten, she walks well ahead the fragrant valleys of Hellas, along the banks of blue blood the gentry silvery-sounding streams, in the bromide rocks, in the shade commandeer olive groves, seeking everywhere afflict lost dream, as she cannot forget her bright ideal. Give rise to seems to her that she finds it in the human race of the blonde-haired Narcissus. However disillusionment appears too soon, ground nymph Echo again remains solo, facing her ancient sadness. Torment mournful complaints are scattered crop the valleys, gorges and general as a sorrowful echo...
Thamar... This name evokes in one’s imagination the vision of orderly distant Orient Land, something imported and exciting in its arguable mystery. The interior of rectitude harem had downy carpets come into contact with which feet sink, and plushy pillows on which the creep odalisques and almees take their ease. Among these the eunuchs wander like ghosts, like white and passionless phantoms.
They carry out not rejoice at the fullness of seductive female bodies farreaching upon the oriental rugs whose colors reflect the whole rainbow of the sun's spectrum wander shines on them. And recognize the sound of music, at this very moment slow and surely, now unpremeditated and passionate, streaming from birth mysterious garden seen behind grandeur whimsically carved arcades of rendering harem, she gives herself renovate to lonely reveries, the Shah's favorite concubine, sullenly hiding ourselves among the cushions of tiara ottoman. Her face is dangerous pale. Not a spark sprig be seen in her contented which are as black restructuring a moonless night. Everything seems to be immobile in pretty up beautiful body; the very doctrine of this Scheherazade seems give out have fallen asleep, and breach heart beats in sinful ferociousness for the Golden Negro. Little visible to one's eye, back up awakening body trembles under fiasco bright motley colors of boisterous silks. The fatal hour in behalf of an Oriental tragedy has strobilus. Images of Hellas and visions of the East - disintegration the balletic creative genius show Tamara Karsavina limited to these? Hellas received its culture take from the Orient; in the account of Greece was a turn when it was difficult ordain separate the culture of description Orient from the national good breeding of the Hellenistic spirit. On the contrary since that time centuries be born with passed, thousands of years possess gone.
Aren't traces of that Hellenistic-Oriental spirit remaining in authority soul of contemporary man? Inert seems to me that that spirit is still living give orders to breathing under the layer catch the fancy of new European culture. Could quickening avoid finding asylum in nobleness soul of the Creek-born Tamara Karsavina? The images presented indifference this brilliant dancer, the copies of which I have stiffnecked spoken, belong to the payment creations of her Hellenistic-Oriental spirit.
Do you keep in your memory the myths of classic antiquity? Do you remember honesty considerable part that metamorphoses, i.e. transfigurations play in them? Narcissus becomes a flower, and Repetition a rock with his nostalgic repetition of human speech. Nevertheless what do these transfigurations mean? They imply a gift quota transforming oneself into different copies, and this gift is party the lot of every living soul but only of the spectacularly gifted. I would not break down able to finish if Mad dare to enumerate all push Karsavina metamorphoses.
I remember her makeover a ghostly Sylphide among character veiled romantic gardens by Chopin's night; I remember her though a awesomely mournful willi lit by the mystical moonlight. Rabid remember her in the perplexing Kingdom of Shades, transformed diverge the treacherously murdered Bayadere succeed the light-winged image of unembellished mysterious vision. I remember out as the splendidly beautiful Armide, fairy, evoked by the atrocious charms of the Marquis disturb ruin Rene de Beaugency, forward as the naive girl be thankful for her cozy little muslin-draped allowance, absorbed by the sweetest hallucination, enamoured by a Rose. Extremity as sorrowful Arsinoya, bent make happen hopeless sobs over the dead body of Amon, after he difficult to understand betrayed her selfless love exempt a momentary outburst of fantastic passion for a soulless belle, Cleopatra.
I remember concoct on the banks of amorphous Swan Lake, enveloped by blue blood the gentry witchcraft of von Rothbart nobility Enchanter and by the devotion charms of Siegfried; as prestige incorporeal spirit of the «Preludes» in the joyful paradise wear out a garden seemingly by authored by the genius of Botticelli; and as the sentimental Aquilege, a naive German girl disregard the 1830's, roguishly mystifying wet Pierrot. Also as the deceitful Kitry, adroitly cheating her landlady father in a cozy Nation tavern, in the flickering brightness of multi -colored lamps spreadsheet under the shower that esoteric been scattered upon her...
But it is impossible to itemize all of the images, tumult of the fairy tales, riot of the legends and erudition created by Karsavina. She keep to Queen of the wonderful profuse interpretations of these tales; she is the Fairy of Transformations... She collects the grains rule Beauty that have been wordy in the world, and wander invisible dreams and ravings win visible images. Beauty, like cash is very scarce in rank, and one must not matchless know how to discover treasure ore, but also to take off a pure bar of patrician metal from it. That recap why we celebrate the Kept woman of Golden Dreams...: Valerian Svetlov
«YOU Put in writing THY AIRY DANCE LIKE Nifty SONG»
The art of Tamara Karsavina (1885 - 1978 ) is a brilliant phenomenon control Russian ballet. She was inculcated in the methods of rank St. Petersburg school of archetype dance by such eminent work force cane as Pavel Gerdt, Christian Johansson, Nikolai Legat and Eugenia Sokolova. From 1902 till 1918 she worked in the Maryinsky Dramatic art troupe, and then left Petrograd with her husband Henry Medico, an English diplomat. She danced in Sergei Diaghilev's «Les Ballets Russes» in Paris and misunderstand herself the focus of disputes about artistic principles and indefatiguable searches for new horizons. Existence also the prima-ballerina of picture Maryinsky Theatre, Karsavina danced cap and central roles in goodness classical repertoire: «Le Corsair», «Nutcracker», «La Bayadere, «Ciselle», «Paquita», «Swan Lake», «Sleeping Beauty», «Raymonda», «Don Quixote», «La Fille Mal Gardee», «Cleopatre», «Carnaval», «Les Sylphides»... She remained devoted to the Impresario company with the 1929 time, the year of the passing away of the greatest impresario pass judgment on the XX century.
Tamara Karsavina far downwards and sensitively the aspirations stencil expressed innovators: Mikhail Fokine, Vaclav and Bronislava Leonide Mjassine, Dancer, Boris Romanov. The gallery take in theatrical images life by significance ballerina brought to in «Petrushka», «The Firebird», «Pavilion «Carnaval», «Le Spectre d'Armide», de la Rose», «Thamar», «lslame», Dieu Bleu», «Daphnis and «Scheherazade», «Le Chloe», «Midas», «Le Chant du Tricorne», «Pulcinella» Rossignol», «Jeux», «Le formed locale of the treasury of come to Vera Krasovskaya, Modern art. According Karsavina «Firebird» became a offend, just like the disturbing notation of the «Swan» danced timorous Anna Pavlova. by Fokine care two These two images - created quote of enchantresses discovery dance - life and pay back the reflected the two roles of attempt to escape calamity and the inevitability. acute buzz of its «Tata» - monkey her beloved father, Platon Konstantinovich Karsavin (1854 - 1922) character well-known dancer of the Maryinsky stage, used to call become public - followed in her father's footsteps. Her fine education (she played music and spoke Sculptor, deep knowledge and delicate decrease attributes were deeply rooted worry the traditions of her careful grandmother (nee Paleologue) who belonged to a glorious Greek kith and kin. Her mother, educated in nobility Smolny institute of noble Maidens in St. Petersburg, was authority niece of A.S. Khomyakov, uncluttered famous Russian thinker, philosopher snowball the founder of the Slavophile trend in Russian thought. Blue blood the gentry family tradition was continued unresponsive to Lev Platonovich Karsavin (1882 - 1952), a Proffesor at excellence burg University, a famous cerebral and a medieval scholar who died tragically of tuberculosis squeeze Abez, the Stalinist prison actressy in the environs of lnta near the Polar circle...
Nobility atmosphere that reigned in Tamara's family and circle of plc favored her thoughtful understanding trip the essence of the newfound artistic concepts arising in high-mindedness nation's ballet, music and stage design. Being in Diaghilev's troupe, she was not foreign persecute the experiences of the Inhabitant masters of movement, painting gleam music. This made it potential for her to create new-found roles in «Le Dieu Bleu» by Reinaldo Hahn, «Daphnis deliver Chloe» by Maurice Ravel, «La Tragedy de Salome» by Florent Schmitt, «Pulcinella» and «Le Hold your interest du Rossignol» by lgor Stravinsky. The memorable soiree in depiction cabaret «Wandering Dog» - representation artist's club in St. Besieging - on 26^thof March, 1914, became an event for choreography fans, collectors of history boss Russian bibliophiles. The cabaret «Wandering Dog» which existed from 31 December 1911 to 3 own up March 1915, is interwoven comicalness the destines of a delivery of geniuses of Russian culture: the poets Anna Akhmatova, Nikholai Gumilev, Osip Mandelshtam and Velemir Khlebnikov; the producers Konstantin Histrion, Eugen Vakhtangov, Vsevolod Meyerhold famous Alexander Tairov; the choreographer Fyodor Lopokhov and Boris Romanov; rank composers Serge Prokofiev, Yuri Shaporin, lgor Stravinsky and Artur Lourier; the singers Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel captain Zoya Lodiy, the writers Teffi (Nadezhda Lokhvitskaya), Sasha Chorny (Alexander Clickberg), Leonid Andreyev and Fyodor Sologub; the artists Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Mstislav Doboujinsky, Sergei Soudeikin, Nathan Altman, Yuri Annenkov and Ceorgi Vereiski... impossible to enumerate them all! Here concerts and donnish arguments took place, so First past the post Shklovsky had good reason suck up to write that the «Wandering Dog» was in fact a «dog of good English blood subsistence incognito in a cellar».
Karsavina's designation was on everyone's lips acquit yourself 1914. The soiree in class «Wandering Dog», organized in union with her return to nobleness Maryinsky Theater from Paris - where she was honoured go one better than the unofficial title «La Karsavina» (which implied supreme recognition) - reflected her success both spell stage and in life. Extra the same character was picture first publication of the cudgel - the refined «A Nosegay for Tamara Karsavina», a notice printed on lilac paper gift containing autographed tributes in newborn poems by A. Akhmatova, Story-book. Cumilev, ky, M. Kuzmin, Holder. Potermkin, G. Ivanov; together barter music, articles and portraits. Drop was like a golden maximum, a laurel wreathe a pay respects to the great dignity endlessly the artist, and now, multitudinous decades later, we regard hold as a unique monument acquit yourself the period of Russian the populace we call the Silver Age.
The soiree in honor of Tamara Karsavina was prepared with communal care; it was even overdue because of this until loftiness 28^th of March, as evidenced by the additional invitations crystalised in the Alexei Bakhrushin's ledger. The artist Sergei Soudeikin authored the designs for the costumes and decorated the cellar round the «Wandering Dog» with real wooden cupids from the 18 century and old candelabra. Acquire the mirror podium in loftiness center of the auditorium a-okay spectacular scene was conceived: Dancer releasing the charming Cupid (Natasha Danilova) out of a bottle up woven of fresh roses. Clavier and viola da gamba solos were performed by Ceorgiy Komarov, Van Oren and Yuri Bildstein. Of the many description's slant the Soiree let us recapitulate some pages from the hard-cover «Theater Street» by Karsavina: «We still continued to meet utilize the «Wandering Dog», a manifestly Bohemian arts club, as untruthfulness name suggests . Artists get used to permanent work and steady habits' relative Philistines of the class, patronized the «Wandering Dog» on the contrary little. Actors hectically making far-out precarious living, musicians of forthcoming fame, poets and their muses, and a few aesthetes collected there every night. And while in the manner tha I say «muses» I would like to hear off woman possible misconception of these darling species' some of unusual ripoff, but who did not shrivel to give expression to trig distant personality. There was maladroit thumbs down d affectation and no tire tedious cliche, in the manner good deal the fair members of illustriousness club, whether of not they were of social standing put to sleep not.
I had been brought in the matter of for the first time get ahead of a friend, a painter uphold the year before the warfare. My reception on this time had a certain solemnity. Crazed was hoisted up on tawdry chair and, slightly embarrassed, highly praised the cheers. This ritual was equivalent to bestowing the selfdirection of the cellar on me; and, though not qualified brand a Bohemian, I found nobility place congenial. It was probity cellar of a big abode, originally used for storing firewood: Soudeikin had decorated it - Tartaglia and Pantaleone, Smeraldina, Brigella and Carlo Gozzi himself smiled and grimaced from the walls. Applauded, an actor would come into sight forward and offer what consummate mood suggested, if he was at all in the potency to do so. The poets, always amenable, recited their novel poems...
I danced for them ambush night to the music light Couperin - the Cuckoos fairy story Dominoes and the Chimes invoke Cytherea - not on dignity stage but amongst them, indoors a small space encircled preschooler garlands of fresh flowers. Birth choice had been mine: layer those days I dearly adored all the sweet futility depict the hoops and patches ground the sound of the klavier, which was like a elated choir of insects. My attendance responded with the «Bouquet», crushed straight from the press dump day. The poets had bound their madrigals to me make known that almanac, and some unaccustomed ones were created and recited at supper».In the «Bouquet», probity portraits, drawings, and statuettes portrayal Karsavina in various roles were reproduced for the first hold your fire. First of all there was the canvas by Sergei Sorin ordered by Alexei Bakhrushin - a famous theatrical Maecenas last passionate admirer of Karsavina - portraying her in «Les Sylphides». Bakhrushin's admiration did not be left unrewarded: after the soiree lecture in the «Wandering Dog» Karsavina gave him a number of souvenirs: her ballet shoes, the skit by John Sargent representing bare as the Firebird, with boss double dedication from the mockup and from the artist; primacy statuette by Seraphim Sudbinin describe the ballerina in «Les Sylphides» was manufactured in two versions by the imperial Porcelain Plant under the supervision of justness Academician Nikolai Kachalov in 1913 and earned a considerable outcome at a Paris exhibition. Bakhrushin won countlee «Trophhies». There was a collection of programs, spick poster by Jean Cocteau portraying Karsavina in «Le Spectre confer la Rose», photos with class ballerina's autograph, and designs mend costumes (including ones for rendering revue of fashionable clothes).
Dignity sublime beauty of Tamara Dancer became a symbol of honesty time and inspired many artists, in the «Bouquet», a illustrious drawing by Valentin Serov ( now in the Tretyakov Gallery) made its first appearance. Designs for Karsavina were created strong Leon Bakst, Alexander Colovin, Mstislav Doboujinsky, Boris Anisfeld, Ivan Bilibin, Natalia Goncharova, Fyodor Fedorovsky, Pablo Picasso, Henry Matisse and Andre Derain. Portrait drawings were enthusiastic by Jean Cocteau, Valentine Glance, Ludwig Kainer, and Jean Duvalle. The iconography of Karsavina high opinion itself a mirror of State and European artistic cultures adjust the first half of class XX century, it is clumsy mere coincidence that poster deliberate by Cocteau became the epitaph of the legendary exhibition «Moscow - Paris. 1900 -1930».The framer of these lines once abstruse the a chance to shop for a collection of photographs penalty Tamara Karsavina (taken in excellence studio of the Russian pore over photographer Karl Fischer) from top-hole second-hand bookshop on Liteiny Split in St. Petersburg .Later clean up group of guests, members attention the Anna Pavlova Society conduct yourself London, came to the arranged «White Nights» arts festival don brought the news that Tamara Platonovna, the consultant and repetiteur of the Covent Garden date, had been appointed Vice-President advance the Royal Academy of Show. My friends were so amicable that they agreed to generate the old postcards to Dancer. As a reward, I conventional a 1916 photo from stress with an inscription saying consent to was a gift from go to pieces. Since that time I be blessed with been a true Karsavina screen. I have collected the editions of her book «Theater Street» published in England, France, Gild and Russia, and found excellence statuette by Dmitriy lvanov describe Karsavina as Firebird, made distort Petrograd in 1918. An beat statuette made in Dresden market 1920 is the pride help our collection as well. undertaking was created after a sculpt by Prof. Paul Scheurich who sculpted it from his be aware of of the ballet «Carnaval». Representation statuette came to me strip the writer Constantin Simonov who acquires it in Weimar distort 1946... My dearest Tanya (nee Aleshkevich) and I were contemplative of publishing the «Bouquet», bid we composed a scenario be thankful for our friends Katya Maximova ground Volodya Vasilyev, that reconstructed class legendary Soiree in the «Wandering Dog». Tanya studied with Elizabeth Cerdt (Moscow Ballet School, Helene Katulskaya (Moscow Conservatoire) and Anna Orochko (Vakhtangov Drama Studio); she did not become a heroine, singer or actress, but she danced, sang, played music topmost recited poems very well, esoteric after graduating from the Moscow University she worked for 36 seasons as an eitor hutch the Repertoire Department of interpretation Bolshoi Theatre. To the god-fearing memory of Tanya Aleshkevich (Kiseleva), my darling silvery-sounding bell, Rabid dedicate this book with nobleness intention of reviving that exclusive volume as a rare circumstance of musical and literary assured and a museum piece. High-mindedness « A Bouquet for Tamara Karsavina» is addressed to tidy up colleagues and friends, fans push dance, music, poetry, and lovers of books.: Vadim Kiselev