Throwback Thursday and Olga Spessivtseva
Olga Spessivtseva was born in 1895 in a small Russian
village. When her father died in 1901,
she was sent to live at an orphanage, and at age ten she began studying at the
Imperial School of Ballet in St. Petersburg.
She soon joined the company and moved quickly from soloist (1916) to
ballerina (1918).
She was known for her virtuosity and for her poignant character
portrayals, particularly in the ballet Giselle.
It is said that when she performed it,
people wept. Offstage she was shy and introverted, but when
it came to dance, she was a consummate perfectionist. In order to prepare for the famous mad scene
in Giselle, she visited several insane asylums to study the movement patterns
and expressions of the patients.
She danced briefly with Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe, performing
the role of Aurora in The Sleeping Princess. She returned to Russia and danced the role
there, but this was the period of the Russian Revolution and life was different and difficult.
Olga wrote the following in her diary:
“Life
is hard – like the grey soldiers’ overcoats at the theatre, it defies
description. Neither the theatres nor the rehearsal classes were heated. In
warm breeches and woollen tops we rehearsed and as soon as we stopped the sweat
steamed off as it did on horses. …This year my brother Alexander, twenty one
years old, was killed on the streets.”
Soon after, Olga left Russian forever.
During a performance in 1934 she had a mental breakdown, and
became completely unaware of the music or the choreography. The curtain was lowered and the newspapers
said she had suffered a sprained ankle.
In 1939 her patron moved her to New York, because he believed it would
be safer for her there with WW II approaching.
In 1943 she had a complete mental breakdown and was admitted to the Hudson
River Asylum for the Insane, where she lived for the next 20 years.
She was discharged in 1963 and moved to the Tolstoy Foundation
Farm in Rockland County, New York. There,
this real-life Giselle’s life ended age 96.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Dance History Factoid #35:
“Olga Spessivtseva was a famous Russian ballerina known for her superb
technique and for her exquisite portrayal of Giselle.”
Link of the Day:
Quote
of the Day:
“Most great people have attained their
greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.”
-
Napoleon Hill
Help expand the knowledge base!
Leave
a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!
No comments:
Post a Comment