Throwback Thursday and Mia Slavenska

Throwback Thursday and Mia Slavenska

Her given name was Mia Corakin, and she was born on February 20, 1916 in Croatia. Later, Mia adopted Slavenska as her stage name. She studied dance with prominent teachers in Zagreb, Paris and Vienna that included Léopold Dubois, and Gertrude Craus (a modern dance pioneer). In New York, she studied with Vincenzo Celli.

She presented a full evening of her own choreography when she was twelve years old, and from 1934–1936 she was prima ballerina at the Zagreb National Theater. In 1936 she came to international fame when she performed at the Berlin Olympics In 1937. She then appeared as one of the stars in the movie “La Mort du Cyne” which was released in the U.S. as “Ballerina”. After she joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in Europe in 1938, she traveled to America and became a citizen in 1947.

Known as a glamorous ballerina (with red hair), her stage presence was mesmerizing and her technique amazing. She danced everything from the classics like Swan Lake and Giselle, to more contemporary works by Massine and Fokine. One of her most memorable roles was that of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, choreographed by modern dancer Valerie Bettis.

Along with Frederic Franklin, a fellow dancer from the Ballet Russe, she established the Ballet Variante, a touring group in 1947,and later, the Slavenska-Franklin Ballet that toured during the 1950s. Mia Slavenska also danced with American Ballet Theatre, The Metropolitan Opera Ballet and London Festival  Ballet among others.

She opened her own studio in New York in 1960, and in 1969 moved to Los Angeles where she taught ballet at the University of California at Los Angeles and at the California Institute of the Arts.

Mia Slavenska died on October 5, 2002. She was 86 years old.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Dance History Factoid #64:  

“Mia Slavenka was a famous ballerina with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPugalZ9S_A

Quote of the Day:

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence”
― Vince Lombardi

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