Throwback Thursday and Vergiu Cornea
Vergiu Cornea
Cornea was born in Romania in 1914. He knew from childhood that he wanted to dance
but his family wasn’t supportive. Therefore, he studied at the Royal
Academy of Art where he learned to create costumes, masks and elaborate appliqué
paintings.
But his
desire for dance would not be denied. He studied ballet with Vera Karalli and
modern dance with Mary Wigman. Soon after Cornea came to Germany, war broke
out, but he still managed to go from one dance job to another throughout the
war. He became first dancer of the Berlin Comic Opera and ballet master of
the Hamburg State Opera. But he was also conscripted into forced labor sewing
Nazi uniforms, a time in his life he speaks little about. He said simply “I
lived in Germany much longer than I wanted to.”
In 1956 he
came to Ithaca, New York where Ithaca College asked him to choreograph The
King and I and The Merry Wives of Windsor. He also became the
founding artistic director of the Ithaca Ballet. He taught at Ithaca College from
1957 until he retired in 1979. His legacy as a teacher is far-reaching.
His influence
is seen today in several areas. He performed in the movie The Red Shoes and his
feet were stand-in’s for Robert Helpmann’s. He gave Jean Cocteau the idea of
the arms holding candelabra for Beauty and the Beast; and he performed
the Charleston with Josephine Baker. He can be seen in the movie An American
In Paris at the end of the main dance number (see Link of the Day at 2:08). He is wearing a large turban.
Vergiu Cornea
died on December 2, 2011 in Ithaca.
From the Big
Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Dance History Secret #214:
“Vergiu
Cornea was a dancer in the film The Red Shoes.”
Link of the Day:
Quote of the Day:
The most
beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known
suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the
depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding
of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern.
Beautiful people do not just happen.”
― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
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