Throwback Thursday and Léonide Massine
Léonide Massine was born in Russia in 1896 and attended the
famous Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg. His career really began to flourish when he
became the principal dancer and choreographer for Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes,
where he worked from 1914 until 1920.
His first work, Midnight Sun,
was created in 1915.
Massine was particularly gifted as a character dancer (see
today’s link), as well as a choreographer who created unique works such as Parade, Three-cornered Hat, and Gaité Parisienne. He is considered to be one of the greatest
dancers and choreographers of the 1920s and 1930s. During the 1940s he worked in the U.S. for
American Ballet Theatre.
Massine danced into his mid-sixties, and he can be seen
dancing in the famous movie The Red Shoes. During his lifetime he created more than one
hundred ballets and he continued to create works until his death in 1979.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Dance History Factoid #44:
“ Léonide Massine was
a famous choreographer who worked with the Ballet Russes as well as American
Ballet Theatre.”
Link of the Day:
Quote
of the Day:
“The only way to make sense out of change
is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”
-
Alan W. Watts
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