Throwback Thursday and Mikhail Mordkin
Mikhail Mikhailovich Mordkin was born on December 9, 1880 in
Moscow. His family included many musicians in the Imperial theatre. He entered
the Moscow Imperial Ballet school when he was nine years old, and when he
graduated in 1900 he was offered a job as a soloist with the company. It wasn’t
long before he rose to the rank of premier danseur and thus danced all the
featured roles – including character roles. As if this wasn’t enough, he also
began teaching during this time.
Although critics sometimes declared that his technique was
less than it should have been, Mordkin’s main goal was that his dancing should
produce a deep emotional response in the audience. He was one of the first
Russian dancers to perform outside Russian and he danced the leading role in a
Fokine ballet on the opening night of the Ballet Russes in Paris in 1909. That
same year he partnered Anna Pavlova in London and the United States.
In 1927, he opened the Mordkin School of Dance in New York
City in the Carnegie Hall building. His group, The Mordkin Ballet, became a performance
venue for advanced students as well as Mikhail Mordkin himself. In 1938 the
company began to tour nationwide. A strong professional company developed and plans
were made for a larger company.
In September of 1939, the Mordkin Ballet was reorganized
into a company called Ballet Theatre – the forerunner of today’s American
Ballet Theatre. Sadly, Mikhail Mordkin was then informed that his services were
no longer needed, and only one of his ballets was ever produced. He returned to
teaching at his Carnegie Hall studio.
He died On July 15, 1944.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Dance History Factoid
#: 146
“Mikhail Mordkin created
the company that became American Ballet Theater.”
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