Throwback
Thursday and Christian Johansson
Born in
Stockholm, Sweden on May 20, 1817, Christian Johansson was a dancer and
principal teacher at the Imperial
Ballet School in St. Petersburg, Russia. He received his training at the
ballet school of the Royal Opera in Stockholm. In 1836, he was sent to
Copenhagen to train under August Bournonville. Between 1836 and 1839 he
performed in both Stockholm and Copenhagen and partnered Marie Taglioni in La Sylphide during her guest appearance
in Stockholm in 1841. It was a serendipitous pairing.
When
Johansson learned that Taglioni was going to Russia, he decided to follow her,
hoping to be hired there. He was granted permission to attend classes at the
Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg, and was quickly noticed by the ballet
master, Antoine Titus. This led to Johansson being engaged at the Imperial Russian
Ballet. From this point onward, he devoted his life to the Russian ballet.
He performed
there for many years. He was noted for his grace and noble quality, and he
partnered many famous ballerinas such as Fanny . Elssler and Carlotta Grisi. By
1860, however, he turned his attention to teaching, and, working alongside Petipa, helped lay the foundations
of Russian ballet, using the techniques he learned from Bournonville.
In his 80s,
he would still climb three flights of stairs to get to his classroom and his
beloved pupils. By the time he retired in 1902, he had trained a long list of
talented dancers, including Mathilde
Kschessinska, Olga
Preobrajenska, Anna
Pavlova, Tamara
Karsavina and the Legat brothers.
Christian
Johansson died December 12 [December 25, New Style], 1903, in St. Petersburg,
Russia.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Dance History Factoid #170:
“Christian
Johansson was a Swedish dancer who worked with Petipa and helped develop the
Russian school of training.”
Link of the Day:
Quote of the Day:
“Everyone must leave something behind
when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house
or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your
hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when
people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there.”
― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
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