Do you have your Nutcracker tickets yet? Have you ever wondered how a professional dancer develops the speed and agility to portray the moving magical toys that amaze Nutcracker audiences? The book Olga Preobrazhenskaya: a portrait (by Elvira Roné; tr. Fernau Hall) describes both the hard work and rewards in the life of a young girl in a Russian ballet school.
Olga wanted desperately to dance. An unlikely candidate even for being admitted to ballet school because of her crooked back, problem knees and plain looks, she was admitted to the St. Petersburg Theatre Ballet School through the influence of her aunt’s friend, an actress known as the “Russian Duse.” Called a “hunchbacked devil” by her teacher, Olga still worked hard to improve, and to learn the small roles she was given. A great help was her ability to memorize complete ballet roles while watching other students perform them. A pivotal moment occurred when the dancer Varvara Nikitina was too ill to perform the role of a butterfly, a role created for her by noted choreographer Marius Petipa. Olga pleaded for and won a chance to show what she could do. She eventually became famous for her portrayal of leading roles such as Coppélia, and was much in demand as a gifted teacher.
What I admired about Olga was her determination to dance in spite of insults, the lack of a support system, and a father who wanted to get her “married off” at the end of her training. This is only one of many fascinating ballet biographies that can be located in the Seattle Public Library catalog under the subject “Dancers—biography.” A contrast from the above title is Zorina, the autobiography of a glamorous dancer whose performances included Hollywood films. A book containing interviews of dancers from the 20th and 21st centuries is The Dancer Within: Intimate Conversations with Great Dancers. Your local librarian can help you find what is most interesting to you.
~ Sheila, Central Library
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