Tamara Karsavina
Tamara Karsavina was a Russian prima ballerina known for her beauty and her roles in avant-garde ballets, which helped revive interest in ballet in western Europe.
Ballerina
March 10, 1885
Pisces
May 26, 1978
93
St. Petersburg, Russia
Tamara Platonovna Karsavina (1885-1978) was an internationally acclaimed Russian prima ballerina known for her exceptional talent and contributions to ballet in the early 20th century. As a principal artist, she performed with the Imperial Russian Ballet and later with Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Karsavina’s most notable performances include leading roles in productions such as “The Firebird,” “Scheherazade,” and “The Sleeping Beauty.” She also participated in other significant works like “Giselle,” “Swan Lake,” and “Carnaval.” Apart from her dancing career, Karsavina worked as a choreographer and teacher, influencing a generation of dancers.
Karsavina also made substantial contributions as a writer, authoring the autobiographical book “Theatre Street” in 1930, which offers insights into her life and experiences in the ballet world. She published two volumes of reprints from her previously written articles for Dancing Times: “Ballet Technique” in 1956 and “Classical Ballet: The Flow of Movement” in 1962. Her writings document her history and explain ballet’s intricate vocabulary of movement, revealing her teaching approach and dance values.
Today, Karsavina’s legacy continues to be celebrated. In 2021, the Royal Academy of Dance announced that it had received a rare portrait of Karsavina by French painter Jacques Ãmile Blanche, adding to its extensive archive of material related to the pioneering ballet dancer. This portrait is among a few existing portraits of Karsavina, emphasizing her significant role in shaping modern British ballet.
