Full Version: Nathalie Krassovska
QUOTE
Miss Krassovska also danced some unexpected parts. Thus she had to learn tap dancing for her role as a debutante in "The New Yorker," Massine's 1940 comedy inspired by cartoons in the magazine of that name.
I would have like to have seen this one, just as a curiosity.
In her day, Krassovska had a beauty that was only rivalled by Toumanova's. The one ballet she was made for is 'Les Sylphides'. I did not see her 'Giselle'. Another role she excelled in was Balanchine's 'Le Bourgeoise Gentilhomme'. She would have been a wonderful 'Sleepwalker', (Night Shadow). If she ever did dance the role, it was not in New York; Danilova danced it then.
Totally off-topic, but I couldn't help notice:
It seems that style is always purer in the past...
QUOTE
She first performed the title role of "Giselle," perhaps the greatest of Romantic ballets, in Montreal in 1949, prompting S. Morgan-Powell, dance critic of The Montreal Daily Star, to write, "Her dancing was characterized by a purity of style not often seen nowadays in ballet."
It seems that style is always purer in the past...
QUOTE (Mel Johnson @ Feb 11 2005, 08:58 PM)
This is TOO SAD. She was a real character. I remember her showing up with her Chihuahua, who sat in a wicker basket all through class or rehearsal. My sister reminds me she also had two poodles, one black and one white, named Odette and Odile.
I had the good fortune to take a few classes with her, many years ago. I also recall eating dinner at her house one evening with a few other dancers. She supported them as best she could by feeding them occasionally and giving them free classes.
She was one of the ex - Ballet Russe members who settled in Texas and Oklahoma in the Sixties, including Victor Moreno, Nikita Talin, Fernando Schaffenberg, and a couple more (in Houston and OKC, I believe) whose names elude me.
(The NYT article is available only for a fee, so maybe I'll look it up in the library.)
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