There's not much for me to say other than she will be missed. I enjoyed her biography and her role in the Ballet Russes documentary. She is the subject of some of my favorite photos in Haskell's Ballet Panorama. Baronova obituary

Every time i hear one of this icons is gone, i can't help but remember the following quote-(don't remember the author)

"somewhere, beyond the blue, i'm willing to bet she's enchanting the angels"

RIP, Mme. Baronova.

sad news, so travels fast.

What a beautiful dancer and what a beauty! I absolutely loved her in the Ballet Russe documentary. A truly great dancer...May she rest in peace...

I hope she's dancing with the angels.

When I turn on my computer the photo that greets me is one of Riabouchinska, Toumanova and Baronova in their Sylphides tutus taken in a bare studio and now they are all gone. I managed to see Riabouchinska and Toumanova on the Stage when they were guests with Ballet Theatre in the mid 40's; but by that time Baronova had already retired and I did not see her with a ballet company. However, I was determined to see her on the stage and saw her in a musical comedy on Broadway called 'Follow The Girls' (Jackie Gleason had his first starring role) and the best part of it was that she wore the traditional classical tutu when she performed. During this time word circulated around the dance studios in NYC that she was taking class at Vilzak-Shollar and off we went! It was said that she looked marvelous and had "slimmed down to 126 lbs"; imagine saying that about a dancer today---they probably average 20 lbs. less. When I saw her in the Ballet Russe documentary I came away feeling---'that is someone I wish I had as a friend'. Rest in peace, Irina.

Very sad news. May she rest in peace!

I met this delightful lady in St. Petersburg, Russia, while she attended a seminar on the Ballet Russe at the Hermitage Theater, related to the reconstruction of Nijinska's Les Noces by the Maly troupe. I'll never forget her physical beauty -- still striking in her 80s -- lively personality and wit...especially when gently criticizing the Russians' not-too-great attempt to recreate Fokine's 'Petrouchka.' Her mind was sharp as a tack, saying, "No - that's the wrong color dress on the little girl!" or..."That step should be done on the opposite leg!" It's an experience that will stay with me forever.

I had the fortune to attend master classes she held at the RAD in London. I thought at the time it was a pity she had given up performing, she was extremely beautiful.
R.I.P.

Here are a couple hundred photos of Ms. Baronova from the Australian National Library collection. You can see her sewing, cooking etc but there are also nearly 200 ballet photos, including many of her in such works as Balanchine's La Concurrence and Cotillon, Lichine's Prodigal Son, Massine's Symphonie Fantastique, ... .
http://www.pictureaustralia.org/apps/pictu...Baronova++Irina

You first click the little picture to get to a little picture with descriptive material. Click it again to make it large.

A real treasure trove. I particularly liked the photos of 'Aurora's Wedding' where she is wearing the well-known blue and white tutu of the 1930's. There are any number of photos of ballerinas of that era in the same tutu.

For me, perhaps the BIGGEST news in that wonderful documentary was how much I loved the way Baronova danced. I'd only seen photos, and to my mind, the photos of Toumanova were far more intoxicating. But the way Baronova moved absolutely enchanted me. Of ALL those people, the way she danced looked to me the most musical, the wittiest, the most natural, the most beautifully phrased -- no matter what the role, she was always right.

One of Baronova's most important contributions to ballet history, IMO, is her re-introduction of the "ballerina buffa" to a large audience. Many people were locked into the idea of ballet as a rather melancholy, elegiac art form, but Baronova could also be funny, and showed that ballet as a form of expression possessed as much variety as any other theater.