Prima Ballerina. She received notoriety as a talented ballerina, who was an American naturalized citizen originally from the Ukraine. Born February 10, 1907, in Yalta in the Republic of Crimea, she was accepted at the age of nine at the Imperial School of Ballet in Moscow. Upon completing her training and education in 1926, she was engaged by the Kharkiv Ballet and embarked on a 15-year career as a prima ballerina in Kharkiv, Kyiv and Odesa. With the outbreak of World War II, she was sent at the order of Nazi forces to work in a factory, and by the end of the war, she was in a camp for displaced people, where she taught children, forming a free dance group. This group gave numerous performances under the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency. In 1945 with $11 with her, she arrived in the United States and found a low-paying job in a factory in Philadelphia, cleaning peaches and then packing cigarettes. In 1949 she relocated to New York City where she accepted a teaching position at Tatyana Semyonova's Studio at Carnegie Hall. In 1951 she was invited to the newly formed American Ballet School to teach, under the direction of Lucila Chase. She taught there for over 30 years. On her diamond jubilee the Ukrainian community honored her at an event organized by her former students. Her classes contained some of the world's greatest dancers attended including; Margot Fonteyn, Carla Fracci, Anton Dolin, Rudolf Nureyev, Erik Bruhn and Alicia Alonso.
Prima Ballerina. She received notoriety as a talented ballerina, who was an American naturalized citizen originally from the Ukraine. Born February 10, 1907, in Yalta in the Republic of Crimea, she was accepted at the age of nine at the Imperial School of Ballet in Moscow. Upon completing her training and education in 1926, she was engaged by the Kharkiv Ballet and embarked on a 15-year career as a prima ballerina in Kharkiv, Kyiv and Odesa. With the outbreak of World War II, she was sent at the order of Nazi forces to work in a factory, and by the end of the war, she was in a camp for displaced people, where she taught children, forming a free dance group. This group gave numerous performances under the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency. In 1945 with $11 with her, she arrived in the United States and found a low-paying job in a factory in Philadelphia, cleaning peaches and then packing cigarettes. In 1949 she relocated to New York City where she accepted a teaching position at Tatyana Semyonova's Studio at Carnegie Hall. In 1951 she was invited to the newly formed American Ballet School to teach, under the direction of Lucila Chase. She taught there for over 30 years. On her diamond jubilee the Ukrainian community honored her at an event organized by her former students. Her classes contained some of the world's greatest dancers attended including; Margot Fonteyn, Carla Fracci, Anton Dolin, Rudolf Nureyev, Erik Bruhn and Alicia Alonso.
Bio by: Medora
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