Tamara Karsavina: Russian grace of London. Life story Debut at the Mariinsky Theater

T. Karsavina mentions the second grandmother, without naming her, in the last chapter of the book, in connection with the “portrait of a lady in a green silk dress and a rose in her hand” [This chapter, which tells about the dramatic ups and downs of Karsavina’s departure with her husband and two-year-old son from Russia, from the Soviet edition of 1971, was removed, probably for censorship reasons.]. Occasionally appear on the pages of the book and other relatives. This is the father’s brother and sister, “Uncle Volodya” (Vladimir Konstantinovich, it’s not even said about him that he was a ballet actor) and “Aunt Katya” (Ekaterina Konstantinovna), as well as mother’s sister Raisa (Raisa Nikolaevna). Nothing is said in the book about the ballerina's cousin, Nikolai Nikolaevich Balashev, the son of "Aunt Katya", also a ballet dancer, Platon Konstantinovich's favorite nephew.


One should not be surprised at the absence in the book of more detailed information about Karsavina's family circle. Tamara Platonovna writes about childhood memories, adding nothing from what she could draw by consciously studying the "roots" and branches of one's "family tree". Even if she had set herself the task of researching her lineage, she would certainly have encountered difficulties that were almost insurmountable. Close enough contacts would be required with people in Soviet Russia, which she left in 1918 virtually illegally. It would require work with archival documents.

Photo from TsGAKFFD

Irina Lvovna, the niece of the ballerina, the eldest daughter of her brother L.P. Karsavin, was interested in the genealogy of the Karsavin family. This is known from the words of her sister, the youngest daughter of Lev Platonovich, Susanna. In 1989, Susanna Lvovna Karsavina (1921–2003) first met my mother, Nina Nikolaevna Zablotskaya, nee Balasheva, granddaughter of “Aunt Katya” and goddaughter of Tamara Karsavina. Their relationship continued until 1994. In particular, Susanna Lvovna recalled how her sister Irina spoke about "Uncle Kolya", her father's cousin, and about his children. Thus, it was about the family of my grandfather, Nikolai Nikolaevich Balashev.

In 1989, 37 years after the death of L.P. Karsavin, his grave was found in the camp graveyard in Abezi. The book of his student and camp comrade A.A. Vaneev “Two Years in Abezi” also gained fame. The political atmosphere in Russia has changed significantly. Gone are the bans on names and events true history countries. And there was a real opportunity to bring to publication materials, both family and archival, shedding light on the genealogy of the clan, which gave world culture an outstanding religious thinker and a brilliant ballerina. The first results of this work were published [Zablotsky E.M. Karsavin and Balashev. - In the book. Perm Yearbook-95. Choreography. History, documents, research. Perm, 1995.]

Archival documents contain information about the parents of Tamara Platonovna's father - her grandfather, about whom she writes that he was a provincial actor and playwright, and her grandmother, whom she only mentions. In the latest biographical article [Sokolov-Kaminsky A.A. "Karsavina Tamara Platonovna" - In the book: Russian Abroad: The Golden Book of Emigration. M., 1997.] says that Konstantin Mikhailovich Karsavin subsequently became a tailor. As follows from the documents, in 1851 K.M. Karsavin was already a master of the “eternal tailor shop” [“Eternal tailor shop”, i.e. those registered in the workshop on a permanent basis, in contrast to those temporarily recorded, belonged to the artisan class. After being an apprentice, and then an apprentice, a member of the guild could submit his work to the craft council for consideration and, if approved, receive a master's certificate.]. He died in 1861, being at that time a master of the ladies' tailor shop. Pelageya Pavlovna, the wife of K.M. Karsavin, died in 1890 at the age of 70. Tamara was then only five years old. Perhaps the “lady in a green silk dress” in the portrait that she kept in memory of her grandmother and the house “beyond the Narva Gates” is Pelageya Pavlovna in her youth.
From archival documents, we also learn about the study, service and dates of life (1851–1908) of Vladimir Konstantinovich Karsavin, uncle of Tamara Platonovna. He was admitted to the number of state pupils of the Theater School (from free students) in 1865 at the age of 13, graduated from college in 1867 and served as a corps de ballet dancer until his retirement in 1887. As can be seen from his official list for this year, at the age of 37 he remained single. From the Certificate from the St. Petersburg Craft Council, we learn that in 1865 the widow Pelageya Pavlovna was dependent on three children: Ekaterina, 17 years old, Vladimir, 15 years old, and Plato, 12 years old. Considering the age of P.P. Karsavina in the year of Ekaterina’s birth, about 30 years old, it can be assumed that this was not her first child. Indeed, as Susanna Lvovna Karsavina informed me in one of her letters, it was believed in their family that Plato's grandfather had two sisters and many brothers.
Archival documents also tell about the marital status of Ekaterina Konstantinovna (“Aunt Katya” in Karsavin’s memoirs). She was born in 1849. She married between 1870 and 1872. Her husband, Nikolai Alekseevich Balashev (grandfather of my mother, Nina Nikolaevna Zablotskaya), was a theater designer, assistant decorator of the Mariinsky Theater, was a member of the bourgeois class. Apparently, N.A. Balashev was much older than his wife - his certificate of service is dated 1857 (in 1872, at the time of the birth of his son Nikolai, he was already retired). Judging by archival documents, N.A. Balashev died between 1880 and 1885, and his wife, according to N.N. Zablotskaya, in 1920.

Nikolai Nikolaevich Balashev (1872–1941)
90s.- Archive T.M. Dyachenko,

The son of "Aunt Katya", Nikolai Nikolaevich Balashev also became a ballet dancer. He was at the Theater School from 1880 to 1890, began serving in the corps de ballet of the Mariinsky Theater, in 1897 he was transferred to the luminaries and in 1910 he graduated from the service as an artist of the 3rd category. Nikolai Nikolaevich long years maintained a close relationship with his uncle, PK Karsavin. The father and daughter, who became a famous ballerina, took his family affairs to heart. After the death of his first wife at a young age and the actual divorce from his second wife, ballet dancer N.T. Rykhlyakova, N.N. marriage with Elena Mikhailovna Shchukina (1874–1893), his daughter Iraida (1892–1941) remained in his care. The second daughter of Nikolai Nikolayevich and Natalya Trofimovna Evgenia, died at the age of 9 in 1905. ]. According to Nina Nikolaevna Zablotskaya, her father often visited his uncle in the post-revolutionary years, first in his apartment on the Petrograd side, on Vvedenskaya Street opposite the Vvedenskaya Church (destroyed in Soviet times), and then, after the death of Anna Iosifovna in 1919, - in the nursing home of artists on Kamenny Island [According to the memoirs of Nina Nikolaevna Zablotskaya, during these years Anna Iosifovna was partially paralyzed and with one, still active hand, was engaged in embroidery, decorating church utensils. P.K. Karsavin died in 1922. ]. Nikolai Nikolaevich visited with children and in the family of L.P. Karsavin, who lived in a university apartment on the Neva embankment.

Interesting information is contained in the Baptism Certificates of two generations of the Karsavins and the marriage of Platon Konstantinovich and Anna Iosifovna (in 1882). All these solemn acts took place in the Church of the Ascension of the Lord at the Admiralty settlements. This church, one of the oldest in St. Petersburg (built in wood in 1728, in stone in 1769), was located at Voznesensky Prospekt 34-a, on the embankment of the Catherine Canal, and was mercilessly destroyed in 1936. Vladimir and Platon were baptized in it Karsavins (in 1851 and 1854), as well as the children of Platon Konstantinovich - Lev and Tamara.
From these testimonies, we also learn about close people, friends at home, who acted as baptismal recipients or witnesses at a wedding. One can see how the circle of these people changes among different generations of the Karsavins. So, for the family of Platon Konstantinovich Karsavin, these are the artists of the Imperial Theaters: M.N. Karsavina). Platon's godparents were the master of the chimney-cleaning shop, the Saxon citizen Knefler, and the widow of the tailor Rezanov.
Of particular interest for clarifying the genealogy of the Karsavins are the godparents appearing in the Baptismal Certificate of the eldest son of Konstantin Mikhailovich and Pelageya Pavlovna, Vladimir. It is they who are probably directly related to the parents of the father and mother of Tamara Karsavina. This is the headquarters captain Filimon Sergeevich Zheleznikov and the landowner of the Oryol province Maria Mikhailovna Princess Angalycheva. So far, one can only assume that M. M. Angalycheva is, perhaps, the sister of Konstantin Mikhailovich, and Zheleznikov is the name of the father or mother of Pelageya Pavlovna.

The archival files also contain interesting details about Tamara Karsavina's father, Platon Konstantinovich Karsavin, who, unlike his older brother and nephew, was an outstanding ballet dancer.
When he graduated from the school in 1875, at the age of 20, he was already a dancer of the 1st category, a soloist. The service of PK Karsavin began at the age of 16, while still at the Theater School. In 1881, for the first time in 11 years of service, he asked for an increase in salary. On his petition to the director of the Imperial Theaters, there is an inscription of the chief director: "Performs his duty with full diligence and knowledge" and the director's visa: "Introduce him to full salary." As a result, from the beginning of 1882, the salary of 700 rubles a year was increased by 443 rubles. At the end of the same year, his salary was increased to 2,000 rubles.

Platon Konstantinovich Karsavin
in the book "Theater Street", L., 1971.,

To the very end of the 80s, T. Karsavina’s remark in her memoirs dates back: “Even at that time of relatively easy existens, Mother often talked about the difficulty of making both ends meet” [“Even at this time of relatively tolerable existence, mother often spoke about how hard it is to make ends meet. ]. With a salary of 2,000 rubles, P.K. Karsavin remained until his retirement in 1891, which amounted to 1,140 rubles a year [Nevertheless, this was the pension of a dancer of the 1st category. For comparison, the pension of V.K. Karsavin, a corps de ballet dancer, was 300 rubles, and N.N. Balashev, a dancer of the 3rd category - 500 rubles a year. ]. Help (since 1882) was teaching in the dance class of the Theater School, which continued until 1896, giving another 500 rubles to the family budget. With the dismissal from teaching, life became more difficult. It is precisely in the spring of 1897 that the description in Teatralnaya Street of the mysterious operation of handing over winter things to a pawnshop, carried out by "Uncle Volodya", refers. As Tamara Platonovna figuratively puts it, “... we always lived from hand to mouth...” [“... we often lived from hand to mouth...”, i.e. "satisfied with the bare necessities." ]. Platon Konstantinovich's petitions for one-time material assistance in connection with the mother's funeral (1890) and his wife's illness (1896) also testify to the family's cramped situation. Mention in the memoirs about teaching his father at the free school of the Prince of Oldenburg (“the salary there was modest, but firm”) refers to 1900-1901.
After his retirement in 1891, Platon Konstantinovich had to "decide" on his class status. Until 1870, when he entered the number of state pupils of the Theater School (from this year the calculation of the length of his service also began), P.K. Karsavin was in a tailor's craft workshop. In 1875, after graduating from college, he was dismissed from the artisan society and excluded from the salary. Having served for over 15 years as an artist of the Imperial Theatres, Karsavin had the right to be included in the class of hereditary honorary citizens. This right, with the receipt of the corresponding letter, he took advantage of in 1891 [RGIA, fund 1343 (Department of Heraldry), inventory 40, case 2207.].
Finally, two archival files contain original documents related to the studies and service of the outstanding ballerina [“On the free pupil Tamara Karsavina” (fund 498, inventory 1, file 4561) and “On the service of the ballet troupe dancer Tamara Karsavina (fund 497, inventory 5 , case 1373). ]. The earliest, apart from a copy of the birth and baptismal certificates, is the "Certificate of preventive smallpox vaccination of the 7-year-old daughter of a hereditary honorary citizen Tamara Karsavina", issued on April 22, 1892. The latest is the report of the chief director of the ballet troupe to the Petrograd office of the Imperial (corrected, - State) theaters dated March 16, 1917 on the return of the ballerina Karsavina from vacation.
Between these two documents are: A.I. Karsavina’s “Petition” for the admission of her daughter Tamara to the number of incoming students of the Theater School (August 17, 1894) with a visa on the back - “Enrolled as a free student” (according to the minutes of the Conference of May 23, 1895 ) and “Certificate of study from 1894 to 1902 and completion of a full course of study at the Imperial St. Petersburg Theater School”, Tamara Karsavina’s “Petition” for assignment to active service (dated May 28, 1902, with photograph) and the instructions of the Directorate regarding advancement of T. Karsavina in the service, “Certificate of the wedding” in the Church of the School with the son of a real state councilor, provincial secretary Vasily Vasilyevich Mukhin (July 1, 1907) and contracts of the artist with the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters (for 1908–1911, 1911–1914, 1914– 1915 and 1915–1917).

The passage of Tamara Karsavina's career ladder (according to archival documents) is as follows: on June 20, 1903, she was a corps de ballet dancer with a salary of 800 rubles a year, and from May 1, 1904 she was transferred from luminaries to the category of second dancers, from September 1, 1907 she is transferred to the 1st category dancers (a year later her salary is 1300 rubles), since March 25, 1912, Tamara Karsavina was transferred to the category of ballerinas. ]. There are documents about the awarding of a gold medal to be worn around the neck, on the Alexander ribbon (April 14, 1913) and the award by His Highness the Emir of Bukhara a small gold medal to be worn on the chest (September 22, 1916).

An examination of archival documents on personnel sheds additional light on the reasons for the emergence of ballet dynasties, so characteristic of the Russian stage. If we talk about the Karsavin dynasty, then we can think that the placement of sons in the Theater School was a good way out of the cramped situation in which the tailor's widow Pelageya Pavlovna Karsavina found herself. Enrolling them on a state kosht (after a preliminary stay in the position of volunteer students) in a closed educational institution with subsequent public service and a guaranteed pension, no doubt, seemed to be a more reliable and attractive field than being in the taxable class. Probably, Ekaterina Konstantinovna Balasheva was guided by the same considerations when arranging her son Nikolai at the Theater School.

Then there was the question of the inheritance of the profession. Here already great importance formed a professional circle of friends. We know from Tamara Karsavina's book that the parents' opinions about her definition at the school differed. The negative position of Platon Konstantinovich was probably connected with that unpleasant aftertaste from the atmosphere of intrigue and routine, of which he himself became a victim at that time, forced to retire in his prime. But artistic nature, love for the theater quickly got the better of his first reaction. Tamara Platonovna also mentions the role of "Aunt Vera", the ballet dancer V.V. Zhukova, her father's partner and friend at home, in her preparation for entering the school. As for Nikolai Nikolayevich Balashev, his desire to send his children to the school was probably determined by more pragmatic considerations [In addition to his son Leo, who became a ballet dancer, Nikolai Nikolayevich wanted to enroll his daughter Nina in the school, but she was not accepted due to her too small height . ]. At the same time, Lev Platonovich Karsavin was categorically against the admission of the eldest daughter Irina, according to family tradition at the Theater School.

Tamara Platonovna Karsavina
performs a torch dance.
Photo from TsGAKFFD (before 1917
USA
New York)

Having left Russia forever, which had just survived the October Revolution, Tamara Karsavina, like her brother, did not know anything about the fate of the descendants of “Aunt Katya”. Many years later, a request came to England through the International Red Cross, made by my mother N.N. Zablotskaya, niece of T. Karsavina. At the end of 1973, Tamara Platonovna Karsavina answered a request from Nina Nikolaevna Zablotskaya (Balasheva), from Leningrad, about her health. And on November 6, 1973, Nina Nikolaevna received from the Directorate for Search of the Executive Committee of the SOCCKKP (Union of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) a notice with the following content:
“It has been established that Tamara Platonovna is alive and happy. In response to a letter from the British Red Cross, she replied: “Because over the years her eyesight has deteriorated and she suffers from severe arthritis, it is difficult for her to read and write. Her son Nikita lives well, he has children Karolina, 16 years old, and Nikolai, 12 years old. She asks her to convey her big regards and good wishes to her niece and, if it is interesting for her niece to know, that she loves and honors the country in which she lives, for her wonderful and warm attitude and assistance to ballet. Unfortunately, Tamara Platonovna Karsavina did not disclose her address, apparently due to her advanced age, it is difficult for her to write and answer letters..
What memories did this request evoke in the legendary ballerina, an iconic figure of the Silver Age? Perhaps she remembered the warmth of the trusting childlike hand of her little goddaughter Ninochka, an early orphaned girl - the daughter of her cousin Nikolai ... She remembered the distant years of the beginning of the 20th century, the years of her rising glory ... I don’t know that. But I know what memories connected my mother, Nina Nikolaevna, with “Aunt Tamara”, whom she had not seen since her distant and such a sad childhood? Nina Nikolaevna told me and my sister Tatyana about grandfather Nikolai Nikolaevich, whom we hardly remembered - about her kind, gentle, always preoccupied
the earnings of a father who could not do anything with an evil stepmother. And it was by no means "literature".

And always in these stories the image of "Aunt Tamara" appeared, a good fairy who gave magical gifts and traveled with her children to her friend, Matilda Kshesinskaya, in her palace on the Petrograd side. This happened at Christmas and Easter.

Tamara Platonovna Karsavina in the role.
Photo taken in 1917.

"Aunt Tamara" was the baptismal recipient of the children of Nikolai Nikolaevich Balashev - Lev, Nina and Lyuba, as well as the daughters of his brother, Lev Platonovich Karsavin - Irina and Marianna
[Lev Nikolaevich Balashev (1904–1960),
Nina Nikolaevna Zablotskaya (1905–1994),
Lyubov Nikolaevna Balasheva (1908–1977),
Irina Lvovna Karsavina (1906–1987),
Marianna Lvovna Suvchinskaya (1911-1994)].

Goddaughters of T. Karsavina -
Irina and Marianna Karsavina.
Around 1914
Archive of S. L. Karsavina.

Lev Nikolaevich Balashev studied at the ballet department of the Theater School from 1914 to 1922, danced at the Mariinsky Theater, then at the Music Hall, and from 1930 earned a living as a graphic designer, heredity and friendship with the artist V. Ushakov affected.
Thus, for 70 years, representatives of three generations of the Karsavin-Balashev clan served on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre.

Nina Balasheva hardly remembered her mother. Antonina Pavlovna Moskaleva, the third wife of Nikolai Nikolaevich, died when the girl was only five years old. And over the years, as far as I understand, the bright image of “Aunt Tamara”, her godmother, became brighter and more concrete, as is usually the case in the memory of older people. This warm and simple plot in the memoirs of my mother, Nina Nikolaevna, did not correlate in any way with the atmosphere of the “Silver Age” that was described many times. It was a different world, a different side of life. And Tamara Karsavina, already famous then, was and remained in her mother’s memories - “Aunt Tamara”.

III generation:

2/1. Nicholas 1872-1941. Ballet dancer.
Wife - (I marriage) - Elena Mikhailovna (nee Shchukina) 1874-1893.
(II marriage) - Natalya Trofimovna (née Rykhlyakova) 1873-after 1933.
Ballet dancer.
(III marriage) - Antonina Pavlovna Moskaleva 1882-1910. Home
teacher.
(IV marriage) - Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Pushkina.
3/1. Lyudmila (married Knyazev)? -1941. Children - Valentina, Evgenia, Valerian,
George, Boris, Ludmila.
4/1. Rimma? -1941.
5/1. Olga? -1941.

IV generation:

6/2. Iraida 1892-1941. Husband and sons also died in 1941 during the blockade
Leningrad
7/2. Eugene 1896-1905.
8/2. Lev 1904-1960. Ballet dancer, graphic designer.
Wife - (I marriage) - Marina Alexandrovna Shleifer? -1941.
(II marriage) - Anna Timofeevna Dmitrieva.
9/2. Nina 1905-1994. Husband (II marriage) - Mikhail Ivanovich Zablotsky. Children - Lydia (from I
marriage), Tatyana (married Dyachenko), Evgeny.
10/2. Lydia 1906-1907.
11/2. Love 1908-1977. Husband (II marriage) - Vladimir Safronov. Daughter - Lyudmila.
12/2. Victor.
13/2. Zoya.

5th generation:

14/8. Roman?-1941?
15/8. Nikolai b.1944. Wife - Nina.

VI generation:

16/15. Tatiana.

17/15. Konstantin.

Pedigree of Khomyakovs

(a branch of Nikifor Ivanovich (V generation).

5th generation:

1. Nikifor Ivanovich Khomyakov.

VI generation::

2/1. Alexander.
3/1. Yuri.

VII generation:

4/2. Name?
5/3. Name?

VIII generation:

6/4. Elisha.
7/4. Ivan.

IX generation:

8/6. Stepan. Steward.
9/6. Basil.
10/6. Ivan.
11/7. Kirill. A contemporary of Peter I.

X generation:

12/8. Fedor. Sergeant of the Life Guards Semenovsky Regiment. Cousin-nephew of Kirill Ivanovich Khomyakov.
Wife - Nadezhda Ivanovna (née Nashchokina).
13/9. Basil? -1777. Collegiate Assessor.
14/9. Ivan.

XI generation:

15/12. Alexander.
16/12. Maria.
17/12. Avdotya.

XII generation:

18/15. Stepan? -1836. Retired Life Guard lieutenant.
Wife - Maria Alekseevna (nee Kireevskaya) 1770-1857.

XIII generation:

19/18. Fedor 1801-1829. Interpreter of the College of Foreign Affairs, chamber junker.
Wife - Anastasia Ivanovna (nee Griboyedova) -?
20/18. Anna?-1839.
21/18. Alexei 1804-1860. Poet, philosopher, leader of the Slavophil movement.
Wife - Ekaterina Mikhailovna (nee Yazykova) 1817-1852.

XIV generation:

22/19. (?) Joseph 1825?-1865? Lieutenant.
Wife - Maria Semyonovna (nee Paleolog) 1830? -1905.
23/21. Stepan 1837?-1838.
24/21. Fedor 1837?-1838.
25/21. Maria? -1919.
26/21. Dmitry 1841-1919.
Wife - Anna Sergeevna (née Ushakova).
27/21. Catherine.
28/21. Sophia 1845-1902.
29/21. Anna. Husband - M.P. Grabbe.
30/21. Nicholas 1850-1925. Member of the State Council.
31/21. Olga (married Chelishcheva).

XV generation:

32/22. Anna 1860-1919. Husband - Platon Konstantinovich Karsavin. Children: Lev, Tamara.
33/22. Raisa. Children - Nina, two sons.
34/22. Son (name?).

Literature:

1. Khomyakov Alexey Stepanovich. - Russian biographical dictionary.
2. Khomyakov Fedor Stepanovich. - In the book: Chereisky L.A. Pushkin and his entourage. L.: Nauka LO, 1989. - .
3. Yurkin I.N. Tula landowners Khomyakovs in the Catherine era. - Khomyakov collection. T. 1. Tomsk: Aquarius, 1998, p. 245-257. - .
4. Yurkin I.N. Khomyakovs, Khrushchovs, Arsenyevs: forgotten connections (from investigations into the history of the Khomyakovs' land holdings). – Rural Russia: past and present. Issue. 2. M.: Encyclopedia of Russian villages, 2001, p. 76-78. - .
5. Kovalev Yu.P. Lipetsy. - Encyclopedia of the Smolensk region. Part 2. 2003. - .

When newspaper photographs of this woman fell into the hands of men who were far from ballet and did not even suspect who exactly was photographed, the images were cut out, hung on the wall and admired until the paper turned yellow. The influence of Karsavina's languorous eyes was apparently even stronger than the magnetism of her dances. And taken together, the virtues of Karsavina, a woman and a ballerina, were completely knocked down.

Karsavina, along with Ida Rubinstein, claims first place in the list of the most beautiful Russian dancers. Contemporaries vying with each other extolled female magnetism and commemorated the hearts broken by both enchantresses.

But if the infernal Ida resembled either a “wounded lioness” or a sharply sharpened razor, Tamara Karsavina took it to others: she enveloped in lyrical and poetic erotica. Karsavina's charm was all the stronger because she was reputed to be an impregnable person, not inclined to the usual vulgar cupids of dancers.

Rubinstein until the end of her days remained a capable amateur, who made her way thanks to a huge fortune that allowed her to be her own producer and sponsor. Karsavina is one of the best ballet professionals, the prima ballerina of the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater of the early 20th century, the star of Sergei Diaghilev's Russian Seasons, which glorified our ballet all over the world.

Debut at the Mariinsky Theater

Her father, Platon Karsavin, was a dancer at the Mariinsky Theatre, but did not want his daughter to continue the dynasty - "Tatochka was born too delicate for the profession of a ballerina." The mother, the great-niece of the Slavophil philosopher Alexei Khomyakov, wanted to make her daughter a dancer. The intellectual vein in the family was inherited: Tamara's brother Lev Karsavin was a medievalist historian and original thinker, for which, together with other smart people, in 1922 the Bolsheviks expelled him from Russia on the famous "philosophical ship". The brother and sister were friendly, Lev called Tamara "the famous virtuous sister", and she called him "the young sage."

Having made her debut at the Mariinsky Theatre, Karsavina quickly made herself a powerful friend (Matilda Kshesinskaya) and a vindictive enemy (Anna Pavlova).

Matilda Kshesinskaya herself offered her patronage (“if someone offends, tell me”), and the machinations of the enemy, without naming her by name, Karsavina later described in her memoir book “Theatre Street”, where she told how once a jealous rival screamed at a beginner a ballerina backstage, accusing her stage costume of being "indiscreet".

The ballerina Karsavina did not captivate either with virtuoso chic, like Kshesinskaya, or with the vibes of a “weeping spirit,” like Spesivtseva, or with tragic piercing, like Pavlova. Tamara was alien to bright local colors, she captivated with nuances, soft transitions from one plastic state to another.

Paris at her feet

In the descriptions of Karsavin's performances, her mimic talent is emphasized, the words "elusive grace" are used, beautiful feet, slender legs and a naturally high jump are praised. A Parisian reviewer wrote that on the stage "Karsavina is like a dancing flame, in the light and shadows of which languid bliss dwells ... her dances are the most delicate tones and an airy pastel pattern."

Tamara Karsavina was a devoted comrade-in-arms of the founder of the Russian Seasons, its first choreographer, Mikhail Fokine, and other Diaghilev figures, most of whom were at first World of Art. “Tatochka has become one of us,” wrote Alexandre Benois. While Kshesinskaya, disliking Diaghilev, put spokes in his wheels, using her connections at court, and Pavlova, having danced with the same Diaghilev at first, later resolutely refused to share success with other stars.

Performing Armida in the Pavilion of Armida, Columbine in Carnival, a girl from the Romantic era in Vision of the Rose, and the Firebird in the ballet of the same name, Karsavina forever inscribed her name in the history of Art Nouveau with its “vignetted” culture and excess of decorative depiction. Having danced the Doll in Petrushka (as well as many other roles paired with Nijinsky), she brought to life the later memoirs of the author of the choreography, Fokine: “I saw many Dolls in this ballet, and all of them were worse than the first. I asked myself the question: “Why can't they dance like Karsavina? It is so simple. But... it didn't work out."

France adored her, and after Paris fell in love with all of Europe. Performances with Karsavina were attended by Rodin, Saint-Saens, Cocteau and the main characters of gossip columns. Marcel Proust, who copied the heroes of his epic from the high-society regulars of the Russian Seasons, often drove the ballerina to the hotel by car after the receptions. Before her admirer had time to shout “Karsavina!” at a performance in London, “there was a roar of the gallery, like the roar of a distant cannon, and the theater applauded for twenty minutes.”

At home

In 1913, Karsavina ended her European tour with Diaghilev and began performing more at the Mariinsky Theatre. Here she plunged headlong into the classical repertoire, dancing "Giselle", "Swan Lake", "Raymonda", "The Nutcracker" and "Sleeping Beauty".

Reviewers, as a rule, admired her, but not always: from time to time they wrote about the lack of technique and even about some stage sluggishness, not forgetting, however, to note the artistry. At home, her exotic face was also “loved by princes and poets” - Karsavina posed for Bakst, Dobuzhinsky, Serov, Sudeikin and Serebryakova. Poems were dedicated to her by Mikhail Kuzmin (“You are Colombina, Salome, you are not the same every time ...”) and Anna Akhmatova (“Like a song, you compose a light dance ...”).

Poets, like Karsavina, visited the Stray Dog cabaret for many years, where, according to some memoirists, the excited Tamara sometimes danced on the table, and almost all significant regulars of the Dog could applaud her: from Severyanin, Mandelstam and Gumilyov to Prokofiev , Mayakovsky and Meyerhold.

Personal life

Karsavina was courted by the famous St. Petersburg Don Juan Karl Mannerheim (the same Finnish statesman who built the Mannerheim Line, at the beginning of the century he was an officer in the tsarist army). The life physician of the court, Sergei Botkin, was madly carried away by her, forgetting for the sake of Tamara his wife, the daughter of the founder of the gallery, Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov. Choreographer Fokin made her an offer three times, receiving a refusal.

On the other hand, there is evidence that Tamara's intelligence and erudition, unprecedented for a ballerina and a woman of those years, periodically scared away potential admirers. As a result, Karsavina married a poor nobleman Vasily Mukhin, who captivated her with kindness, knowledge of music and a passion for ballet.

The marriage lasted until the ballerina came to the reception at the British Embassy in 1913. There she met Henry Bruce, head of the embassy office in St. Petersburg. Bruce fell desperately in love, took Tamara out of the family, she bore him a son, Nikita, and in 1915 became the wife of a British diplomat. They lived together for over thirty years. Subsequently, Bruce, as he wrote in his memoir Thirty Dozen Moons at the end of his life, prematurely interrupted his diplomatic career for the sake of the triumphs of his beloved wife: “Despite the selfishness inherent in men in general, I had no ambitions, except for the desire to be in the shadow of Tamara” .

In exile

At 33, Karsavina danced for the last time at the Mariinsky Theatre, stepping on stage in La Bayadère. With her husband and young son in 1918, the prima of the imperial ballet left her homeland forever, about which she later wrote: "Russia is a wild country of great culture and amazing ignorance."

She lived for 93 years, which, according to astrologers, is quite natural for a woman born in March 1885 (Karsavina's horoscope indicates "the location of many planets in Pisces, the elements of water", and this is a sign of longevity). Tamara spent the second half of her life in London, periodically traveling to the continent - now to Diaghilev, with whom she resumed active creative contacts, then accompanying her husband on diplomatic trips.

At the age of 39, she performed at the La Scala Theatre, danced for two years in the British troupe Balle Rambert and fell in love with England from the bottom of her heart, although not without irony she noted the peculiarities of the island's psychology. She said of the British that deep down they are always a little surprised when they find that foreigners use knives and forks, just like themselves.

last years of life

In exile, Karsavina resumed Fokine's ballets, taught English ballet prima Margot Fonteyn to dance the Firebird, served as vice-president of the Royal Academy of Dance, developed new method dance recordings and advised choreographer Frederic Ashton on how her favorite ballet looked at the Mariinsky Theater " A futile precaution". (Ashton's version is now on stage at the Bolshoi Theatre.)

Karsavina wrote memoirs in which she recalls in detail her childhood spent at the Imperial Ballet School on Rossi Street, the Mariinsky Theater and the first years with Diaghilev. The first edition of her book The Theater Street was published in England in 1930, the foreword was written by famous writer James Barry (Author of Peter Pan) There is a Russian translation of 1971, in which, of course, memories of the revolution are removed, when Karsavina describes the ordeals of leaving for emigration.

Her family made their way north to Murmansk, to the English steamships, having reached the pier a few minutes before the departure of the last British cruiser "Vivisbrook" and with bated breath entering the villages that came across on the way - and who is there: white or red? For the first, the husband's diplomatic passport was in store, for the second - the traveler's passport, signed by the red people's commissar Chicherin.

The famous ballerina died in 1978, having outlived her brother for a long time, whose life ended tragically. Lev Karsavin lived in Lithuania for many years, where he was a university professor. After the Baltic states were annexed to the USSR, the “religious idealist” was removed from his post, in 1949 he was arrested for anti-Stalinist statements and died of tuberculosis in the camp.

Akhmatova dreamed that a ballet based on "Poem Without a Hero" would be staged. Tamara Karsavina, a friend of her youth, was probably among those who dreamed of Anna Andreevna for the role of the main character.

These lines in March 1914, the acmeist poet M.A. Kuzmin dedicated to Tamara Karsavina, the ancestor of fundamentally new trends in performance in ballet theater 20s, recognized as the "Queen of Columbine". At that time, her talent was already recognized, it was the period of her triumph. But there were other times in the life of a ballerina.

“She is lax, careless, dancing somehow... Her dances are heavy and massive... She dances involuntarily, a little clubfoot and cannot even get into the right attitude properly...”

It will probably be difficult for a modern reader who has not studied the history of ballet specifically to believe that Tamara Karsavina's ballet parts were once awarded such an unflattering review. Her name, along with the name of Anna Pavlova, today occupies a special place in the history of Russian ballet, her talent and performing skills are facts beyond doubt. And yet, it was not always so. AT creative life the ballerina had many difficulties, recognition did not come to Karsavina immediately.

Tamara Karsavina was born on February 25, 1885. Her father, Platon Konstantinovich, was a teacher and famous dancer at the Mariinsky Theatre, where he began performing in 1875 after graduating from the St. Petersburg Theater School. He finished his dancing activity in 1891, and his theatrical benefit made an indelible impression on Tamara. It was then that she realized how much she loves the theater. Tamara's mother dreamed of her daughter becoming a ballerina, while her father showed a certain restraint in this matter: knowing the world of behind-the-scenes intrigues, he did not really want his daughter to live among them. But Tamara herself was already raving about the theater. “Even the intrigues and anxieties of this world seemed to me just a particle of its charm, devoid of any bitterness,” Karsavina herself wrote in her memoirs.

Her father gave her first dance lessons. He was a very strict and demanding teacher, he did not allow a single drop of indulgence towards his daughter. When she was nine years old, her parents sent her to a theater school. The selection was very strict, but Tamara was among the few who were enrolled. Here she immediately distinguished herself from other students. Her frequent performances in children's performances always had positive reviews, and the ballerina herself subsequently retained warm memories of this period of her life: a white and pink dress as a reward for success - "two happy moments in her life. The girls' everyday dress was brown; a pink dress at the theater school was considered a badge of distinction, and a white one served as the highest award. Her success in those years testified not only to the unconditional presence of talent, but also to great diligence and diligence. It was not easy for Karsavina, because she suffered from a serious illness - anemia, which from time to time took an acute form.

Tamara Karsavina was a student and goddaughter of P.A. Gerdt. She herself recalled with great warmth the years of study with this talented teacher. “He spared neither time nor effort. Every afternoon he came especially for me. These lessons gave me more than just technical training. Affectionately and carefully, he revealed the dormant possibilities of my individuality, my stage temperament ... ”Gerdt chose the ballet“ In the Kingdom of Ice ”as a graduation performance. The very next day after his show, they started talking about Karsavina. Her grace, ease of movement, artistry, magnificent facial expressions were noted. However, no one saw in her then a virtuoso dancer.

For four years she performed in the corps de ballet of the Mariinsky Theater, after which she was transferred to the category of second dancers. Critics followed her performances and evaluated them differently. The reviews of the same critics were often contradictory - in some performances Karsavina was praised, in others they were compared with ballet dancers not in her favor. There was even an opinion that the ballerina does not develop, does not improve, goes along the path of regression. Her laxity, negligence, and frivolity in her attitude to dance were noted - however, the beauty of the young dancer was not bypassed.

A certain technical imperfection of Tamara Karsavina's dance was evident, and yet there were objective reasons for this. The special, congenital soft plasticity of Karsavina gave rise to a natural incompleteness, vagueness of movements. This was often liked by the audience, but could not be welcomed by strict adherents of classical dance. The imperfection of technique was more than compensated by the artistry and charm of the dancer. Over time, thanks to hard work and stage practice, the ballerina improved her technique. Much was given to her by the lessons of Sergei Legat, who often held individual rehearsals with her. At that time, the reviews of critics changed to the opposite - they began to praise Karsavina for her technicality, noting the acting inexpressiveness of the images.

Best of the day

Karsavina's debut in the title role took place in October 1904 in Petipa's one-act ballet Awakening Flora. He did not bring her success, ballet critics were almost unanimous in their opinion that Karsavina in the role of Flora looked unconvincing. However, as the ballerina herself later recalled, failure did not harm her future at all. The party of the Tsar Maiden in The Little Humpbacked Horse that followed two years later delighted the public, but was again ambiguously evaluated by critics. Karsavina was reproached for her lack of confidence, the noticeable timidity of the dance, and the general unevenness of her performance. The whole point was that Karsavina's individuality had not yet been revealed and had not found a way of its vivid embodiment.

The beginning of Tamara Karsavina's performances coincided with a difficult period in Russian ballet. It was a kind of crisis moment, when old ideas, traditions and schools had already become obsolete, and everything new was still to come. Russian ballet was, as it were, in anticipation. It was during this period of time, in the tenth years of the twentieth century, that Mikhail Mikhailovich Fokin was just beginning to implement his reforms. In his work, which began with a fundamental opposition to academicism, she felt something close to herself. Fokine did not immediately discern in Karsavina the ideal actress for his ballet. The ballerina herself described her first impressions of meeting the choreographer as follows: “Fokine’s intolerance at first tormented and shocked me, but his enthusiasm and ardor captivated my imagination. I firmly believed in him before he had time to create anything.”

Initially, the choreographer tried Karsavina in the second parts in his first St. Petersburg productions. Her performance in Fokine's "Chopiniana" (it took place in March 1907) again seemed pale to critics against the backdrop of the brilliant Pavlova, as did the next dance of the Jewish girl in Fokine's production of "Egyptian Nights". Fokine himself spoke of her part in Chopiniana as follows: “Karsavina performed a waltz. I think that the sylph dances are especially suitable for her talent. She had neither the thinness nor the lightness of Pavlova, but in Sylphide Karsavina there was that romanticism that I rarely managed to achieve with subsequent performers.

The theatrical season of 1909 brought Tamara Karsavina two leading roles - in Swan Lake and Corsair. The dancer feels the need for additional classes with a female teacher. Trying not to offend S. Legat, she leaves his class and turns to Evgenia Pavlovna Sokolova, a famous ballerina of the Maly Theater in the past.

Sokolova conducted rehearsals very demandingly and strictly, delved into all the little things. The efforts of the teacher and the student were not in vain. The audience enthusiastically received Tamara Karsavina in "Corsair". In the role of Konrad, Karsavina's partner was the unfading P.A. Gerdt. The performance of the part in Le Corsaire gave Karsavina reason to hope for the title of prima ballerina. Finally, the harsh critic Svetlov, who for a long time spoke disapprovingly of Tamara Karsavina, wrote a laudatory review of her performance. “The ice between us was broken,” the ballerina recalled.

In the spring of 1909, all the artists of the imperial theaters were excited by talk about the touring troupe recruited by S. Diaghilev for the first Russian Season. Tamara Karsavina also received an invitation to take part in it. The first evening of Russian ballet in Paris included the Pavilion of Armida, Polovtsian Dances, and the divertissement Feast. Karsavina performed the pas de trois in the Pavilion of Armida with Vaslav and Bronislava Nijinsky, the pas de deux of Princess Florine and the Blue Bird from The Sleeping Beauty (called the Firebird by Diaghilev). In her memoirs, Tamara Karsavina describes in great detail the nervous state of the entire troupe before the significant evening and the stunning success of the performance. Her impression of the morning papers speaks for itself: "I learned absolutely amazing things about myself ..."

The result of recognition was a lot of engagements that fell on Karsavina. Having accepted one of them that offered not the best conditions, however, in the city where Karsavina always aspired to - in London (she motivated this by her love for Dickens, preserved from childhood), Karsavina returned to her homeland after a month of London tour.

The second season in Paris assumed the participation of Karsavina already as a star. Continuing to work at the Mariinsky Theatre, Karsavina at the same time was preparing new performances with Diaghilev. She tried to perform Giselle in the spirit traditional for the Russian stage. However, Benois, who created a completely unconventional design for the performance, and Diaghilev, who wanted to remove routine sweetness from Giselle, demanded from Nijinsky, Karsavina's partner, a more complete and profound understanding of the role. As a result of hard work, the performance was enthusiastically received by the audience of the Grand Opera and brought well-deserved fame to both performers.

Another role of the 1910 season - Colombina - the exact opposite of Giselle. The play "Carnival" to the music of Schumann, an elegant trifle, where all the feelings of the characters are unsteady, naive, a little theatrical, made it possible for Tamara Platonovna to reveal another facet of her acting talent. The sly, graceful Columbine, a symbol of the elusive female soul, became one of Karsavina's best roles.

Karsavina's third role in the 1910 season was the Firebird. The performance, created on the Russian theme, became the highlight of the season. The image of the Firebird was thought out to the smallest detail: Bakst's fantastic costume with beads and feathers, make-up in the "Vrubel" manner perfectly set off the beauty of the performer.

After the 1910 season, Karsavina becomes a star. But her life is complicated by obligations towards her beloved St. Petersburg and the Mariinsky Theatre, and Diaghilev does not want to lose the bright star of his troupe, especially after the departure of Anna Pavlova. But in 1910, at the Mariinsky Theater, T. Karsavina was awarded the title of prima ballerina, which makes it possible to receive vacations during the tour.

Karsavina's repertoire at the Mariinsky Theater expanded rapidly: in addition to Flora's Awakening, Corsair, Swan Lake, there were roles in Raymond, The Nutcracker, The Doll Fairy, in 1910 in La Bayadère, and then in "Sleeping Beauty" Creativity Karsavina did not leave indifferent critics. Although there were often reproaches for the insufficient purity of the performance of classical ballets, the tone of the articles changed, became benevolent, the authors often referred to Karsavina as "the favorite of the public."

Formerly formidable, Valerian Svetlov wrote: “Who could have said two or three years ago that a timid and somehow unsure of her abilities would reveal such flexibility and versatility of her lurking charming talent? She is an artist, fully mastering the forms and imbued with the spirit of both old and new dance.

Working with Fokine in the already permanent Diaghilev Ballet Company in 1911 brought Karsavina three more roles - Ballerinas in Petrushka, Girls in Miniature The Phantom of the Rose, and Echo the Nymph in Daffodils. In all performances, her partner was V. Nizhinsky. The roles were very different. The romantic image of a girl, in the style of then fashionable impressionism, required sensitivity in conveying elusive nuances. The image of the Ballerina, a symbol of soulless beauty, was conveyed by puppet-mechanical movements. The nymph Echo was interpreted in a tragic way. Perhaps this particular season has become the most eventful and successful in the work of Karsavina.

The following seasons were not as bright. "The Blue God" by R. Gan, like "Tamara" to the music of M. Balakirev, had a short fate, and the ballet "Daphnis and Chloe" was a very average success. At this time, V.F. became the choreographer of the Russian Seasons. Nijinsky. But working with him (“Games” by K. Debussy) disappointed Karsavina, and after the tour of the troupe in America, Tamara Platonovna returns from St. Petersburg.

The World War of 1914 began. Karsavina continues to work at the Mariinsky Theatre, where her repertoire is replenished with roles in ballets: Paquita, Don Quixote, Vain Precaution, Sylvia. In addition, Karsavina was main character three ballets by Fokine, staged especially for her: "Islamey", "Preludes", "Dream".

After 1915, Karsavina refused to dance Fokine's ballets, as they prevented her from performing "pure" classics. But the years of cooperation with Fokine did not pass without a trace: his stylization techniques also affected Karsavina's work on the academic repertoire. The war made it impossible to go on tour, and Tamara Platonovna danced at the Mariinsky Theater until 1918. Her last role on the stage of this theater was Nikiya in La Bayadère.

After leaving Russia, since July 1918 Karsavina has been living in London. Tamara Platonovna works in the Russian Diaghilev Ballet, where, along with the previous ones, she performs parts in the productions of the choreographer Leonid Myasin (Cocked Hat, Song of the Nightingale, Pulcinella). Since 1929, after the death of Diaghilev, Karsavina has been performing in the Ballet Rambert troupe.

Tamara Karsavina left the stage in 1931. Occupying the honorary position of vice-president of the British Royal Academy of Dance, she resumed Fokine's ballets in various troupes, and was engaged in tutoring. In 1956, her book "Ballet Technique" was published, later Karsavina's memoirs - "Theatrical Street".

Private bussiness

Tamara Platonovna Karsavina(1885 - 1978) was born in St. Petersburg, in the family of Platon Karsavin, a dancer with the ballet troupe of the Mariinsky Theater and a teacher at the Imperial Ballet School. In the beginning, the father did not want his daughter to study ballet, so the mother, Anna Iosifovna, secretly from her husband, agreed on private lessons for her daughter with the ballerina Vera Zhukova, who left the stage. A few months later, Platon Karsavin found out that his daughter began to study ballet, put up with this news and became her teacher himself. In 1894, Tamara Karsavina passed a rigorous examination and was admitted to the Imperial Ballet School. During her studies, she performed the solo part of Cupid at the premiere of the ballet Don Quixote directed by Alexander Gorsky, the old pas de deux The Pearl and the Fisherman inserted by Pavel Gerdt into the ballet Javotta. She graduated ahead of schedule in February 1902. At that time, it was unheard of for an underage girl to participate in ballet productions, but the family's financial situation was difficult, as her father lost his teaching position, so Tamara Karsavina made sure that she was accepted into the corps de ballet of the Mariinsky Theater. At the graduation performance she danced in the fragment "In the Kingdom of Ice" from the ballet "Spark of Love" staged by Pavel Gerdt.

At the Mariinsky Theater Tamara Karsavina's career developed rapidly. He began to perform solo parts (the flower girl Tsikalia in Don Quixote, Swanilda's friend in Coppélia, the pas de quatre of frescoes in The Little Humpbacked Horse, the pas de deux in Giselle, the pas de trois in "Swan Lake", Henrietta in "Raymond"), then they began to entrust her with the performance of the leading parts (Flora in "The Awakening of Flora", the Tsar Maiden in "The Little Humpbacked Horse"). Trained in Milan with K. Beretta. To the greatest extent, Karsavina's talent was revealed in the productions of Mikhail Fokine: the 11th waltz (Chopiniana, 2nd edition, 1908), Jewish dance (Egyptian Nights, 1909), Columbine (Carnival), Firebird (both - 1910), Girl ("Phantom of the Rose"), nymph Echo ("Narcissus"), Ballerina ("Petrushka", all - 1911), 1st of the wives of the King of the Black Isles ("Islamey"), Young girl ( "Blue God"), Tamara ("Tamara"), Chloe ("Daphnis and Chloe"; all - 1912), "Preludes" (1913), Queen of Shemakhan ("Golden Cockerel"), Oread ("Midas", both 1914 ), "Dream" (1915), dancing in the opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila" (1917). Since 1909, she participated in the productions of the troupe of Sergei Diaghilev, where, after the departure of Anna Pavlova, she performed all the leading roles. At the same time, at the Mariinsky Theater she danced in ballets from the classical repertoire, performing the main roles in the ballets Giselle, Swan Lake, Raymonda, The Nutcracker, The Doll Fairy, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Paquita ”, “Harlequinade”. Last performance Tamara Karsavina at the Mariinsky Theater took place in 1918 in the ballet La Bayadère. In 1907, Tamara Karsavina married the nobleman Vasily Mukhin. In 1915, she met at a reception at the British Embassy with diplomat Henry James Bruce, as a result of an affair that arose between them, Tamara Karsavina divorced Mukhin and married Bruce. In 1916 their son Nikita was born.

From July 1918 she settled with her husband in London, but most of the time she lived in France, where she continued her collaboration with the Diaghilev Ballets Russes. There, in addition to the previous roles, she danced in new productions by the choreographer Leonid Myasin: The Miller Woman (Cocked Hat), Nightingale (The Song of the Nightingale), Pimpinella (Pulcinella), pas de deux (opera-ballet Women's Tricks). Since 1929, she danced in the Balle Rambler troupe. In 1931 she left the stage, but for many years she taught at the Royal Academy of Dance. Tamara Karsavina died in London on May 26, 1978.

Tamara Karsavina

What is famous

An outstanding ballerina whom Mikhail Fokin considered the best performer in his ballets (The Firebird, The Phantom of the Rose, Carnival, Petrushka). She became the ancestor of new trends in ballet, later called "intellectual art". At the same time, the impressionistic nature of Fokine's choreography performed by Karsavina received additional support in academic ballet technique. Two of her best roles were created in a duet with Vaslav Nijinsky: the Girl ("The Ghost of the Rose") and the Ballerina ("Petrushka").

What you need to know

In Great Britain, Tamara Karsavina is recognized as one of the founders of modern British ballet. She participated in the creation of the national ballet troupe The Royal Ballet, and also became one of the founders of the Royal Academy of Dance (Royal Academy of Dance), which eventually became one of the largest ballet schools in the world. Tamara Karsavina taught at this academy for a long time, and in 1930 - 1955 she was its vice-president. Wrote a textbook on classical dance. She repeatedly participated in the renewal of ballets in which she danced earlier in the Diaghilev troupe. So, for the production of The Phantom of the Rose, Sadler's Wells Balle (1943), she worked with Rudolf Nureyev and Margo Fontaine, and in 1959 she advised Frederick Ashton on the production of Vain Precaution.

Direct speech

Immediately after Evnika, Fokine staged Egyptian Nights, which later became known as Cleopatra. A significant part of our troupe, especially the premieres, openly demonstrated an unfriendly attitude towards our work. As a future ballerina, I dressed in the premier's dressing room. At times I felt like I was in an enemy camp there. Ridiculing all our efforts, they staged grotesque parodies of our ballets. I did not have the opportunity to object strongly enough: the right of seniority remained the same immutable law in the theater as it was in the school. Since I was the youngest member of the highest caste, they could shout at me, reprimand me for “narcissism”, for “buffoonery”. I needed even more endurance when I became the only leading dancer in Fokine's ballets and came face to face with prejudice from the most conservative elements of the public and critics. Deliberately ignoring the fact that, along with new roles, I performed parts in classical ballets with ever-increasing skill and worked tirelessly, my critics accused me of betraying traditions. However, these persecutions ended as suddenly as they began.

From the memoirs of Tamara Karsavina

Half the sky in a distant street

The swamp clouded the dawn,

Only a lone skater

Draws lake glass.

Capricious runaway zigzags:

Another flight, one, another...

Like the edge of a diamond sword

The monogram is cut by an expensive one.

In the cold glow, isn't it

And you lead your pattern,

When in a brilliant performance

At your feet - the slightest glance?

You are Columbine, Salome,

You are not the same every time

But brighter and clearer,

The word "beauty" is golden.

Mikhail Kuzmin "T. P. Karsavina"

Like a song, you compose a light dance -

He told us about glory, -

On the pale cheeks a blush turns pink,

Darker and darker eyes.

And every minute more and more prisoners,

Forgotten their existence

And leans again in the sounds of the blessed

Your flexible body.

Anna Akhmatova "Tamara Platonovna Karsavina"

11 facts about Tamara Karsavina

• The ballerina's brother, Lev Karsavin, became a famous philosopher.
• Tamara Karsavina's mother, Anna Khomyakova, was the great-niece of the philosopher Alexei Khomyakov.
• Tamara Karsavina developed new ways of recording dance, and also translated into English language the work of choreographer J.-J. Noverre, Notes on Dance and Ballet (1760).
• The English artist John Sargent painted a portrait of Tamara Karsavina as Queen Tamara in the ballet of the same name. Portraits of Karsavina were also painted by Valentin Serov, Leon Bakst, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Sergei Sudeikin, Zinaida Serebryakova.
• In 1914, on the birthday of Tamara Karsavina, the poets of St. Petersburg presented her with the collection "A Bouquet for Karsavina" in the artistic club "Stray Dog".
• Karsavina's admirers included Karl Mannerheim and medical doctor Sergey Botkin. Mikhail Fokin offered her to marry him three times.
• Tamara Karsavina performed the role of Belgium in the pantomime performance "1914", which was staged by Sergei Volkonsky on January 6, 1915 at the Mariinsky Theater.
• Tamara Karsavina appeared in episodic roles in several German and British silent films, including The Path to Strength and Beauty with Leni Riefenstahl (1925).
• Karsavina is considered the prototype of one of the heroines of Agatha Christie in the Mysterious Mr. Keen cycle, where her last name is changed to Karzanova.
• While studying English, Tamara Karsavina read the diaries of Samuel Pepys and The Death of Arthur by Thomas Malory, so her speech at first was "an unimaginable mixture of archaisms and gross errors", which greatly amused her husband.
• Tamara Karsavina's book of memoirs is called "Teatralnaya Street".

Materials about Tamara Karsavina

Traveling ballerina of the Mariinsky Theatre, star of Sergei Diaghilev's Russian Seasons, the first performer of Mikhail Fokin's productions, who emigrated to Great Britain after the revolution, vice-president of the British Royal Academy of Dance.

Tamara Karsavina was born on March 9, 1885 in St. Petersburg in the family of the dancer of the imperial troupe Platon Karsavin and his wife Anna Iosifovna, nee Khomyakova. She claimed first place in the list of the most beautiful Russian ballerinas. Her charm was all the stronger because she was reputed to be an impregnable person. Tamara's brother Lev Karsavin was a medievalist historian and philosopher, in 1922 he, like many representatives of the intellectual and creative elite, was expelled from Russia by the Bolsheviks on the famous "philosophical ship". The brother and sister were friendly, Lev called Tamara "the famous virtuous sister", and she called him "the young sage."

In 1902, Tamara Karsavina graduated from the Imperial Theater School and was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, where she was patronized by the favorite of many Romanovs, Matilda Kshesinskaya, but Anna Pavlova disliked her. The ballerina differed from other prims in that she charmed not with her temperament, but with nuances, soft transitions from one plastic state to another. But only cooperation with Mikhail Fokin brought the artist real success. Being one of the leading dancers of the Mariinsky Theatre, he began to try himself as a choreographer. The first production of Mikhail Mikhailovich was the ballet "The Vine" to the music of A. Rubinstein. Anna Pavlova was the leading lady in this and other early productions. He occupied Tamara Karsavina only in solo parts. Nevertheless, she achieved the status of a prima ballerina and performed leading roles in the ballets of the classical repertoire: Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Carnival.

When the idea of ​​creating Diaghilev's seasons arose, the community of Sergei Diaghilev, Mikhail Fokin, Alexandre Benois, Leon Bakst seemed to Tamara Karsavina a "mysterious forge" where new art was forged.

“Tatochka has really become one of us. She was the most reliable of our leading artists, and her whole being was in keeping with our work."

Alexander Benois

Since 1909, at the invitation of Sergei Diaghilev, the ballerina toured Russia and Europe, and then joined the troupe of the Russian Ballet S. Diaghilev. A Parisian reviewer wrote that on the stage "Karsavina is like a dancing flame, in the light and shadows of which languid bliss dwells ... her dances are the most delicate tones and an airy pastel pattern."

She stood out from other ballerinas, she read a lot and had an enviable intellect. Tamara Karsavina was courted by Karl Mannerheim (the same statesman of Finland who built the Mannerheim line), and the life physician of the court, Sergei Botkin, who, however, was married to the daughter of the founder of the gallery, Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov. Yes, and the choreographer Mikhail Fokin proposed to her three times.

But all of them, like many others, were rejected. She married a poor nobleman Vasily Mukhin, who captivated her with kindness, knowledge of music and passion for ballet.

The Diaghilev ballet brought her success in Europe, performances with the participation of the ballerina were attended by Rodin, Saint-Saens, Cocteau. Marcel Proust, who copied the heroes of his epic from the high-society regulars of the Russian Seasons, often drove the ballerina to the hotel by car after the receptions. She posed for Leon Bakst, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Valentin Serov, Sergei Sudeikin and Zinaida Serebryakova. Poems were dedicated to her by Mikhail Kuzmin and Anna Akhmatova. In 1914, the publication “A Bouquet for Karsavina” was published, which included works famous poets and artists created in her honor.

Unknown photographer. Portrait of Tamara Karsavina in a costume from the ballet The Fire Prince. 1910. Photo: museum.ru

Tamara Karsavina in the ballet Women's Whims. 1920. Photo: spb.aif.ru

T.P. Karsavina - Zobeida in the ballet "Scheherazade" to the music of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov. Photo. 1911-1912. GIK 15237/4. OF 205675. Photo: http://www.arts-museum.ru/events/archive/2016/bakst/index.php

In 1913, the artist stopped her European tour with Sergei Diaghilev and began to perform more at the Mariinsky Theater, where she danced the classical repertoire: Giselle, Swan Lake, Raymonda, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. Having come to the troupe of S. Diaghilev as the first soloist of the Mariinsky Theater, she agreed to the position of the second ballerina - the first was Anna Pavlova. But already in the next Parisian season, when Anna Pavlova left the troupe, Tamara Karsavina began to play all the main roles. Their amazingly organic duet with Vaslav Nijinsky has become an adornment of all the programs of the Russian Seasons. Incredible success in Paris had ballets on a Russian theme: "The Firebird" and "Petrushka".

Before the outbreak of the First World War, Tamara Karsavina met the British diplomat Henry Bruce, head of the Chancellery of the British Embassy in St. Petersburg. The diplomat, who lost his head from love, took Tamara Platonovna away from the family, and she bore him a son, Nikita. They lived together for over thirty years. At 33, she danced for the last time at the Mariinsky Theatre, stepping on stage in La Bayadère. With her husband and young son in 1918, the prima of the imperial ballet left her homeland forever, about which she later wrote: "Russia is a wild country of great culture and amazing ignorance." In the early 1920s, the ballerina appeared in cameo roles in several German and British silent films, including Leni Riefenstahl's Path to Strength and Beauty (1925). In exile, she performed at La Scala, danced in the British troupe Balle Rambert, periodically resumed the ballets of Mikhail Fokine, from 1930 to 1950 she was vice-president of the Royal Academy of Dance, developed a new method of recording dances.

Karsavina wrote memoirs in which she recalls in detail her childhood spent at the Imperial Ballet School on Rossi Street, the Mariinsky Theater and her first years with Sergei Diaghilev. The first edition of her book Theater Street was published in England in 1930, with a preface written by the author of Peter Pan, writer James Barry.