Danilova, Alexandra, 1907-1997

Ballerina and dance educator Aleksandra Dionisyevna Danilova (1903-1907) was born in Petergof, Russia. In 1911, she began studying dance at the Russian Imperial Ballet School in Leningrad. There she met George Balanchine, with whom she would maintain a life-long friendship. In 1920, Danilova danced with the Maryinsky Ballet. She joined Balanchine's Soviet State Dancers for a tour of Western Europe in 1924. In December of that year, Sergey Diaghilev brought both her and Balanchine into his acclaimed Ballets Russes. She stayed with Diaghilev's troop until his death in 1929. Danilova continued to perform in prominent venues around Europe, and in 1933 made her American debut with Les Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo. Choreographer Leonide Massine hired her as his prima ballerina from 1938 to 1952 and her fame grew in the United States and abroad. Danilova married twice, first to Giuseppe Massera from ca.1933 to 1935, and then to Kazimir Kokich from 1941 to1948. In 1946 she became an American citizen. Danilova toured the world with various dance company between 1952 and 1956, and visited the Caribbean Islands, England, Japan, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, and the United States. After 1957, she struggled to find work, though in 1958 she had a acclaimed dance number with Tony Randall in the Broadway musical Oh, Captain! In 1964, Balanchine secured Danilova a faculty position at his School of American Ballet in New York City. She remained on the faculty there until retiring in 1989. During that time, she was involved with staging productions for the New York City Ballet, had a roll in the film The Turning Point (1977), and published her memoir Choura (the title is taken from her nickname) with the help of writer Holly Brubach. Danilova died in New York City on July 13, 1997.

From the guide to the Alexandra Danilova papers, 1954-1989, 1955-1979, (The New York Public Library. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.)

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