Evdokia or (informally) Avdotia Ilyinichna Istomina (; 1799–1848) was the most celebrated

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

of the 19th century.

Biography

She was orphaned at a young age, but was accepted into the Imperial Theater School, where children could live in complete security.ru: Avdotia Istomina
/ref> A pupil of

Charles Didelot Charles-Louis Didelot (28 March 1767, Stockholm - 7 November 1837, Kiev) was a French dancer, the creator of the ballet shoes and a choreographer. The son of Charles Didelot, the dance-master of the King of Sweden, he studied dance with his fath ...

, she debuted in the

Imperial Russian Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...

in 1815 to immediate acclaim. Several people were killed duelling for her heart, and her honour was defended in the fourfold duel (1817): Count Zavadovsky killed Count

Sheremetev The House of Sheremetev (russian: Шереме́тевы) was one of the wealthiest and most influential noble families in Russia descending from Feodor Koshka who was of Old Prussian origin. History The family held many high commanding ran ...

, while the

Decembrist The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Al ...

Yakubovich shot through a palm of the playwright

Alexander Griboedov Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (russian: Александр Сергеевич Грибоедов, ''Aleksandr Sergeevich Griboedov'' or ''Sergeevich Griboyedov''; 15 January 179511 February 1829), formerly romanized as Alexander Sergueevich Gr ...

. Her dancing is the subject of a brilliant stanza in ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...

'', which was described by

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bor ...

as the most mellifluous lines in the whole of Russian poetry. She danced nearly all of the principal roles in ballets by Didelot. She became the first Russian dancer

en pointe Pointe technique ( ) is the part of classical ballet technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''en pointe'' () wh ...

. She served in the Imperial Ballet for twenty years. She married a young actor, but he soon died. Late in life she remarried, this time to the dramatic actor Pavel Ekunin (ru: Павел Семенович Экунин). By this time she was no longer performing leading roles and her income was reduced by half. In the 1835/1836 season, she was injured during the performance and was asked to leave for treatment. Emperor

Nicholas I of Russia , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date = ...

saw this request and wrote the order: to be dismissed. On 30 January 1836 Avdotya Istomina came on stage one last time and danced a little Russian dance. She died of cholera on 26 June 26 (8 July) in 1848 in St. Petersburg. No one could remember her as a famous ballerina. The inscription on her tomb: ''"Avdotya Ilyinichna Ekunina, a retired actress"''.ru: Avdotiya Istomina /Evdokiya Istomina
/ref>

References

Prima ballerinas Ballerinas from the Russian Empire 1799 births 1848 deaths 19th-century ballet dancers from the Russian Empire {{Russia-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References