Irène Lidova ( Kaminskaya; 7 January 1907 – 23 May 2002) was a Russian-French dance critic, writer, presenter and producer. She worked in fashion journalism for the magazine ''
Vu'' before reviewing dance for the weekly literary publication ''
Marianne
Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty.
Marianne is displayed i ...
''. Lidova worked as an organiser for concert performances and co-established the Les Ballets des Champs-Elysées in 1945. She joined
Roland Petit
Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets.
Life and work
The son of shoe designer Ros ...
's Les Ballets de Paris-Roland Petit in 1948 and then became an associate of
Milorad Mišković
Milorad Mišković, also Milorad Miskovitch ( sr-cyr, Милорад Мишковић, ) (born March 26, 1928 in Valjevo, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, died June 21, 2013 in Nice, France) was a Serbian ballet dancer and choreographer.
B ...
's small dance company in 1956. Lidova also contributed to dance magazines and wrote 27 texts for the dance photographer's Serge Lido's 27 published albums. She was named
Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1979.
Early life
On 7 January 1907, Lidova was born as Irina Kaminskaya in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Russia.
Her father was a lawyer and her mother was a medical doctor.
Lidova had one younger sister and began ballet at the Music and Dance Conservatoire.
She spent some of her early years in
Petrograd
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, and her family emigrated from the post-revolutionary Russia to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
by horse-drawn sledge via the frozen
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
when she was young.
She was first educated at a Russian school,
and then at the
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
.
At university, Lidova did ballet under the direction of the
Russian Imperial 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 ...
prima ballerina
Olga Preobrajenska
Olga Iosifovna Preobrajenska (russian: О́льга Ио́сифовна Преображе́нская; born Preobrazhenskaya; – 27 December 1962) was a Russian ballerina of the Russian Imperial Ballet and a ballet instructor.
Biogra ...
at the Studio Wacker, art history, French and Russian literature and also took lessons on how to draw.
Career
Following her graduation, she went into fashion journalism and did the layouts for the magazine ''
Vu''. Lidova persuaded ''Vu''
's editor to publish a feature on the ballerina and
Nicholas II
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
mistress
Mathilde Kschessinska
Mathilde-Marie Feliksovna Kschessinska ( pl, Matylda Maria Krzesińska, russian: Матильда Феликсовна Кшесинская; 6 December 1971; also known as Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya after her marriage) was a Polish ...
. Lidova collaborated with photographers such as
Brassaï
Brassaï (; pseudonym of Gyula Halász; 9 September 1899 – 8 July 1984) was a Hungarian–French photographer, sculptor, medalist, writer, and filmmaker who rose to international fame in France in the 20th century. He was one of the numerous H ...
.
In 1939, she began reviewing dance for the weekly literary publication ''
Marianne
Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty.
Marianne is displayed i ...
,''
following an invitation to become its dance critic.
She was also invited to edit the new publication called ''France Magazine'' whilst continuing to study dance at the amateur level.
In 1943 and 1944, Lidova organised
Janine Charrat
Janine Charrat (24 July 1924 – 29 August 2017) was a French dancer and choreographer. She appeared in ''Ballerina'' at the age of 12, and went on to choreograph over 50 ballets. She was an officer of the Legion of Honour.
Filmography
* 1938: ...
and
Roland Petit
Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets.
Life and work
The son of shoe designer Ros ...
's first concert performances in Paris.
The success of these concerts meant Lidova was invited to organise a series of ten dance evenings, introducing
Jean Babilée Jean Babilée (real name Jean Gutman(n); 3 February 1923 – 30 January 2014) was a prominent France, French dancer and choreographer of the latter half of the 20th century. He is considered to have been one of modern ballet's greatest performers, a ...
,
Zizi Jeanmaire
Renée Marcelle "Zizi" Jeanmaire (29 April 192417 July 2020) was a French ballet dancer, actress and singer. She became famous in the 1950s after playing the title role in the ballet ''Carmen'', produced in London in 1949, and went on to appear ...
, Ethery Pagava and
Nina Vyroubova.
Prior to the
Liberation of Paris
The liberation of Paris (french: Libération de Paris) was a military battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germ ...
in 1944,
she was injured by shrapnel whilst was walking in the street.
She was able to make a full recovery.
Lidova co-established the Les Ballets des Champs-Elysées at the
Théâtre de la Ville
(meaning the City Theatre) is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement.
Inc ...
in the following year.
She served as the ballet's general secretary,
and worked at the
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...
, where she devised ''Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe'' for Petit.
Lidova was invited to join Petit's Les Ballets de Paris-Roland Petit he established in 1948 following the two disliking the atmosphere at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
Lidova helped
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
in the casting of the film
''Invitation to the Dance'' and was an advisor to multiple opera houses putting on ballets, such as
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...
putting on productions by
Serge Lifar
Serge Lifar ( ua, Сергій Михайлович Лифар, ''Serhіy Mуkhailovуch Lуfar'') ( 15 December 1986) was a Ukrainian ballet dancer and choreographer, famous as one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the 20th century. No ...
and
Bronislava Nijinska
Bronislava Nijinska (; pl, Bronisława Niżyńska ; russian: Бронисла́ва Фоми́нична Нижи́нская, Bronisláva Fomínična Nižínskaja; be, Браніслава Ніжынская, Branislava Nižynskaja; – Febr ...
and Callas in ''
The Sicilian Vespers
The Sicilian Vespers ( it, Vespri siciliani; scn, Vespiri siciliani) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou, who had ruled the Kingdom of Si ...
'' opening the new Turin Opera.
She organised a 1947 conference on
Vaslav Nijinsky
Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (; rus, Вацлав Фомич Нижинский, Vatslav Fomich Nizhinsky, p=ˈvatsləf fɐˈmʲitɕ nʲɪˈʐɨnskʲɪj; pl, Wacław Niżyński, ; 12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a ballet dancer and choreog ...
that was promoted by the disproved rumour he had died in Hungary.
She decided to abandon her commitment to Petit and not direct ballet again following persuasion from the dancer
Milorad Mišković
Milorad Mišković, also Milorad Miskovitch ( sr-cyr, Милорад Мишковић, ) (born March 26, 1928 in Valjevo, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, died June 21, 2013 in Nice, France) was a Serbian ballet dancer and choreographer.
B ...
.
In 1956, Lidova became Mišković's associate in his small company to encourage mainly young soloists in the performances of new works.
The two toured the world for the next decade without funding.
She consulted in the suggestion of artists and ballets to the Nervi Festival director Mario Porcile in Italy and oversaw logistics. Lidova was the organiser of a series of programmes at
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...
in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
in 1971 and persuaded the ageing
Bronislava Nijinska
Bronislava Nijinska (; pl, Bronisława Niżyńska ; russian: Бронисла́ва Фоми́нична Нижи́нская, Bronisláva Fomínična Nižínskaja; be, Браніслава Ніжынская, Branislava Nižynskaja; – Febr ...
to revive ''
Les Noces
''Les Noces'' (French for The Wedding; russian: Свадебка, ''Svadebka'') is a ballet and orchestral concert work composed by Igor Stravinsky for percussion, pianists, chorus, and vocal soloists. The composer gave it the descriptive title " ...
''.
She contributed to the dance magazines ''Ballet Annual''; ''Balletto Oggi'' in Milan; ''Dance News'' in New York; ''
Dance and Dancers
''Dance and Dancers'' was a magazine about ballet. The magazine was founded in 1950 by publisher Philip Dosse and editor Peter Williams. John Percival edited the magazine from 1951 to 1995.
The publishing company, Hansom Books
Hansom Books ...
'' in London and ''Les Saisons de la Danse'' in Paris.
Lidova authored ''17 Visages de la danse francaise'' in 1953 and ''Roland Petit'' in 1956. She published her autobiography, ''Ma Vie avec la danse'', in 1992, and wrote 27 texts for Serge Lido's 27 published albums.
Personal life
She was married to the Franco-Russian dance photographer Serge Lido until his death in 1984.
They had no children.
Lidova was named
Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1979.
On 23 May 2002, she died in Paris, France.
Lidova never returned to her native Russia.
Legacy
''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' wrote "she enhanced French culture without being French" just like
Paris Opera Ballet
The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...
director
Serge Lifar
Serge Lifar ( ua, Сергій Михайлович Лифар, ''Serhіy Mуkhailovуch Lуfar'') ( 15 December 1986) was a Ukrainian ballet dancer and choreographer, famous as one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the 20th century. No ...
did and "embodied the soul of French ballet for a half-century from the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
onwards."
The
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
holds an 1976 audio recording by Andrew Mark Wentink of Lidova and her husband in French in its Oral History Project of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lidova, Irène
1907 births
2002 deaths
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France
College of Sorbonne alumni
20th-century French women
20th-century ballet dancers
20th-century French women writers
French ballerinas
Dance critics
Dance writers
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres