Konstantin Mikhaylovich Sergeyev (russian: Константин Михайлович Сергеев; 5 March 1910 (20 February Old Style) – 1 April 1992) was a Russian
danseur
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 yea ...
, artistic director and
choreographer
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
for the
Kirov Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...
. When the Kirov Ballet returned to
Leningrad
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 ...
from
Perm
Perm or PERM may refer to:
Places
*Perm, Russia, a city in Russia
** Permsky District, the district
**Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005
**Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005
**Perm Governorate, an administra ...
(where it had been moved during the war) Sergeyev became the head choreographer of the company. His first major work was to restage
Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
's ''Cinderella'', which is still performed in the present day.
His teachers at
Leningrad State Choreographic Institute: Mariya Kojukhova,
Vladimir Ponomaryov, Viktor Semyonov (
Marina Semyonova
Marina Timofeyevna Semyonova (russian: Марина Тимофеевна Семёнова, – 9 June 2010) was the first Soviet-trained prima ballerina. She was born in Saint-Petersburg. She was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1975.
...
's first husband).
His first wife
Feya Balabina was a
prima 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
Kirov 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 ...
, as was his second wife
Natalia Dudinskaya
Natalia Mikhailovna Dudinskaya (russian: Ната́лия Миха́йловна Дуди́нская; , in Kharkiv – 29 January 2003, in Saint Petersburg) was a Soviet prima ballerina who dominated the Kirov Ballet from the 1930s to the 1950 ...
. He danced with Dudinskaya at the 1946 premiere of his ''
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'' production for the Kirov.
[Sergey Prokofiev. Sergei Prokofiev: Autobiography, Articles, Reminiscences. University Press of the Pacific Honolulu, 2000, p.290.]
Galina Ulanova
Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova (russian: Галина Сергеевна Уланова, ; 21 March 1998) was a Russian ballet dancer. She is frequently cited as being one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century.
Biography
Ulanova was born ...
was his partner between 1930 and 1940. Sergeyev and Ulanova were the first to dance Romeo and Juliet in
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
's
ballet of the same name. Sergeyev was named a
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union.
Nomenclature and significan ...
in 1957 and a
Hero of Socialist Labour in 1991. He was the recipient of four
Stalin Prizes.
See also
*
List of Russian ballet dancers
This is a list of ballet dancers from the Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and Russian Federation, including both ethnic Russians and people of other ethnicities. This list includes as well those who were born in these three states but later emigra ...
References
1910 births
1992 deaths
Russian male ballet dancers
Choreographers of Mariinsky Theatre
People's Artists of the USSR
Heroes of Socialist Labour
20th-century Russian ballet dancers
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