Lubov Tchernicheva (Любовь Павловна Чернышёва; 1890–1976) was a Russian ballet dancer. She danced with the

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. A ...

from 1911 to 1929, and continued dancing professionally into her sixties.

Early life

Lubov Pavlovna Tchernicheva was born in

St. Petersburg 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 ...

in 1890, and trained there at the Imperial Ballet Academy.

Career

Lubov_Tchernicheva_Léonide_Massine_The_Firebird_1916

Tchernicheva danced with the

Mariinsky 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 ...

from 1908 to 1911, and with the Ballets Russes from 1911 to 1929. She was ballet mistress of the Ballets Russes from 1926 to 1929. She created roles in '' The Good Humoured Ladies'' (1917), ''

La Boutique Fantasque ''La Boutique fantasque'', also known as ''The Magic Toyshop'' or ''The Fantastic Toyshop'', is a ballet in one act conceived by Léonide Massine, who devised the choreography for a libretto written with the artist André Derain, a pioneer of Fa ...

'' (1919), ''Pulcinella'' (1920), ''

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 " ...

'' (1924), ''Les Fâcheux'' (1924), ''Zéphire et Flore'' (1925), ''Jack-in-the-Box'' (1926), ''The Triumph of Neptune'' (1926), ''Le Pas d'acier'' (1927), ''Apollon musagète'' (1928), ''The Gods Go a-Begging'' (1928), and ''Francesca da Rimini'' (1937). In 1932 she became ballet mistress of the Ballet Russe of Monte Carlo, and was active in that organization until it dissolved in 1952. She danced in a revival of Fokine's ''Thamar'' at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1935. Her last dancing role was in 1957, at age 66, as Lady Capulet in ''Romeo and Juliet'' at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

. In the 1950s, Tchernicheva and her husband produced Russian ballets in London and New York, including a 1954 revival of The Firebird starring

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE (''née'' Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler's Wells T ...

and

Michael Somes Michael George Somes CBE (28 September 191718 November 1994), was an English ballet dancer. He was a principal dancer of The Royal Ballet, London, and the frequent partner of Margot Fonteyn. Early years Somes was born in Horsley, Gloucestersh ...

. The couple were jointly honored with the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award is an honour presented annually by the Royal Academy of Dance, to people who have made a significant contribution to the ballet and dance industry. The award was instituted by Dame Adeline Genee in 1953, t ...

in 1966, for the services to dance. She continued teaching in England, into the 1970s.

Personal life

Tchernicheva married ballet director Sergei Grigoriev in 1909. They had a son, Vsevolod, whose wife Tamara Grigorieva was also a dancer. Tchernicheva was widowed when he died in 1968. She died in 1976 in

Richmond, Surrey Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

, England, aged 85 years. Her papers are in the

Houghton Library Houghton Library, on the south side of Harvard Yard adjacent to Widener Library, is Harvard University's primary repository for rare books and manuscripts. It is part of the Harvard College Library, the library system of Harvard's Faculty of Art ...

at Harvard University.

References

External links

*
Portrait of Lubov Tchernicheva as Cleopatra
(circa 1920) by

Laura Knight Dame Laura Knight ( Johnson; 4 August 1877 – 7 July 1970) was an English artist who worked in oils, watercolours, etching, engraving and drypoint. Knight was a painter in the figurative, realist tradition, who embraced English Impressi ...

A 1920s wooden figure of Lubov Tchernicheva
by

Vera Willoughby Vera Willoughby (1870–1939) was a British illustrator, painter, and poster artist. Under the name Vera Petrovna, she also created designs and illustrations of ballet dancers. Biography Willoughby was born in South Norwood and educated in Lond ...

, in the Theatre and Performance Collection,

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tchernicheva, Lubov 1890 births 1976 deaths Russian dancers