Lyudmila Iosifovna Vlasova (russian: Людмила Иосифовна Власова; born 2 March 1942) is a Russian ballet dancer. She was a soloist of the
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...
(1961–1982), an actress, and at the present time is a choreographer of dance on ice.
Early life
Vlasova was born in 1942 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 ...
, Soviet Union to
Iosif Markov, a musician. Her mother worked in
Red Army Theatre
The Central Academic Theatre of the Russian Army (Russian: Центральный академический театр Российской армии) is the largest theatre in Moscow. It was established in 1929 as the Red Army Theatre, was rena ...
, but after marriage to Markov left the scene for the family life. After the war, her mother broke up with her father, and raised her by herself. Her mother realized the daughter's potential of becoming a ballerina, and turned her to choreography school.
Career
Following graduation, Lyudmila Vlasova joined
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...
with which she performed in London and USA and danced with such greats as
Maya Plisetskaya
Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya (russian: link=no, Майя Михайловна Плисецкая; 20 November 1925 – 2 May 2015) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer, ballet director, and actress. In post-Soviet times, she he ...
,
Ekaterina Maximova
Ekaterina Sergeevna Maximova (russian: Екатерина Сергеевна Максимова; 1 February 1939 – 28 April 2009) was a Soviet and Russian ballerina of the second part of the 20th century who was internationally recognised. Sh ...
,
Natalia Bessmertnova
Natalia Igorevna Bessmertnova (Russian: Наталья Игоревна Бессмертнова; – ) was a Soviet prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet and a People's Artist of the USSR (1976).
Life
Natalia Bessmertnova was born in Moscow in ...
and many others.
[
Lyudmila Vlasova was the leading ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre, where in 1971, acting in the movies ''Naughty Limericks'' and ''Keystone'', she met with ]Alexander Godunov
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
. Soon they began to meet regularly and Lyudmila left her wealthy husband for him. They were one of the most beautiful couples in the Bolshoi Theatre of the 1970s.
The couple headlined foreign tours as well as the domestic productions of ''Swan Lake
''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...
'', ''Spartacus
Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...
'', ''Ivan the Terrible'', ''Anna Karenina'', ''The Rite of Spring
''The Rite of Spring''. Full name: ''The Rite of Spring: Pictures from Pagan Russia in Two Parts'' (french: Le Sacre du printemps: tableaux de la Russie païenne en deux parties) (french: Le Sacre du printemps, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral ...
'', ''Love for Love,'' and ''Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
''.
On 19 August 1979, after the last performance of their ''Romeo and Juliet'' tour in the Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
, Vlasova and Godunov returned to their New York hotel. The day after, however, the ''New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' published a picture of Alexander Godunov with a headline: "After Baryshnikov Baryshnikov (masculine, russian: Барышников) or Baryshnikova (feminine, russian: Барышниковa) is a Russian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Aleksandr Baryshnikov (born 1948), Soviet athlete
* Anastasia Barys ...
, Nureyev, and Makarova, another star of Soviet ballet remained in the West". A few days later, Godunov contacted the US authorities with a request for political asylum. After news of his request reached the Soviet authorities, Lyudmila Vlasova was asked to board a flight to Moscow alone. However, the aircraft was detained by U.S. authorities just before take-off as the State Department verified that the Vlasova was returning to the Soviet Union voluntarily. This created an international incident, requiring the involvement of Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet Union, Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Gener ...
and Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
, leaders of the USSR and the U.S., respectively. After three days of negotiation, Vlasova was allowed to fly back home. The incident was dramatized in a 1985 movie, ''Flight 222''.
After returning to Moscow, Vlasova continued to dance at the Bolshoi Theater until her retirement. After 2 years, Vlasov and Godunov officially got divorced through the embassy.
After Vlasova's ballet career, she became a sought-after choreographer in ice skating. In this capacity, she worked with prominent skaters such as:
*Irina Lobacheva
Irina Viktorovna Lobacheva (russian: Ирина Викторовна Лобачёва; born 18 February 1973) is a Russian former competitive ice dancer. With partner and former husband Ilia Averbukh, she is the 2002 Olympic silver medalist, the ...
/ Ilia Averbukh
Ilia Izyaslavich Averbukh (russian: Илья Изяславич Авербух, correctly spelled "Ilya"; born 18 December 1973) is a Russian ice dancer. With his then-wife Irina Lobacheva, he is the 2002 Olympic silver medalist, the 2002 World ...
[
* Anna Semenovich / ]Vladimir Fedorov
Vladimir Anatolyevich Fedorov or Fyodorov (russian: Владимир Анатольевич Фёдоров, born 22 April 1971) is a Russian former competitive ice dancer. He is the 1993 World bronze medalist with Anjelika Krylova. He is now ma ...
*Barbara Fusar-Poli
Barbara Fusar-Poli (born 6 February 1972) is an Italian ice dancing coach and former competitor. With partner Maurizio Margaglio, she is the 2001 World champion, 2001 European champion, and 2002 Olympic bronze medalist. They won nine Italian titl ...
/ Maurizio Margaglio
Maurizio Margaglio (; born 16 November 1974) is an Italian ice dancing coach and former competitor. With partner Barbara Fusar-Poli, he is the 2001 World champion, 2001 European champion, and 2002 Olympic bronze medalist. They won nine Italian t ...
*Federica Faiella
Federica Faiella (born 1 February 1981) is an Italian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Massimo Scali, she is the 2010 World bronze medalist, a two-time (2009–2010) European silver medalist, and six-time (2003–2005, 2007–2009) I ...
/ Massimo Scali
Massimo Scali (born 11 December 1979) is an Italian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Federica Faiella, he is the 2010 World bronze medalist, a two-time ( 2009– 2010) European silver medalist, and a six-time (2003–2005, 2007–200 ...
*Elena Ilinykh
Elena Ruslanovna Ilinykh (russian: Елена Руслановна Ильиных; born 25 April 1994) is a Russian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Ruslan Zhiganshin, she is the 2015 Russian national champion.
With former partne ...
/ Nikita Katsalapov
Nikita Gennadyevich Katsalapov (russian: Никита Геннадьевич Кацалапов; born 10 July 1991) is a Russian ice dancer. With Victoria Sinitsina, he is the 2022 Olympic champion in the team event, 2022 Olympic silver medalis ...
*Anna Cappellini
Anna Cappellini (born 19 February 1987) is an Italian ice dancer. With partner Luca Lanotte, she is the 2014 World champion, the 2014 European champion, the 2015 Cup of China champion and a thirteen-time medalist on the Grand Prix series, and ...
/ Luca Lanotte
Luca Lanotte (born 30 July 1985) is an Italian former ice dancer. With partner Anna Cappellini, he is the 2014 World champion, the 2014 European champion, the 2015 Cup of China champion and a thirteen-time medalist on the Grand Prix series, and ...
Family
*Her first husband – Stanislav Vlasov, balletЛюдмила Власова: девчонка из бедного двора
RIA.
*The second – Alexander Godunov
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
, ballet.
*Third (since 1981) – singer Yury Statnik (1947). The soloist (since 1976) of the Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...
, Honored Artist of the Moldavian SSR
The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 1940 ...
(1976)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vlasova, Lyudmila
1942 births
Living people
Soviet ballerinas
Soviet actresses
20th-century Russian actresses
21st-century Russian actresses
Prima ballerinas
Russian ballerinas
Figure skating choreographers
20th-century Russian ballet dancers