Nina Nikolaevna Alovert (; born 1935) is a
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
photographer and writer.
She lives in the United States, following her emigration from the Soviet Union in 1977.
Alovert was the photographer for the 1986 Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning program ''Wolf Trapp Presents the Kirov Swan Lake''. She won an international ballet prize in 2003, the Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...
"Diploma For Bringing Two Great Cultures Closer Together".[
]
Biography
Alovert was born in 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 ...
in 1935. She graduated from Leningrad State University
Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...
with a Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree in history. With interest in history and ballet dance, she started her career as a curator for the Comedy Theatre
The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011, Museum. She then worked for the Komissarzhevskaya Theatre
The Komissarzhevskaya Theatre (russian: Академический драматический театр имени В. Ф. Комиссаржевской) is a theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is named after Vera Komissarzhevskaya.
His ...
and the Lensoviet Theatre as a photographer. In the early 1950s she worked as a photographer for 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 ...
(now the Mariinsky).
In 1977, Alovert moved to the United States.[ She had been photographing ]Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...
from the start of is career until his defection from the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
to Canada. She resumed working with Baryshnikov after moving to the United States. While in the US, she worked for ''Dance Magazine
''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including ''Pointe' ...
'' and ''Ballet Review
''Ballet Review'' was a print publication which covered all aspects of dance. It was published by the non-profit Dance Research Foundation, Inc.
While its name says "ballet," it also covered modern dance, contemporary dance, other choreography, an ...
'' as a freelance photographer. Russian newspapers in the United States, such as ''Novoe Russkoe Slovo'' and ''Novy Amerikanets'', featured photographs of ballet taken by Alovert. She has published her photographs in many journals and books in Russia and in other countries, and has held solo shows in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, 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 ...
, and other centers.[
]
Credits
She has worked with many of Russian ballet
Russian ballet (russian: Русский балет) (french: Ballet russe) is a form of ballet characteristic of or originating from Russia.
Imperial Russian Ballet
Until 1689, ballet in Russia was nonexistent (ballet has its origins in the cour ...
dancers including Diana Vishneva
Diana Viktorovna Vishneva (''also trans.'' Vishnyova; russian: Диана Викторовна Вишнёва; born 13 July 1976) is a Russian ballet dancer who performs as a principal dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet (formerly the Kirov Ball ...
, Zhanna Ayupova, Altynai Asylmuratova
Altynai Abduakhimkyzy Asylmuratova ( kk, Алтынай Абдуахимқызы Асылмұратова, ''Altynai Abduahimqyzy Asylmūratova''; born 1 January 1961) is a Kazakh-born former ballerina who is artistic director of the ballet co ...
, Yulia Makhalina
Yulia Victorovna Makhalina (russian: Юлия Викторовна Махалина), also Yulia, (born 23 June 1968) is a Russian ballet dancer. Since 1986, she has been with the Kirov/ Mariinsky Ballet where she is a principal dancer. Along with ...
, Farukh Ruzimatov
Farukh Sadullayevich Ruzimatov (russian: Фару́х Садулла́евич Рузима́тов; born 26 June 1963) is an Uzbek-Russian ballet dancer. Since 2018, Ruzimatov has been artistic director of the ballet company at Navoi Theatre i ...
, Andris Liepa
Andris Liepa (russian: Андрис Ма́рисович Лие́па; born Moscow, USSR, 6 January 1962) is a Russian ballet dancer, director and producer of Latvian ethnicity. He is the son of former Bolshoi Ballet dancer Māris Liepa.
Biog ...
, Natalia Makarova
Natalia Romanovna Makarova (russian: Ната́лия Рома́новна Мака́рова, born 21 November 1940) is a Russian prima ballerina and choreographer. ''The History of Dance'', published in 1981, notes that "her performances set ...
, Nikolai Tsiskaridze
Nikolay Maximovich Tsiskaridze PAR (russian: Николай Максимович Цискаридзе; ka, ნიკოლოზ ცისკარიძე, ''Nik'oloz Cisk'aridze'') is a Georgian-Russian ballet dancer who had been a member of ...
, Alla Osipenko
Alla Yevgenyevna Osipenko (Russian:Алла Евгеньевна Осипенко , born 16 June 1932 in Leningrad) is a retired Soviet ballerina. She studied at the Leningrad Choreographic School (now Vaganova Academy) in the class of Agrippina ...
, and Uliana Lopatkina
Ulyana Vyacheslavovna Lopatkina (russian: Ульяна Вячеславовна Лопаткина; born 23 October 1973) is a Russian prima ballerina who performed with the Mariinsky Theatre from 1991–2017. She studied at the Vaganova Academ ...
.[ Before moving to the US, she photographed Baryshnikov partnering Soviet prima ballerina ]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 ''Giselle
''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...
''.
Alovert has also photographed numerous personalities associated with Russian culture of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Sergey Dovlatov
Sergei Donatovich Dovlatov (russian: link=no, Сергей Донатович Довлатов; 1941 1990) was a Soviet journalist and writer. Internationally, he is one of the most popular Russian writers of the late 20th century.
Biography
...
, Joseph Brodsky
Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; russian: link=no, Иосиф Александрович Бродский ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist.
Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), USSR in 1940, ...
, Vladimir Visotsky
Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky ( rus, links=no, Владимир Семёнович Высоцкий, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr sʲɪˈmʲɵnəvʲɪtɕ vɨˈsotskʲɪj; 25 January 1938 – 25 July 1980), was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor ...
, Marina Vlady
Marina Vlady (born 10 May 1938) is a French actress.
Biography
Vlady was born in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine to White Russian immigrant parents. Her father was an opera singer and her mother was a dancer. Her sisters, now all deceased, were the act ...
, Mikhail Kozakov
Mikhail Mikhailovich Kozakov (in Russian: Михаил Михайлович Козаков) (14 October 1934, Leningrad – 22 April 2011, Ramat Gan) was a Soviet, Russian and Israeli film and theatre director and actor.
Biography Early life
Mik ...
, Solomon Volkov
Solomon Moiseyevich Volkov (russian: Соломон Моисеевич Волков; born 17 April 1944) is a Russian journalist and musicologist. He is best known for ''Testimony'', which was published in 1979 following his emigration from the So ...
, and Vladimir Voinovich
Vladimir Nikolayevich Voinovich (russian: Влади́мир Никола́евич Войно́вич, 26 September 1932 – 27 July 2018), was a Russian writer and former Soviet dissident, and the "first genuine comic writer" produced by the S ...
.[
In 2015 Alovert, then an octogenarian, staged a photo exhibition titled "The Gorgeous Features of My Dear Friends" at the ARKA art gallery in ]Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
, and again in March 2016 at the Museum of Modern Arts in Birobidzhan
Birobidzhan ( rus, Биробиджа́н, p=bʲɪrəbʲɪˈdʐan; yi, ביראָבידזשאַן, ''Birobidzhan'') is a town and the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia, located on the Trans-Siberian Railway, near th ...
, capital of the Jewish Autonomous Region. On 6 November 2015, she gave a talk, supplemented with her photographs of illustrious Russian ballet dancers and writers, to the students and professors of the theater department of the Far Eastern Arts Academy; she repeated this presentation before a general audience at the city public library.
Publications
As author
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As editor
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alovert, Nina
Living people
Soviet emigrants to the United States
Soviet photographers
Soviet women photographers
American women photographers
Soviet women writers
American non-fiction writers
Soviet non-fiction writers
1935 births
Photographers from Saint Petersburg
Ballet photographers
American women non-fiction writers
21st-century American women