Valentina Kachouba (May 14, 1898 – 12 January 1997), also written as Valentine Kashuba, was a Russian ballet dancer, a member of

Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pat ...

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 ...

company from 1916 and 1921; as one of the last surviving members of the troupe, her memories and photographs were considered especially valuable as a record of the ballet and its members.

Early life

Kachouba was said to be from

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 ...

, or in some publicity, the daughter of a guard officer and a Persian princess in

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

Career

Kachouba was a member of the Ballets Russes when it toured with Sergei Diaghilev in 1916. Other dancers in the troupe at the time included

Xenia Makletzova Xenia Makletzova (6 November 1892 — 18 May 1974), sometimes seen as Xenia Maclezova, was a Russian ballet dancer. Early life Xenia Petrovna Makletzova was born in Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg. She trained as a dancer at the Bolshoi Ballet S ...

Lydia Sokolova Lydia Sokolova (1896–1974) was an English ballerina. She trained at the Stedman Ballet Academy and learned from accomplished dancers including Anna Pavlova and Enrico Cecchetti, and was a prominent member of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes fr ...

Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (russian: Леони́д Фёдорович Мя́син), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the wo ...

, Adolf Bolm,

Enrico Cecchetti Enrico Cecchetti (; 21 June 1850 – 13 November 1928) was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the ''Teatro Tordinona'' in Ro ...

Nicolas Zverev Nicolas Zverev (or Zvereff ; russian: Николай Матвеевич Зверев; 1888, Moscow - 24 July 1965 Saint-Raphaël, Var, Saint-Raphaël) was a Russian-France, French dancer and ballet master. He studied at the Moscow ballet class at ...

Flore Revalles Flore (or Flora) Revalles (January 25, 1889 – August 29, 1966) was a Swiss entertainer active over the early decades of the twentieth century. Revalles began as a singer in Switzerland, danced with the Ballets Russes in Europe and America and a ...

Lydia Lopokova Lydia Lopokova, Baroness Keynes (born Lidia Vasilyevna Lopukhova, russian: Лидия Васильевна Лопухова; 21 October 1891 – 8 June 1981) was a Russian ballerina famous during the early 20th century. Lopokova trained at the I ...

, and

Ekaterina Galanta Ekaterina Galanta (born 1890s), often billed as Ketty Galanta, was a Russian dancer, a member of the Ballets Russes. Early life Galanta was born and raised in Saint Petersburg, Petrograd. In 1917 she was described as being 20 or 21 years old. N ...

. In 1918 she was with the Salvati Opera Company in Peru, when she gave an impromptu speech about Russia during

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

celebrations in Lima. Kachouba danced in New York in 1926, announcing astrological and mystical inspirations for her dances (or "plastomimic preachings", as she described her work). "I will dance only in a solemn atmosphere," she promised, dismissing vaudeville venues, "an observatory, lecture hall, temple, or, perhaps, something that I will build myself." She danced at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1929, in

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

's ''

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 " ...

'', under the direction of

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appeara ...

, with other performers including

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

Nina Koshetz Nina Koshetz ( uk, Ніна Павлівна Кошиць; russian: Нина Павловна Кошиц; née Poray-Koshetz ( :uk:Порай-Кошиці); 30 December 1891 – 14 May 1965) was a Russian-Ukrainian, later American opera soprano, ...

, and

Sophie Braslau Sophie Braslau (August 16, 1892 – December 22, 1935) was a contralto prominent in United States opera, starting with her debut in New York City's Metropolitan Opera in 1913 when she was 21. Biography Braslau was born on August 16, 1892 in Man ...

. In 1931 and 1932, she was in the large casts of charity shows at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, both benefiting the

Judson Health Center Judson Health Center, founded in 1921, was an early New York City Community Health Center inspired by the Rev. Alonzo Ray Petty of the Baptist Judson Memorial Church located at 55 Washington Square South. Petty appealed to fellow Baptist and p ...

. Kachouba lived her later years in Madrid, where she taught ballet and produced dance programs; she also designed ballet costumes and sets. In 1979, Kachouba gave an oral history interview for 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 ...

's Dance Audio Archive. In 1989, she was interviewed as one of the last surviving cast members of Nijinsky's lost final ballet, ''Till'' . That same year, her photographs of the Ballets Russes were published.Yvan Nommick and Antomio Alvarez Cañibano, ''Los Ballets Russes de Diaghilev y España'' (Granada: Centro Cultural Manuel de Falla, 1989).

Personal life

Kachouba died in 1997, aged 98 years, in Madrid.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kachouba, Valentina Dancers from Moscow 1898 births 1997 deaths