Varvara Pavlovna Mey (Russian: Варвара Павловна Мей, 18 January 1912 in
Saint 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 ...
– 27 October 1995) 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 yea ...
,
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 ...
instructor and author.
Career
Mey was one of the students of the
Russian ballet dance method founder,
Agrippina Vaganova. She graduated from the Petrograd Choreographic School Vaganova class. She sang in what is now the
Mariinsky Theatre from 1929, and then started her dancing career, graduating from the Leningrad Ballet School in 1940 and the
Leningrad Conservatory, led by Vaganova, in 1951. She danced at 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 ...
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 ...
for many years. She was an "outstanding teacher of classical dance" who taught many of Russian ballet's biggest stars at the
Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet.
Mey was named Honoured Artist of the
in 1969.
Publications
Mey co-wrote the book ''Alphabet of Classical Dance: 12th to 19th Century'' with . Her book gives insight on ballet and is used by millions to learn ballet technique from the beginning. It was originally printed in Russian, but was later translated and is now available in many different languages.
In 1987, the French singer and actress
Vanessa Paradis recorded a song called "Varvara Pavlovna" on side two of her successful 7-inch single "
Joe le taxi
"Joe le taxi" (English: "Joe the Taxi Driver") is a song written for French singer-actress Vanessa Paradis by Franck Langolff and Étienne Roda-Gil. The song topped the SNEP Singles Chart for 11 weeks, and, uncommonly for a French-language song ...
".
See also
*
List of Russian ballet dancers
Notes
References
Russian ballerinas
Ballet teachers
1912 births
1995 deaths
Mariinsky Ballet dancers
Prima ballerinas
Soviet ballerinas
{{ballet-bio-stub