Vladimir Kostenko (Ukrainian, Володимир Костенко, Russian, Владимир Костенко) (June 11, 1903 – November 7, 1967) was a Ukrainian-born American

ballet dancer 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 ...

primarily remembered for his long association with the

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popu ...

musical ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

''.

Life and career

Kostenko was born on June 11, 1903, near the city of

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(an area that is today part of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). He emigrated to the U.S. in 1938. Soon after his arrival, he began performing with the

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo The company Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo (with a plural name) was formed in 1932 after the death of Sergei Diaghilev and the demise of Ballets Russes. Its director was Wassily de Basil (usually referred to as Colonel W. de Basil), and its a ...

under the directorship of

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 ...

. In February 1940, Kostenko married ballerina Maria Dmitrievna Korjinska (1912–1994), a native Muscovite of Yugoslavian descent, while the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was touring the American West Coast. Kostenko took over the role of Dream Jud on June 1, 1943, after George Church left the cast of ''Oklahoma!'' just two months into the musical's long run. Church had let the show’s producers know, months earlier, that he wanted to leave, but he was persuaded to stay past the show’s Broadway premier. Kostenko continued to play the part of Dream Jud on Broadway for the following six years before reprising the role in London and later in touring productions across America. During the musical’s long run Kostenko also filled in to play the part of Jess and as supervisor of ballet. His wife Maria also joined the cast of ''Oklahoma'' for its entire Broadway run and later as one of the postcard dancers. In the early 1950s, Kostenko became the director of the San Francisco Studio of Ballet Art, located in the city’s Castro district, where he influenced a number of future performers. Kostenko spent the rest of his life living in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

, becoming an American citizen in 1952 and performing demonstration ballet shows at a various civic functions. He died on November 7, 1967, in San Francisco at the age of sixty-four.California Death Index

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostenko, Vladimir Ukrainian male ballet dancers 1903 births 1967 deaths Ukrainian male stage actors 20th-century Ukrainian male actors 20th-century American male actors Soviet emigrants to the United States