Xenia Zarina (1903 – August 15, 1967), born June Zimmerman, was an American dancer.

Early life

June Zimmerman was the daughter of Oliver Brunner Zimmerman and Grace Adele Bushnell Zimmerman. Contrary to some accounts of her early life, both of her parents were born in the American Midwest. Her father was a military engineer during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, who taught at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

, and wrote a manual for tractor engine maintenance. She graduated from

Lyons Township High School Lyons Township High School (often referred to as LTHS or simply LT) is a public high school located in Western Springs, Illinois (South Campus), and also in La Grange, Illinois (North Campus). Lyons Township is a co-educational high school and ...

in Illinois, and studied dance with

Michel Fokine Michael Fokine, ''Mikhail Mikhaylovich Fokin'', group=lower-alpha ( – 22 August 1942) was a groundbreaking Imperial Russian choreographer and dancer. Career Early years Fokine was born in Saint Petersburg to a prosperous merchant and a ...

and other Russian dancers.

Career

Zarina danced with the Chicago Opera Civic Ballet as a young woman, and gave dance recitals for community groups in the midwest. She appeared as a dancer in films ''Morning Judge'' (1926) and ''Chucho el Roto'' (1934). In 1935, she made her New York debut at the Guild Theatre, in a program of regional Mexican and "interpretive" dances with elaborate costumes. She traveled in Mexico and many Asian countries during the 1930s and 1940s, studying, performing, and teaching traditional dances. She studied with

Matsumoto Kōshirō VII was a Japanese actor. He was one of the leading '' tachiyaku'' Kabuki actors of Japan's Meiji period (1868–1912) through the late 1940s. Names Like most Kabuki actors, Kōshirō took various stage names ('' gō'') over the course of his care ...

in Japan. For a time, when her travels were restricted during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she taught dance to the daughter of the

Shah of Iran This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...

. While in Iran, she worked with a fellow American expatriate,

Nilla Cram Cook Nilla Cram Cook (December 21, 1908 – October 11, 1982), also known as Nila Nagini Devi, was an American writer, linguist, translator, and arts patron. Early life Nilla Cram Cook was born in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of playwright Geor ...

, who held a high position in Iran's Ministry of Education. An illustration depicting Zarina by Magda Nachman was published in ''

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' ...

'' in 1952. She was on the program at

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Jacob's Pillow is a dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The organization is known for a Summer dance festival. The facility also includes a professional school and extensive archives a ...

in 1955. She wrote a book, ''Classic Dances of the Orient'' (1967), with "particularly extensive treatments of the Indian Bhurat Natyam and the Japanese Nihan Buyo."

Personal life

Zarina died in 1967, in her sixties, in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. Her brother Gordon Zimmerman wrote about her life for an Illinois newspaper after her death.

References

External links

*
Xenia Zarina
at

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Photographs of Xenia Zarina
in various dance poses and costumes, at Mediateca IMAH. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zarina, Xenia 20th-century American dancers 1903 births 1967 deaths People from La Grange, Illinois Dancers from Illinois