Yekaterina Vasilyevna Geltzer (November 2, 1876 – December 12, 1962) was a prima ballerina of the

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it came to internatio ...

who danced in the theatre from 1898 to 1935. She was the daughter of the famous Russian dancer Vasily Geltzer. She worked with

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (russian: Мариус Иванович Петипа), born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa (11 March 1818), was a French ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is one of the most influential ballet masters an ...

, Sergei Diaghilev, and Reinhold Glière. After the

1917 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

, she helped to preserve the art of ballet in Russia. She was the first ballet dancer to receive the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR (1925). Her most famous post-revolutionary role was a Chinese dancer in the premiere of Glière's ''

The Red Poppy ''The Red Poppy'' (russian: Красный мак, Krasniy mak) or sometimes ''The Red Flower'' (russian: Красный цветок, Krasniy tsvetok) is a ballet in three acts and eight tableaux with an apotheosis, with a score written by Rein ...

''. This production was staged by her husband

Vasily Tikhomirov Vasiliy Dmitriyevich Tikhomirov (1876–1956) was a dancer (from 1895) and a choreographer (from 1913) with the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, Russia. His most distinguished production was ''The Red Poppy'' (1927), with his wife Yekaterina Geltzer i ...

for her 50th birthday. In 1943, she was awarded a Stalin Prize and also received an Order of Lenin and an Order of the Red Banner of Labour. After the divorce, Yekaterina Geltzer and Vasily Tikhomirov remained onstage partners. Once backstage at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

, and well past the age of 60, Geltzer was heard telling her colleagues "help me get myself up en pointe, after that I know what to do." Geltzer was once known to have a relationship with Gustaf Mannerheim, known as the Marshal of Finland. For years, there has been a rumor in Russia that Mannerheim and Geltzer would have secretly married, accidentally ended up apart, and jointly had a "son" Emil,IS: Venäjällä leviää ”satu” Mannerheimista – meni muka naimisiin punaisen ballerinan kanssa, pojanpoika tuli Suomeen Hitlerin kanssa
(in Finnish)Kuka on Mannerheim ja mikä oli hänen linjansa?
/ref> whose descendants would still live in South America today, but Mannerheim scholars have only reacted negatively and characterized the claim just a "Russian

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

Gallery

File:Ekaterina Geltzer -1890.JPG, File:Ekaterina Geltzer 1910.jpg, File:Ekaterina Geltzer -1920.JPG, File:Corsaire -Medora -Ekaterina Geltser -circa 1910 -1.JPG, File:Purple Flower -Vasily Tokhomirov & Ekaterina Geltzer -1907.JPG,

References

1876 births 1962 deaths People's Artists of the RSFSR Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Prima ballerinas Ballerinas from the Russian Empire Soviet ballerinas Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery {{Ballet-bio-stub

Gallery

See also

References