María Ruanova (July 3, 1912 – June 5, 1976) was an Argentine dancer, choreographer, teacher and ballet master, known for her performances at the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...

and internationally. She is considered the first Argentina-grown ballet dancer to gain international fame.

Biography

Ruanova's parents were Emilio Ruanova and Mercedes Maury, who met in Barcelona. Her parents had three other children, Merceditas, Angelita and Matilde, with María being the youngest. Her parents immigrated to Argentina and lived in Merlo, Buenos Aires before she was born. She was born in the province of San Juan on 3 July 1912. Her parents returned to Buenos Aires in 1918, after having moved to La Rioja a few years earlier. In Buenos Aires Ruanova became seriously ill with bronchial problems. Doctors recommended physical exercise to improve her condition and thus she took up dancing. Ruanova, along with her sisters Matilde and Angelita (Ángeles), started dancing under the tutelage of Russian ballerina, María Oleneva during a free classic dance course at the

(Columbus Theatre) in 1924. While her sisters performed with the ''Cuerpo de Baile'' in 1925, Ruanova joined

Adolph Bolm Adolph Rudolphovich Bolm (russian: Адольф Рудольфович Больм; September 25, 1884 – April 16, 1951) was a Russian-born American ballet dancer and choreographer, of German descent. Biography Bolm graduated from the Rus ...

's ballet, Siluetas. She and her sisters were given a position at the Teatro Colón the following year. Ruanova was first a soloist and, by 1932, a prima ballerina at Teatro Colón. Here they were further tutored by dance greats such as

Bronislava Nijinska Bronislava Nijinska (; pl, Bronisława Niżyńska ; russian: Бронисла́ва Фоми́нична Нижи́нская, Bronisláva Fomínična Nižínskaja; be, Браніслава Ніжынская, Branislava Nižynskaja; – Febr ...

, Boris Romanoff, Elena Smirnova,

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 ...

, Antonia Mercé and Serge Lifar. Ruanova earned a role in Fokine's Pájaro de Fuego ballet as

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 ...

. In 1936 she was invited to perform as prima ballerina in René Blum's ''

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 ...

''. Her success in France led to other international performances in London,

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, Durban, Johannesburg, Glasgow, Manchester and Paris. She danced in ''El Amor Brujo'', ''Cascanueces'', ''Carnaval'', ''El Espectro de la Rosa'', ''Petrouschka'', ''Anitra'', ''Sílfides''. She also filmed ''Don Juan'' and ''L'Épreuve d'amour''. Ruanova performed in Mozart's 1942 world premier concert, choreographed by George Balanchine, at Teatro Colón. She was hired by the ''Ballet del Marqués de Cuevas'' as prima ballerina and Maestro in 1957, and toured Europe with this company. She became ballet director at the Uruguayan SODRE from 1964 to 1967 and at Teatro Colón from 1968 to 1972.

Recognition

Ruanova is celebrated as the first Argentine-born ballet dancer to have learned to dance in Argentina and gain international recognition. She was one of the first prima ballerinas at Teatro Colón and is considered one of its greatest dancers. In 1986 Argentina's Ministry of Culture created the "Premio María Ruanova" award in her honor, awarded yearly by the Argentine dance council, Consejo Argentino de la Danza (CAD). The award has been declared of permanent "Interés Cultural" (cultural interest) by the Ministry. It is the country's highest and most important award for dance.
In honor to her performance and educational legacy, a main Argentine

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...

was named after her, the Ruanova Institute of Performing Arts, organization that house two educational entities, the Argentine National School of Dance, "Escuela Nacional de Danzas María Ruanova", and the National Institute of Educators of Liberal Arts and Artistic Education "Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado". From 1983 to 2013 the institute was part of the IUNA National University Institute for the Arts, and since 2014, the Ruanova Institute of Performing Arts and Higher Education became part of the UNA Universidad Nacional de las Artes, (UNA) National University of the Arts The Ministry of Culture also released a DVD on the life and work of María Ruanova.

Death

Ruanova died on 5 June 1976 and her remains are interred at the Cementerio de la Chacarita in Buenos Aires.

References

External links

Ruanova on IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruanova, Maria 1912 births 1976 deaths Argentine ballerinas Argentine people of Russian descent Dancers from Buenos Aires People from San Juan, Argentina Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery