Nina Aleksandrovna Anisimova (Russian: Нина Александровна Анисимова; born

St. 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 January 1909, died Leningrad, 23 September 1979) was a Soviet dancer and choreographer. She studied at the Petrograd (later Leningrad) Ballet School with Maria Fedorovna Romanova,

Alexander Shiryaev Alexander Viktorovich Shiryaev ( rus, Александр Викторович Ширяев; — 25 April 1941) was a Russian ballet dancer, ballet master and choreographer, founder of character dance in Russian ballet who served at the Mariinsky ...

, and

Agrippina Vaganova Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova (russian: Агриппина Яковлевна Ваганова; 26 June 1879 – 5 November 1951) was a Soviet and Russian ballet teacher who developed the Vaganova method – the technique which derived from the t ...

. In 1926 she graduated from the Maly Theatre of Opera and Ballet, then from 1927 to 1958 danced with GATOB (later

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 1932 she created the role of Thérèse in

Vasili Vainonen Vasili Ivanovich Vainonen, also spelled Vasily (russian: Васи́лий Ива́нович Вайно́нен) (1901-1964), was a renowned Ingrian Soviet choreographer, mainly for the Kirov Ballet, now known as the Mariinsky Ballet, with which h ...

's ''

Flames of Paris ''Flames of Paris'' or ''The Flames of Paris'' (russian: Пла́мя Пари́жа) is a full-length ballet in four acts, choreographed by Vasily Vainonen with the stage director Sergei Radlov to music by Boris Asafyev based on songs of the ...

'', demonstrating her abilities as a character dancer. In 1936 she choreographed her first major ballet, ''Andalusian Wedding'' (music by Emmanuel Chabrier) for the Leningrad Ballet School. Her subsequent works include '' Gayane'' (music by

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet and Armenia ...

, 1942) for the Kirov, Perm in which she danced the lead in the "

Sabre Dance "Sabre Dance", ''Suserov par''; russian: Танец с саблями, ''Tanets s sablyami'' is a Movement (music), movement in the final act of Aram Khachaturian's ballet ''Gayane (ballet), Gayane'' (1942), where the Ballet dancer, dancers dis ...

".Roslavleva, p. 225. She also choreographed ''Songs of the Crane'' (music by Stepanov and Ismagilov, 1944) for Bashkir Opera, ''The Magic Veil'' (music by Zaranek, 1947), and her own version of ''

Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major female character and the storyteller in the frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade'' de ...

'' (music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, 1950), both for the

Maly Theatre The Maly Theatre, or Mali Theatre, may refer to one of several different theatres: * The Maly Theatre (Moscow), also known as The State Academic Maly Theatre of Russia, in Moscow (founded in 1756 and given its own building in 1824) * The Maly Thea ...

, Leningrad. In 1964 she staged '' Swan Lake'' for the

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when the R ...

. Between 1963 and 1974 she taught at the choreographic department of the

Leningrad Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...

. She was married to the writer Konstantin Derzhavin.

Notes and references

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anisimova, Nina Soviet ballerinas Soviet choreographers 1909 births 1979 deaths Mariinsky Ballet dancers Karlag detainees Dancers from Saint Petersburg