Rostislav Vladimirovich Zakharov (russian: Ростислав Владимирович Захаров; September 7, 1907 – January 15, 1984) was a Soviet and Russian choreographer, ballet dancer and opera director. He was a professor at the
Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) in Moscow (1946–1983). Rostislav Zakharov was awarded the
Stalin Prize twice and designated the
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union.
Nomenclature and significan ...
(1969).
Zakharov is best known for choreographing ''
The Fountain of Bakhchisaray'' B.Asafiev (1934) and ''
Cinderella'' (1945).
The art of choreographer Rostislav Vladimirovich Zakharov made up an entire epoch in the history of the Soviet and world ballet and opera theater. As a choreographer Rostislav Zakharov had his own unique philosophy of dance art. He influenced the art of ballet, making it a truly realistic and democratic art. At the beginning of the XX century, the ballet theater began to move away from romanticism and get closer to the great world classical literature. Zakharov was at the origins of a new ballet direction –ballet drama. Due to his deep knowledge of Konstantin Stanislavsky theater system, choreographer Zakharov created a new ballet performance where high dance imagery and classical dance techniques were closely combined with great acting skills. Zakharov's ballet performances revealed the performing talents of Galina Ulanova, Marina Semenova, Maya Plisetskaya, Konstantin Sergeev, Mikhail Gabovich and many generations of world-famous ballet stars.
Biography
Rostislav Zakharov was born on September 7, 1907 in the city of Astrakhan on the Volga River. In 1926 he graduated from the Leningrad Choreographic School (currently Agrippina Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, St. Petersburg).
Graduated from the Leningrad Theater Institute (directing department in 1932, directing department in 1948 completed as an externship).
After graduating from the Leningrad Choreographic School, he was sent with a group of dancers to Ukraine to promote ballet art. In 1926–1929 he was a soloist and choreographer at both
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.[Kyiv
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 ...]