Bolm, Adolph Rudolphovich
BOLM, ADOLPH RUDOLPHOVICH
BOLM, ADOLPH RUDOLPHOVICH (1884–1951), U.S. ballet dancer and director. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Bolm was awarded a first prize at the Imperial Ballet and soon drew public attention with his brilliant dancing and mime. He toured European capitals with Anna Pavlova in 1908 and 1909, and in 1914 went to the U.S. as leading dancer and choreographer in Diaghilev's company. He then settled in New York, where he formed the Bolm Ballet Intime. He produced Le Coq d'Or at the Metropolitan Opera in 1918, danced the title role in Petrouchka, and established himself as a choreographer. He became maître de ballet at the Chicago Opera in 1922. In 1931, in Hollywood, his ballet Iron Foundry (to music by Mossolov) attracted audiences of fifteen to twenty thousand at a time. In 1932 Bolm was appointed ballet master at the San Francisco Opera, and held the post for five years. He later directed a ballet school.
bibliography:
C.W. Beaumont, Complete Book of Ballets (1937), 784–90 and index; Dance Magazine, 37 (Jan. 1963), 44–50; New York Times (April 17, 1951), 29.