Balachova, Alexandra (1887–1905)

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Balachova, Alexandra (1887–1905)

Russian ballerina. Name variations: Alexandra Balashova. Born 1887 in Moscow, Russia; died Jan 5, 1979, in New York, NY; graduate of Bolshoi Ballet School (1905).

One of last prima ballerinas of tsarist Russia, made professional debut as Tsar-Maiden in Humpbacked Horse (c. 1906); fled Soviet Union (c. 1928); taught ballet in Paris (until 1972); danced as Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Medora in Le Corsair, Kitri in Don Quixote, Nikia in La Bayadere, Odette-Odile in Swan Lake and title role in La Fille Mal Gardeée.