Astafieva, Serafima (1876–1934)

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Astafieva, Serafima (1876–1934)

Russian dancer and teacher. Name variations: Serafina or Serafine. Born in Russia in 1876; died in 1934; graduated from the St. Petersburg Imperial School of Ballet in 1895; married Joseph Kchessinksy-Nechui (older brother of ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaia ), in 1896 (divorced 1905).

The career of Serafima Astafieva began in the corps de ballet of the Maryinsky Theater. Following her divorce in 1905, she resigned from the theater, and, from 1909–11, was a member of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. She then opened a ballet school in London where Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, among others, trained. Another pupil of Astafieva's was Margot Fonteyn .