Verchinina, Nina (1910–1995)

views updated

Verchinina, Nina (1910–1995)

Russian ballet dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Born Jan 20, 1910, in Moscow, Russia; died Dec 16, 1955; trained in Paris by Olga Preobrazhenska, Lyubov Egorova, Mathilde Kshesinskaia, and Bronislave Nijinska.

Made stage debut at Covent Garden in the corps de ballet in Le Martyre de Saint-Sébastien with Ida Rubinstein; came to prominence while dancing with Colonel de Basil's Monte Carlo Ballets Russes (1932–37), creating roles in Massine's Les Présages and Choreartium (both 1933), and Symphonie Fantastique (1936); was also featured in Jeux d'Enfants, Le Beau Danube, Les Cents Baisers and Balanchine's La Concurrence and Les Sylphides; taught and coached in Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Copacabana, Argentina.