Everyone has his or her own way to celebrate International Dance Day. At ForeverB. we’ve decided to put some of the most amazing dancers and choreographers in the spotlight.
Today we tell you everything!
You see them throughout all our collection - Pina, Mikhail, Vaslav, Rudolf, Isadora, Sylvie, Vladimir, Anna, Svetlana, Roberto, Margot, Alessandra, and Marta – and probably wonder whom these first names refer to:
Isadora Duncan
Isadora was an American dancer, a pioneer, known as “ The Mother of Modern Dance”. She was born in 1877 in California and died 1927. He influence spread from America to Europe and Russia. Isadora’s style was inspired by ancient Greece and she worked to take ballet towards its future with a vision of dancing a modern and different dance. Learn more on Isadora from her foundation here: Here
Anna Pavlova
Anna was a Russian prima ballerina who was born in 1881. She was a principal dancer of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev. She died in 1931. Anna had a strong passion for ballet but her body type played against her and she had to work much harder than her fellow dancer to achieve a brilliant career. At the time, ballerinas were not meant to count on their shoes to hold their weight when on pointe. Anna, because of the shape of her feet, ended up painfully balancing her weight on her toes. She personalised her shoes with hard wood for more support and her solution evolved to be our modern pointe shoes. She led an international career and was probably most renowned for her Dying Swan, a solo that she co-choreographed.
Vaslav Nijinsky
Born in 1889 in Ukraine, Vaslav died in London in 1950 after a brilliant career as a ballet dancer and choreographer. Vaslav was famous for his virtuosity and great sensitivity that brought depth and intensity to his performances. Vaslav Nijinsky is a famous figure the history of Russian Ballet. The Independent was telling his story in 1999 in one of its columns: Here
Martha Graham
Martha was a major influencer in the world of dance. This American modern dancer and choreographer was born in 1894 and dedicated herself to dance for 70 years. The Graham Technique, as her style was called, reshaped American dance and had an influence worldwide. She died in 1991 after a great career marked by several awards and honours. Learn more about Martha from the Martha Graham Dance Company: Here
Margot Fonteyn
Dame Margot Fonteyn de Arias is an English ballerina who was born in 1919 in the UK. She was one of the greatest ballet dancers of all times and spent her entire career with the Royal Ballet. She was appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta by Queen Elizabeth II. She performed with Rudolf Nureyev several times and they became very close friends. Their friendship stayed strong until she died of cancer in 1991.
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf was born in Russia in 1938. He became a Russian ballet and modern dancer, one of the most critically acclaimed dancers of the 20th century. He died in France in 1993. Rudolf opened the door to more leading roles for men in ballet as they were more used to support women. Rudolf Nureyev has a foundation in his name where you can discover more of his work: Here
Pina Baush
Philippina Bausch also called “Pina” was born in 1940 in Germany and died in 2009. She was a performer of modern dance, choreographer, dance teacher and ballet director. She became a leading influencer in the world of modern dance in the 1970’s with a particular style know as Tanzheater. Pina received several honours and awards during her career in Germany, Europe and the US.
A glimpse at her life’s work from the ceremony that awarded her a Golden Lion in 2007: Video
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Some of you who watched the last season of the TV show Sex and The City recognise Mikhail as the character Aleksandr Petrovsky who takes Carrie Bradshaw to Paris. Mikhail is indeed a great dramatic actor but the Russian dancer and choreographer is also considered one of the greatest ballet dancers in history. He was born in 1948 in Latvia and moved to North America in the 70’s where he lead a very successful career as a dancer and artistic director. Here is a scene of his performance in The Turning Point, a movie for which Mikhail got an Oscar nomination: Video
Vladimir Vasiliev
Vladimir was born in Russia in 1940 and was a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet. He contributed to the development of classical made dance and became also very famous for his role as Spartacus. Vladimir remained in the Soviet Union and had a limited number of appearances in the Western world. He became the general and artistic director of the Bolshoi Theatre between 1995 and 2000.
Sylvie Guillem
Sylvie is a French ballerina born in 1965. She began her training at the Paris Opera Ballet when she was 11. Thanks to her great skills, she joined the company’s corps de ballet five years later. In 1985 she became the Paris Opera Ballet youngest étoile ever. Later on she moved on with performances with the Royal Ballet. In 2001 she won the Nijinsky Prize as world’s best ballerina. She retired in 2015 after have dedicated the last years of her career to contemporary dance.
Alessandra Ferri
Alessandra is a prima ballerina born in Italy in 1963. She started her career by studying at La Scala Theater Ballet School and later on pursued her training with the Royal Ballet School. She was nominated for several awards and then was asked in 1985 by Mikhail Baryshnikov to become a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. She returned to La Scala in 1992 and stayed a guest start at the ABT. She retired in 2007 but came back in 2013 for a production in London. Alessandra was inspired by Baryshnikov and Fonteyn who still gave brilliant performances in their 60’s and contributed to show that older dancers have their place in auditions. Read her portrait by the Royal Opera House including some videos for more details: Here
Roberto Bollé
Roberto is an Italian dancer born in 1975. He is now a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater but also a principal dancer étoile at La Scala Theater Ballet. At the age of 15 years old, he met with Rudolf Nureyev who chose him to perform Tadzio in Death in Venice. Since then the dancer has led a brilliant career, performing as guest in some of the world’s leading companies. More information about him is available on his website: Here
Svetlana Zakharova
Svetlana was born in 1979 in Ukraine. She is now a principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet and a dancer étoile of the La Scala Theater Ballet. She has been awarded several prizes in her career so far. She participated to the 2006 documentary Ballerina which portrays five famous ballerinas of Russian ballet. More information about her is available on her website: Here
Do you feel like you could follow the steps of one of these amazing performers? Keep your passion strong and work hard to get what you want. Happy International Dance Day!
Stay inspired! Shop the range of tribute items by ForeverB.
The Sweater - The Notebook - The iPhone 6 case - The Tutu Garment Bag - The Top
Enjoy our International Dance Day offer! Get 40% OFF on the "ballet & street art" duo! And 30% on the top and the mesh pointe shoe bag separately! Available on the 29th April only!
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