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Nijinska, Bronislava

(Encyclopedia)Nijinska, Bronislava brônēˈsləvə nyīzhēnˈskə [key], 1891–1972, Russian ballet dancer and choreographer; sister of Vaslav Nijinsky. She studied at the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersbur...

Nijinsky, Vaslav

(Encyclopedia)Nijinsky, Vaslav vəsläfˈ nyĭzhēnˈskē [key], 1890–1950, Russian ballet dancer and choreographer; brother of Bronislava Nijinska. Nijinsky is widely considered the greatest dancer of the 20th c...

Tallchief, Maria

(Encyclopedia)Tallchief, Maria, 1925–2013, American ballerina, b. Fairfax, Okla., as Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief. Tallchief, of Osage descent, was trained both as a pianist and a dancer. Deciding on a career in ba...

Lifar, Serge

(Encyclopedia)Lifar, Serge sĕrˈgā lēˈfär [key], 1905–86, Russian dancer, choreographer, director, teacher, and dance historian, b. Kiev. Lifar studied briefly with Bronislava Nijinska, but he was primarily ...

Diaghilev, Sergei Pavlovich

(Encyclopedia)Diaghilev, Sergei Pavlovich syĭrgāˈ pävˈləvĭch dyäˈgĭlyĭf [key], 1872–1929, Russian ballet impresario and art critic, grad. St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music, 1892. In 1898 he founded ...

American Ballet Theatre

(Encyclopedia)American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the foremost international dance companies of the 20th and 21st cents. It was founded in 1937 as the Mordkin Ballet and reorganized as the Ballet Theatre in 1940 ...

ballet

(Encyclopedia)CE5 The five classical positions in ballet ballet bălˈā, bălāˈ [key] [Ital. ballare=to dance], classic, formalized solo or ensemble dancing of a highly controlled, dramatic nature performed ...