Felia Doubrovska Remembered : from Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, to Balanchine's School of American Ballet
Title
Felia Doubrovska Remembered : from Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, to Balanchine's School of American Ballet Cut Down Version (Final Audio) / A film by Virginia Brooks ; written by Jody Armstrong ; narrated by John Taras.
1 streaming video file (37 min.) : sound, color with black and white sequences.
Summary
"Felia Doubrovska was born in 1896 in St. Petersburg, Russia. She died in New York City in 1981. During those eighty five years, she spent 33 years first as a student at the Imperial Ballet School and then as a ballerina with some of the most famous ballet companies in history. After her retirement from the stage she devoted nearly the same span of time to her career as a teacher at the School of American Ballet. It was during this period that she made her great contribution to preserving the continuity of the tradition of classical and neoclassical ballet, as she participated in the training of almost all of the women in the New York City Ballet, the instruments of George Balanchine's choreographic genius. This film provides an affectionate memorial designed to introduce this elegant personality to those members of the audience who never knew her. It is also intended to be a lasting tribute to Felia Doubrovska for those of us who had the good fortune to pass through her sphere." -- notes, Virginia Brooks Website.
Dance footage includes: Felia Doubrovska teaching class at School of American Ballet (SAB) in 1972; The Imperial Ballet School, St. Petersburg, Russia; Alexandra Danilova with Doubrovska reconstructing ballet for Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Photographs include: Les Noces (Nijinska), Les Biches (Nijinska), Apollo (Balanchine), Prodigal Son (Balanchine), Cecchetti Class in London, the Althorp where the Vladimiroffs and the Balanchines lived; Olga Spessivtzeva, and Alexandra Danilova.
Special thanks, Fred Maroth; Nancy Reynolds; Bill Healy; Delia Peters; The Dance Division, The Performing Arts Library, NYPL, Madeleine Nichols, Monica Moseley, Else Peck, Phil Karg; and The School of American Ballet, Natasha Gleboff, Tom Schoff, Annette Burgess.
Access (note)
Patrons can access streaming video files online only onsite at the Library for the Performing Arts.
Credits (note)
Produced and directed by Virginia Brooks ; photographers, Martha Swope, Gerald Ackerman ; camera, Virginia Brooks, Tagor Vojnovic, Steven Gladstone ; sound, Dalton Alexander, Steven Gladstone, Anthony Zaza ; editing, Virginia Brooks, Jody Armstrong, Julian Hochberg.
Funding (note)
Partial funding for this project was provided by The Research Foundation of the City University of New York and a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts to Fred Maroth for interviews about Diaghilev era.
Source (note)
Virginia Loring Brooks;
Title
Felia Doubrovska Remembered : from Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, to Balanchine's School of American Ballet Cut Down Version (Final Audio) / A film by Virginia Brooks ; written by Jody Armstrong ; narrated by John Taras.
Production
2008.
Country of producing entity
U.S.
Type of content
two-dimensional moving image
Type of medium
computer
video
Type of carrier
online resource
Original version
Original format: 13 film reels ; 16mm.
Restricted access
Patrons can access streaming video files online only onsite at the Library for the Performing Arts.
Credits
Produced and directed by Virginia Brooks ; photographers, Martha Swope, Gerald Ackerman ; camera, Virginia Brooks, Tagor Vojnovic, Steven Gladstone ; sound, Dalton Alexander, Steven Gladstone, Anthony Zaza ; editing, Virginia Brooks, Jody Armstrong, Julian Hochberg.
Interviewees, Allegra Kent, Tanaquil LeClercq, John Taras, Maria Calegari, Maria Tallchief, and Felia Doubrovska, 1978.
Event
Videotaped during interviews with dance footage in New York City apartments and studios, New York, N.Y. 2008.
Funding
Partial funding for this project was provided by The Research Foundation of the City University of New York and a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts to Fred Maroth for interviews about Diaghilev era.