Ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater Natalia Bessmertnova: biography, creative and pedagogical activity

The outstanding ballerina of the Russian theater remained in the memory of the audience as the ideal of a romantic heroine. She lived a rich creative life, she could be realized as a teacher and a woman. How did her life evolve?

Childhood

July 19, 1941 in Moscow was born Natalia Bessmertnova, the future ballerina. But as a child, nothing foreshadowed an artistic career. Natalia's father was a military doctor, my mother was engaged in children and home. Natasha had a sister, Tatiana. The family was far from art, but my mother encouraged children's love of dancing and plastic exercises, although the times were not easy. Sister subsequently made a good career in ballet, danced in the Bolshoi Theater, but lost herself in the shadow of her famous sister. She successfully married the son of Mikhail Gabovich, an outstanding partner of G. Ulanova. They lived in marriage for more than half a century. Mikhail himself was also an outstanding dancer, and their son, Mikhail Bessmertnov, also became a ballet dancer. Nephew Natalia Bessmertnova, whose children proved to be an impossible luxury, perceived her whole life as her own son. So there was a new ballet dynasty. Mikhail Bessmertnova's daughter Nadezhda was born. She did not become a continuer of the dance family traditions, but her love for the ballet was passed on to her from previous generations.

Years of study

Two girls grew up in the family, both loved to dance, and my mother gave them to the choreography school. Natalia studied in the class of the famous coach Kozhukhova Mary, during her studies she did not stand out very much among classmates, although she studied brilliantly. But she did not have a bright appearance or self-confidence, which would help her to come to the fore. In the graduation class, Sofya Golovkina takes her to her home. Already before the release of the hall came Mikhail Gabovich, who drew attention to the weightless girl with huge eyes, it was Natalia Bessmertnova. At that moment her biography was sealed.

Carier start

Immediately after graduation from the school, Natalia Bessmertnova starts to work in the Bolshoi Theater troupe. There, the main choreographer, Leonid Lavrovsky, immediately showed great interest to her . He saw Natasha as an ideal couple for his son, dancer Mikhail Lavrovsky. They danced together in the "Chopiniana", this performance became the debut for yesterday's school graduates. Here Bessmertnova was able to show off her data, which corresponded to all the standards of the romantic heroine. She was very elegant, with beautiful, expressive hands. In 1963, Natalia Bessmertnova and Mikhail Lavrovsky danced in the "Giselle". This ballet became the happy ticket of Immortal, critics noticed it, fell in love with the audience; in the role of Giselle, it was gorgeous: a thin, romantic, with a powerful, flying leap. She was recognized as a true successor of the best traditions of Russian ballet, she was constantly compared with Ulanova and Spesivtseva, and she did not lose from such comparison. She begins to go on tour abroad, conquers England and quickly becomes world famous.

First her teacher-tutor was Galina Ulanova, but their relationship did not work out, and Bessmertnova, showing a strong character, went to Marina Semenova.

Star years

Beginning in 1963, Natalia Bessmertnova is the primate of the Bolshoi Theater. She obeys the whole classical repertoire, but it looks best in lyrical roles: Muse in Paganini, Odette Odile in Swan Lake, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. The great choreographer Serge Lifar said that in his life there were three miracles: Pavlov, Spesivtsev and Bessmertnova.

Since 1964, Bessmertnova participates in the recording of ballet films, in 25 years she will be removed in almost 20 films.

Cooperation with Yuri Grigorovich helped Immortal to reveal the best facets of his talent: amazing musicality, impeccable technique, ability for fine improvisation, artistry. Natalia Bessmertnova's range was extremely wide, she had the ability to transform herself into a dramatic and lyrical heroine.

On the stage of the Bolshoi Theater the ballerina dances until 1988, until Grigorovich fired her along with other stars: Plisetskaya, Maximova, Lavrovsky, he wanted to rejuvenate the troupe. For 47-year-old Natalia Igorevny, this did not become a strong blow, as she was able to fully realize herself in the work, she had no regrets about the unfulfilled parties, she was able to dance the entire repertoire of the classical ballerina.

The best roles

Natalia Bessmertnova almost did not know the failures, she shone in different roles. But her most successful roles were Kitri in Don Quixote, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Leili in Leyli and Majnun, Girls in the Rose Vision, Anastasia in Ivan Terrible ". She was inimitable in "Spartacus", in "Giselle", "Raymond", "Angara". Her performances have become a gold fund of Russian ballet art, fortunately, many of them are filmed, and new generations of spectators and dancers can see her performance, although, of course, the film does not convey the full impression of the charm of the dancer. Her partners were the best dancers of that time: Maris Liepa, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Mikhail Lavrovsky, Yury Bogatyrev, Alexander Godunov, Vladimir Vasilyev.

Awards and titles

During her life Natalia Bessmertnova received many awards, she was caressed by critics and authorities. Since 1976 she is People's Artist of the USSR. Repeatedly received high prizes: Lenin's, Lenin's Komsomol, State Prize of the USSR, as well as professional prizes: Anna Pavlova in Paris, David in Italy, the first prize at the contest in Varna.

She is a Chevalier of the Order of Friendship of Peoples and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. Her work was devoted to the film "Life in Dance", Semyon Lapin wrote about the ballerina book.

Pedagogical activity

After the dismissal from the troupe Natalia Bessmertnova does not leave the Bolshoi Theater. Since 1988 she has been working as a teacher-tutor there. She was not an easy and pleasant person, the students remember that she was very demanding and even tough, but always highly professional. Among her wards were many dancers of the Bolshoi Theater, some successfully work on foreign stages. Among the students we can mention Ruslan Skvortsov, Anastasiya Volochkova, Evgeniya Ivanchenko. She left the Bolshoi Theater on the day when Vladimir Vasiliev was at the head of it. Since then, she did not like to remember the main theater of the country. Since 1995 she is a permanent tutor and assistant in the theater of Yuri Grigorovich. With it, she works on Romeo and Juliet, Ivan the Terrible, Swan Lake, Legend of Love, Raymonda, and the Golden Age. Has ceased to work in 2007 on a state of health.

Social activity

Natalia Bessmertnova, a world-famous ballerina, has repeatedly worked on a jury of ballet competitions around the world: Varna, Tokyo, Moscow. In 1979 she became a deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. She was not a big fan of social events, but she enjoyed visiting the premieres of her colleagues in various theaters around the world.

Personal life

Usually the great dancers replace personal life with work, but Natalia Bessmertnova, whose personal life evoked the envy of all the dancers of the Bolshoi Theater, was a happy exception. As early as 1963 she married the chief choreographer of the Bolshoi Theater Yuri Grigorovich. All around promised a short marriage, but they lived together more than 40 years until her death. She was him and a muse, and a friend and caring wife, and an assistant. Bessmertnova worked with her husband side by side for more than four decades, their years in the Bolshoi were a golden age not only for their family, but also for the theater. Natalia Igorevna became the organizer of a strike of artists at the Bolshoi Theater, when Grigorovich was dismissed. She followed him to the provinces to help him put on performances. Bessmertnova was the real star of Grigorovich's performances, she understood him like no other, and he knew better than the other directors about her capabilities.

In ordinary life, Bessmertnova had few friends. She was not sociable and friendly, she was not afraid to go to a conflict if she thought she was defending the truth. So, she filed a lawsuit when she was fired after Grigorovich from the Bolshoi, won the trial and left at her own request with her head held high.

In her spare time, Natalia Igorevna read a lot, listened to music, loved to walk and travel.

On February 19, 2008 the world circled with sad news: Natalia Bessmertnova died, the cause of death is a long illness. My husband was not around at the time, he was in Seoul, staged a performance to earn money for a French clinic for her. The ballerina was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery, farewell took place at the Bolshoi Theater.