Leonide massine biography of christopher robin

Besides his "symphonic ballets," Massine choreographed many other popular works during his long career, some of which were serious and dramatic, and others lighthearted and romantic. Today his oeuvre is represented by his son Lorca Massine, who stages his works around the world. Massine was born into a musical family on 9 August in Moscow , Russia.

Leonid was one of five children. He had three brothers, Mikhail, Gregori, and Konstantin — as well as one sister — Raissa. Due to their small age difference, Leonid and Konstantin were very close during childhood.

My dissertation is in conversation with her writings on Les Ballets Russes, and it is from her work that much of my own foundational.

Beginning when Leonid was seven, the Massine family spent most summers at their summer dacha in Zvenigorod-Moskovsky. At only eight years old, he began his formal dance training. The next year, the director of the Bolshoi Theater, Alexander Gorsky , was looking for a small boy to play the role of Chernomor in the ballet Ruslan and Ludmilla. Leonid was selected for the role.

This performance and rehearsal period ignited his lifelong passion for acting. Leonid was selected for three more professional roles at the Bolshoi and Maly Theaters through the — season. In , Konstantin was killed during a hunting accident. Leonid never seemed to fully recover from the shock and devastation of this personal tragedy.

His favorite Vaslav Nijinsky had originally been cast in the role, but Diaghilev terminated Nijinsky's contract upon his marriage to Romola de Pulszky.