Alexandra Danilova

Danilova as Fanny Cerrito in Pas de Quatre, 1948

Aleksandra Dionisyevna Danilova (Russian: Александра Дионисьевна Данилова) (November 20, 1903–July 13, 1997) was a Russian-born prima ballerina who became an American citizen.

Born in Peterhof, Russia, she trained at the Russian Imperial Ballet School in Leningrad (formerly and currently St. Petersburg). She was best known for being one of the few Russian-trained ballerinas to tour outside Russia. Her first professional post was as a member of the St. Petersburg's Imperial Ballet.

In 1924, she and George Balanchine left Russia. They were soon picked up by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes; Danilova as a dancer, Balanchine as a choreographer. Danilova also toured for years with the Ballets Russes under Sergei Diaghilev, then with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo after Diaghilev's death. She was one of her generation's biggest stars, but Danilova was never good at handling her finances. Her last ballet performance was in 1957, but she made her Broadway musical comedy debut in 1958 in Oh, Captain!. She appeared in a single scene, a dance with the show's star, Tony Randall, which stole the show. Many have said it was the finest dance number in a post-war musical. Unfortunately, the show was a commercial failure and quickly closed. She was desperate when she again met Balanchine on the street in 1964. When he heard of her plight he instantly hired her to teach at the School of American Ballet. One of the most valued members of the faculty, she remained there until her retirement in 1989.

She had a long intimate relationship with George Balanchine although they never officially married. After their romance ended their professional partnership continued, as she taught many of his dancers at the School of American Ballet, and choreographed a version of Coppélia with Balanchine. She was married and divorced twice.

She published an autobiography called Choura, which was her nickname. She also had a small role in the movie The Turning Point as a ballet teacher.

Danilova crater on Venus was named after her in 1991.

Reviews

• NY Times, November 18, 1939, of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in Giselle

External links

• Archive footage of Alexandra Danilova performing the Sugar Plum variation from The Nutcracker in 1952 at Jacob's Pillow
• Archive footage of Alexandra Danilova and Frederic Franklin performing Gaite Parisienne in 1948 at Jacob's Pillow
• Alexandra Danilova papers, 1954-1989 Manuscripts and Archives, New York Public Library.
• InfoPlease database entry
• StreetSwing.com entry
• The Ballerina Gallery - Alexandra Danilova

Persondata
Name	Danilova, Alexandra
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Date of birth	1903
Place of birth
Date of death	1997
Place of death