Ballerina Tamara Tumanova: biography, work in theater and cinema

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Tamara Tumanova is a renowned ballerina who conquered the world stage with her grace and unsurpassed dance technique. Born in Soviet Russia, she lived in France for some time and then moved to the United States. Tumanova has performed on the world's best ballet scenes, collaborating with world-famous choreographers such as George Balanchine, Serge Lifar, Leonid Myasin. Having gained fame and recognition as a teenager, she became one of the outstanding ballerinas of the last century.

Mother and father of a ballerina

Tamara Vladimirovna Tumanova (at birth - Khasidovich) was born in 1919 in the train car, which her mother Evgenia Dmitrievna followed to Siberia, fleeing the persecution of the Soviet authorities. The mother of the future ballerina was of noble origin and belonged to the ancient Georgian princely family of Tumanishvili (Tumanov).

Tamara's father was a colonel in the tsarist army and holder of the St. George Cross Vladimir Khasidovich. On Evgeniyahe married in February 1918 in Tiflis. Khasidovich took part in the Russo-Japanese and World War I, during which he received 2 serious wounds. In 1920, he published a book of his own memoirs about the fighting in the Russo-Japanese War.

Some biographers of Tamara Tumanova suggest that her real father could be the first husband of Evgenia Dmitrievna Konstantin Zakharov. However, this version has not found its official confirmation.

Early childhood, introduction to ballet

For the first 18 months of her life, Tamara was brought up only by her mother. When the girl was one and a half years old, her parents, separated by the revolution, finally managed to meet and temporarily move to Shanghai. Here, little Tamara first attended the performance of the famous ballerina Anna Pavlova, who was touring the Far East. The sight she saw made an indelible impression on the girl and already in those early years planted in her soul a love for dancing.

Life in France: ballet school, first performances

In early 1925, the Hasidovichs moved first to Cairo and then to Paris. Having settled in the French capital, they took Tamara to the ballet school of the famous Russian ballerina Olga Iosifovna Preobrazhenskaya. The young dancer amazed those around her with her exotic appearance, natural grace, responsibility and industriousness uncharacteristic of a child. Noticing a huge creative potential in her student, Madame Preo (as Preobrazhenskaya was called in Paris) suggested that she change her surname Khasidovich to a more sonorous one. Without thinking twice, the little ballerina chose the creative pseudonym Tumanova, formed from her mother's maiden name. Tamara's talent did not go unnoticed by others. The ballet school was her first step to world success. Having studied with Preobrazhenskaya for quite a bit, the six-year-old ballerina received a personal invitation from the greatest prima Anna Pavlova to perform at her gala concert. This event took place in June 1925 in the Trocadero Palace in Paris and marked the beginning of the creative career of the actress.

At the age of 9, Tumanova made her debut in the ballet production of L'Éventail de Jeanne, held at the Paris Opera. The audience was shocked by the girl's dancing abilities and after the performance awarded her with a long and enthusiastic ovation. Art connoisseurs already understood that Tamara Tumanova is a ballerina from God, and ahead of her lies unprecedented success and worldwide recognition.

The start of a star career

In the early 1930s, the famous choreographer George Balanchine saw Tamara during a performance and invited her to dance with the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo, led by Colonel de Basil. Together with Tumanova, the team included two more young ballerinas of Russian origin - Tatyana Ryabushinskaya and Irina Baronova. The trio of talented girls fell in love with ballet fans and, for their young age, was popularly called “baby ballerinas”. Tumanova herself was called the Black Pearl of Russian ballet for her silky dark hair, brown almond-shaped eyes and delicate dark skin. This is a nicknamestuck with her for the rest of her life.

Starting to perform on the professional stage, Tumanova became the main breadwinner in the family. After moving to Paris, her parents lived very poorly and often had no money even for food and necessary things. Their daughter's earnings allowed them to get out of poverty and return to a decent life.

Global Glory

As part of the troupe, Tamara toured a lot, wherever she appeared, her performances ended with thunderous applause from an enthusiastic audience. She danced at La Scala, the Paris Opera, Covent Garden, collaborated with many famous choreographers. Especially for her, roles were created in their productions by Leonid Myasin, George Balanchine, Mikhail Fokin and Serge Lifar, and many famous ballet dancers considered it an honor to perform on the same stage with her. In the 1930s, she performed the leading roles in The Magic Shop, Ball, Fantastic Symphony, Giselle. In just a few years, her fame spread far beyond Europe. Sergei Prokofiev, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall and many other artists of that time were admirers of the ballerina's talent.

Personal qualities

People who had to work closely with Tumanova remember that she was not like many famous ballerinas. Tamara Vladimirovna was distinguished by her seriousness, incredible hard work and increased demands on herself and others. She was alien to arrogance, whims and eccentric antics that other world celebrities could afford. Solidcharacter and complete dedication to art allowed Tumanova to become one of the best ballerinas of her time.

Emigration to the USA

In 1937, being at the peak of her popularity, Tamara Vladimirovna left Paris with her parents and moved to America. Having settled in California, she continues to perform with the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo. In 1939, Tumanova, with her participation in the musical performance "Stars in Your Eyes", conquered the Broadway audience, tempted by spectacles, and became an indisputable prima. Famous ballerinas of that time tried to imitate her technique, but most of them were far from the Black Pearl.

In April 1942, the ballet actress turned to the US authorities with a request to grant her American citizenship in the name of Tamara Tumanova (according to the documents, she continued to bear the name Khasidovich). Her parents also applied for a change of surname and citizenship. In August 1943, the request of the Khasidovich family was fully granted. From now on, Tamara, her mother and father became US citizens and received the right to bear the surname Tumanov.

Creative life in the 40s-60s

Tumanova's ballet career continued until the end of the 60s. While living in the USA, she continued to actively tour the world. The ballerina performed leading roles in Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Seven Deadly Sins, The Firebird, Phaedra and other ballet productions. In 1956, the Russian prima was a guest star at the wedding of Prince Rainier of Monaco and Hollywood actress GraceKelly. Tamara Tumanova loved bright stage dresses, unusual hairstyles and makeup. The Swan costume created especially for her by fashion designer Varvara Karinskaya has become an exemplary outfit for this role.

Filmmaking, marriage

Shortly after moving to California, the famous ballerina was offered film roles. Her debut on the big screen is considered the role of a fortune teller in the short film-ballet "Spanish Fiesta", filmed in 1942. The choreographer of the film was Leonid Myasin, with whom Tumanov was associated for many years of cooperation.

In 1944, the ballerina-actress starred in the Hollywood war drama Days of Glory. Tumanova's partner in this film was the legendary American actor Gregory Peck, with whom she had a stormy romance during the filming. However, lovers are not destined to be together for a long time. Shortly after breaking up with Peck, Tumanova became the wife of Glory Days producer and screenwriter Casey Robinson. Living together with him lasted 10 years (from 1944 to 1954) and brought the ballerina roles in his films “Today we will sing”, “Deep in my heart” and “Invitation to dance”. Tumanova idolized her husband, but she could not keep him near her for the rest of her life. After the divorce, Robinson returned to his ex-wife, and Tamara Vladimirovna decided to no longer tie herself to anyone by marriage. She had no children.

Recent film work

In 1966 Tumanova's filmography was replenished with Alfred Hitchcock's political thriller "Torn Curtain". It has TamaraVladimirovna played the role of an aging spy ballerina who does not want to put up with the fact that her popularity is in the past. In addition to Tumanova, Hollywood stars Julie Andrews and Paul Newman starred in the film. Although "The Torn Curtain" was called by film critics not Hitchcock's most successful directorial work, he received good success at the box office, bringing the creators more than $ 6 million in income. Tumanova, who was 46 at the time of filming, showed all her fans that she remains in great physical shape and is still full of energy.

At the end of her career, Tumanova starred in Billy Weider's adventure comedy The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. In the film, which was released on television in 1970, she embodied on the screen the image of the ballerina Madame Petrova. The film received different reviews, but almost all viewers noted the excellent game of Tamara Tumanova in it and agreed with the opinion of film critics that the Russian diva, even in adulthood, remains an incredibly beautiful and graceful woman. After finishing her work in the detective story "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes", Tumanova stopped appearing in public. By that time, she had already completed her career as a ballerina, giving way to younger actresses on stage.

Death of Tumanova

After leaving the ballet and cinema, Tamara Vladimirovna stopped communicating with journalists, did not arrange magnificent celebrations and did not receive guests. The last years of her life, the great ballerina lived in her own house in Santa Monica (USA). Tamara Tumanova died on78 years old in May 1996. On the eve of her death, she donated part of her stage costumes to the Academy of Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg. The Black Pearl of Russian ballet was buried at the prestigious Hollywood Forever cemetery in the grave of her mother Evgenia Dmitrievna.