Serafina Astafieva
Serafina Astafieva | |
|---|---|
| Born | Серафима Александровна Астафьева 1876 St Petersburg |
| Died | 13 September 1934 London |
| Alma mater | Imperial Ballet School |
| Occupation(s) | Ballet dancer, ballet teacher |
| Employer | Ballets Russes |
Serafina Astafieva (Russian: Серафима Александровна Астафьева; 1876 – 13 September 1934) was a Russian dancer and ballet teacher.[1]
Early life and education
Serafina Astafieva was born in Saint Petersburg in 1876, part of the family of noble Alexander Astafyev. She was a grand-niece of the author Leo Tolstoy. Some sources suggest that he advised sending the young Serafina to a ballet school to recover from illness. She was a pupil at the St Petersburg Theatre School and then the Imperial Ballet School, graduating in 1895.[2]
Career
Until 1905 she danced as a soloist at the Mariinsky Theatre.[2]
In 1914, The Tatler reported that she had worked as a nurse for eight months during the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War.[3]
From 1911-1913 Astafieva performed with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.[2] Her key principal roles were Cleopatra and Schehezarada in the ballet company's first visit to Covent Garden.[3] She also danced a principal role in The Blue God.
She retired from performing before April 1914.[2]
Teaching
After retiring from performing she turned to teaching ballet and opened the Russian Dancing Academy at The Pheasantry on King's Road in Chelsea, London. Her pupils included Anton Dolin, Margot Fonteyn,[1] Alicia Markova,[4] Hermione Darnborough,[5] Madeleine Vyner,[6] and Joan Lawson.[7] It was at her studio that Diaghilev first saw Alicia Markova dance.[8][9]
Personal life
In 1896 she married the famous character dancer Jozef Kshessinsky, brother of the prima ballerina Mathilde Kschessinskaya.[2] In 1898 she had a son, Vyacheslav. The couple divorced after a few years.
She retired from performing in 1914 on marriage to a Mr. Konstantin Graves, who had held a role at the Imperial Russian Court under Grand Duchess Marie, but the marriage was not successful and they separated soon after.
Commemoration
Sculptor Emmy Haskell created a bust of Astafieva in c. 1927 which is now held in the V&A Museum.[2]
A blue plaque was unveiled in Astafieva's memory in 1968 at 152 King's Road in Chelsea.[10]
She is referenced as "Grishkin" in T. S. Eliot's poem Whispers of Immortality.
See also
References
- ^ a b Oxford Dictionary of Dance (2004) Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e Haskell, Emmy (Mrs) (c. 1927), Serafina Astafieva, retrieved 15 June 2025
- ^ a b The Tatler, 8 April 1914
- ^ Alicia Markova, Ballerina Known for Giselle, Dies at 94 The New York Times
- ^ Dancing Times, July 2009
- ^ Carroll, Mark (2011). The Ballets Russes in Australia and Beyond. Wakefield. p. 261. ISBN 9781862548848.
- ^ "Joan Lawson Archive". Archives Hub. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- ^ "Markova, Dame Alicia [real name Lilian Alicia Marks] (1910–2004)". www.oxforddnb.com. 2011. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/94580. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ "Alicia Markova | Prima Ballerina | blue plaques". English Heritage. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ "Princess Seraphine Astafieva | Ballet Dancer | Blue Plaques". English Heritage. Retrieved 15 June 2025.