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Photo, Print, Drawing Giselle. Natalia Bessmertnova.

About this Item

Title

  • Giselle. Natalia Bessmertnova.

Summary

  • This photograph was taken by Leonid Zhdanov (1927-2010) in 1975 during the filming of the ballet Giselle, directed by Vladimir Grave. The title role was performed by Natalia Bessmertnova (1941-2008). Bessmertnova graduated from the Moscow Academic Choreography School at the Bolshoi Theater (now known as Moscow State Academy of Choreography) in 1961 and was admitted to the Bolshoi Theater. She made her debut in the ballet Les Sylphides choreographed by Fokine. A year later, her Giselle came as an artistic revelation to her contemporaries. Bessmertnova introduced a whole new image into Soviet ballet: an "ethereal" style of dance reminiscent of the first half of the 19th century. Her weightless, nymph-like dancing with extended lines of arms, expressive wrists, and noiseless, high jumps immersed viewers in a world of illusion, full of tragedy, sorrow, and beauty. No one had been dancing in such a style at the Bolshoi, where a type of earthy dancer-actress ruled the stage at that time. Bessmertnova reemphasized the dance, particularly in the second "white" act of Giselle. Her Giselle, slender and fragile, flew in the air and melted away with the first rays of dawn. Bessmertnova was the leading ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater until 1988. She performed in a variety of ballets, but Giselle remained the best of her roles. Zhdanov, a Bolshoi dancer and then a professor of choreography for 50 years, was a professional photographer throughout his career. His pictures are spontaneous and capture on film the movements, moods, and emotions of the unposed dancers. The Reborn Art Foundation in Moscow holds this image and the rest of the Zhdanov archive.

Names

  • Zhdanov, Leonid, 1927-2010 Photographer.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1975.

Headings

  • -  Russian Federation--Moscow--Moscow
  • -  1975
  • -  Ballerinas
  • -  Ballet
  • -  Bessmertnova, Natalia, 1941-2008
  • -  Bolshoi Theatre of the USSR
  • -  Costumes
  • -  Dance
  • -  Dancers
  • -  Theatrical productions

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 black and white photograph ; 35 millimeter negative.
  • -  Original resource at: The "Reborn Art" Charitable Foundation.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021669127

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Zhdanov, Leonid, Photographer. Giselle. Natalia Bessmertnova. Russian Federation Moscow, 1975. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021669127/.

APA citation style:

Zhdanov, L. (1975) Giselle. Natalia Bessmertnova. Russian Federation Moscow, 1975. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021669127/.

MLA citation style:

Zhdanov, Leonid, Photographer. Giselle. Natalia Bessmertnova. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021669127/>.