Irina Baronova

Ballerina + Dancer

Female

Born Mar 13, 1919

Hometown Russian Empire

Died Jun 28, 2008

Death Place Byron Bay, New So...

Irina Mikhailovna Baronova, FRAD was a Russian ballerina who was one of the Baby Ballerinas of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, discovered by George Balanchine in Paris in the 1930s. She created roles in Léonide Massine's Le Beau Danube (1924), Jeux d… Read More

Family

Discover the family history of Irina Baronova.

Irina Baronova

d.2008

children

Victoria Tennant
Daughter, Age 62

News + Updates

Browse recent news and stories about Irina Baronova.

Royal Ballet School, Royal Opera House, London Financial Times
Google News - Jul 12, 2011

The most senior students were in their late teens – and I recalled for a moment those “baby ballerinas” of the Ballets Russes in the 1930s (and especially of my friend Irina Baronova) who were called upon to head a ballet company and undertake leading
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Book Review: René Blum And The Ballets Russes By Judith Chazin Bennahum California Literary Review
Google News - Jul 11, 2011

Balanchine was given the initiative to produce new works and three young Russian dancers, the “Baby Ballerinas” Irina Baronova, Tatiana Riabouchinska and Tamara Toumanova made a sensational debut. Balanchine lasted a year. A hard-driving choreographer,
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Irina Baronova, Ballet Star, Dies At 89
NYTimes - Jul 02, 2008

Irina Baronova, an international ballet star who was one of three celebrated prodigies known as the ''baby ballerinas'' after George Balanchine discovered them in Paris in the 1930s, died on Saturday at her home in Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia. She was 89. Her death was confirmed by her daughter, the actress Victoria Tennant. Australian
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Related Articles
Inside The Times: July 2, 2008 - NYTimes
Dance; The War Of The Russes, Ballet's Fabled Troupe
NYTimes - Apr 08, 2007

NOW, just weeks from the start of the spring seasons of New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater, is as good a time as any to consider the Americanization of classical dance. Again and again, the story has been told through George Balanchine, who came, saw and conquered. But there was ballet in the United States before Balanchine got here.
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Timeline

Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Irina Baronova.

CHILDHOOD

1919 Birth Baronova was born in Saint Petersburg (then known as Petrograd) in 1919, the daughter of a lieutenant in the Imperial Navy, Mikhail Baronov, and his wife Lidia (née Vishniakova). … Read More

1928 9 Years Old The family moved to Paris in 1928 to provide Irina with professional training, where she was taught by Olga Preobrajenska. … Read More

TEENAGE

1930 11 Years Old Baronova made her debut aged 11 at the Paris Opera in 1930, and in 1932 George Balanchine took her into the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. … Read More

TWENTIES

1940 21 Years Old Between 1940 and 1951, Baronova appeared in several films, including Ealing Studios Train of Events (1949) and worked as ballet mistress for the 1980 film Nijinsky.

1946 27 Years Old Her marriage to Sevastianov ended in divorce, and in Britain in 1946 she met the agent Cecil Tennant, who asked her to marry him if she would give up ballet. … Read More

FORTIES

1967 48 Years Old Baronova and Tennant had three children, Victoria, Irina and Robert. Through Victoria, she became the mother-in-law of Steve Martin. In 1967, Cecil Tennant was killed in a car accident, and Baronova moved to Switzerland. … Read More

FIFTIES

1976 57 Years Old She returned to teaching master classes in the United States and United Kingdom in 1976. … Read More

LATE ADULTHOOD

1986 67 Years Old In 1986 she staged Fokine's Les Sylphides for The Australian Ballet.

1992 73 Years Old In 1992 she returned to Russia to help the Mariinsky Theatre with an archival project.

1996 77 Years Old In 1996 she received a Nijinsky Medal from Poland and an honorary doctorate from the North Carolina School of the Arts.

2000 81 Years Old Baronova's daughter Irina moved to Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, and, after visiting her in 2000, Baronova decided to settle there as well.

2005 86 Years Old Baronova appeared in the 2005 documentary Ballets Russes. … Read More

2008 89 Years Old Only five weeks before her death, she spoke at a symposium in Adelaide, South Australia, on the Ballets Russes tours of Australia. She died in Byron Bay on June 28, 2008, aged 89.

Original Authors of this text are noted on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irina_Baronova.
Text is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.