André Eglevsky | |
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![]() André Eglevsky, painted by Glyn Philpot,1937
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Born |
Moscow, Russia |
December 21, 1917
Died | December 4, 1977 Elmira, New York |
(aged 59)
Occupation | ballet dancer, ballet teacher |
Years active | (as dancer): 1932–1958 (as teacher): 1958–1977 |
Spouse(s) | Leda Anchutina |
Children | Marina Eglevsky |
Former groups |
Original Ballet Russe Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo American Ballet Theatre Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas New York City Ballet |
André Eglevsky (21 December 1917 – 4 December 1977) was a Russian-born ballet dancer and teacher who studied in France and, from 1932, danced with Colonel W. de Basil's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo for several years, as well as other companies in Europe and New York City. He became a United States citizen in the late 1930s and danced with the American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet. After retiring from performance in 1958, he set up his own ballet school and the Eglevsky Ballet Company in New York.
Eglevsky was born in Moscow. After the Revolution, he and his mother emigrated to France when he was eight, his mother having decided that his talent as a dancer demanded that he be properly trained. Many classically trained dancers and teachers had emigrated to France and London in this period. Eglevsky studied ballet in Nice with Maria Nevelskaya (also known as Maria Nevelska formerly of the Bolshoi Ballet), Lubov Egorova, Mathilde Kschessinska, Alexandre Volinine, Olga Preobrajenska, and Leon Woizikowski in Paris, and Nicholas Legat in London.
At the age of fourteen, Eglevsky joined Colonel W. de Basil's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and after six months was dancing leading roles in such ballets as Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, and Les Présages. In 1935 he joined Igor Youskevitch as the company's Premier Danseur, and a year later joined René Blum's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.