Irina Baronova
| Irina Baronova | |
|---|---|
Irina Baronova, c. 1937
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| Native name | Ирина Михайловна Баронова |
| Born |
Irina Mikhailovna Baronova March 13, 1919 Petrograd, Russian Empire |
| Died | June 28, 2008 (aged 89) Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation | Ballerina |
| Spouse(s) | German Sevastianov, Cecil Tennant |
| Children |
Victoria Tennant, Irina Tennant, Robert Tennant |
| Parent(s) | Mikhail Baronov Lidia Vishniakova |
Irina Mikhailovna Baronova FRAD (Russian: Ири́на Миха́йловна Баро́нова; March 13, 1919 – June 28, 2008) was a Russian ballerina and actress 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'enfants (1932), and Les Présages (1933); and in Bronislava Nijinska's Les Cent Baisers (1935).
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). In November 1920 the Baronova family escaped the Russian Revolution by dressing as peasants and crossing the border into Romania. After first arriving in Arges, Romania, the family eventually settled in Bucharest. Irina’s father found work at a factory and, for the next several years, the Baronova family lived in the slums surrounding the various factories where Mikhail was employed. Their start on life in Bucharest was a tumultuous one, having arrived in this foreign country without speaking the language and with no money. But with Mikhail’s hard work and determination their circumstances eventually started to look up.
Irina’s mother, who loved the ballet and often attended the theater in St. Petersburg, found a ballet teacher in Bucharest for Irina. In 1927, at the age of seven, Irina began taking her first ballet lessons. Mme. Majaiska, who was a former corps de ballet member of the Maryinsky Theatre Ballet, and a refugee like the Baronovas, conducted these ballet lessons. The lessons took place in Mme. Majaiska’s one room house, where Irina would hold onto the kitchen table as a barre, and was accompanied by her mother’s humming as music. When Irina was 10 years old, the family moved to Paris to provide her with professional training. She was taught by Olga Preobrajenska. She also studied with fellow ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska. Baronova made her debut aged 11 at the Paris Opera in 1930.
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