Leonid Lavrovsky
| Leonid Lavrovsky | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Leonid Mikhailovich Ivanov 1905 Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Died | 1967 (aged 61–62) Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Occupation | ballet dancer, choreographer |
| Notable work | Romeo and Juliet |
| Spouse(s) | Elena Chikvaidze |
| Children | Mikhail Lavronsky |
Leonid Mikhailovich Lavrovsky (real name - Ivanov) (1905–1967) was a Russian ballet choreographer, most famous for choreographing the first full version of Sergei Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.
Lavrovsky was born in 1905 in St. Petersburg, the son of an industrial worker. He graduated in 1922 from the Petrograd Ballet Academy, where he had studied under V.I. Ponomaryov. He danced with the former Mariinsky Theater, performing such roles as Siegfried in Swan Lake, Jean de Brienne in Raymonda, and the lead in Chopiniana. During the same period, Lavrovsky was also a member of the Molodoy Ballet (Young Ballet), an experimental dance collective whose members included the young George Balanchine. Lavrovsky performed in Fyodor Lopukhov's Dance Symphony along with Balanchine, Alexandra Danilova, and Lidia Ivanova.
Lavrovsky's first major work as a choreographer was the ballet Katerina, which he created for a graduation performance. The ballet told the story of a serf theater, and was choreographed to music by Anton Rubinstein and Adolphe Adam. In the late 1930s, Lavrovsky was made the artistic director of the ballet troupe of the Kirov Theater.
In 1938, the Kirov Theater agreed to stage Sergei Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. Lavrovsky and Prokofiev struggled for a period over the score and libretto, Lavrovsky eventually persuading the composer to add variations for Romeo and Juliet as well as some other incidental numbers. The ballet premiered on January 11, 1940. It featured sets by Pyotr Vilyams and starred Galina Ulanova in the role of Juliet and Konstantin Sergeyev in the role of Romeo. Lavrovsky's production is widely recognized as one of the greatest examples of the drambalet genre in Soviet Theater. Lavrovsky's choreography for the ballet is highly dramatic and largely realistic, closely hewing to the motions taken by stage actors and mostly eschewing traditional ballet divertissements.
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