Serge Lifar
| Serge Lifar | |
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Serge Lifar in 1961
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| Native name | Сергeй Михайлович Лифарь |
| Born |
Sergei Mihailovich Lifar 15 April 1905 Kiev, Ukraine |
| Died | 15 December 1986 (aged 81) Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Ukrainian, naturalized French |
| Occupation | ballet dancer, choreographer |
| Known for | Paris Opéra Ballet |
| Relatives | Brothers and sister : Basile, Leonid, Evgenia, Lifar. Niece : Hélène Lifar |
Serge Lifar (Ukrainian: Сергій Михайлович Лифар, Serhіy Mуkhailovуch Lуfar; Russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович Лифа́рь, Sergey Mikhaylovich Lifar) (15 April [O.S. 2 April] 1905, Kiev, Ukraine) – 15 December 1986, Lausanne, Switzerland) was a French ballet dancer and choreographer of Ukrainian origin, famous as one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the 20th century. Not only a dancer, Lifar was also a choreographer, director, writer, theoretician about dance, and collector.
As ballet master of the Paris Opera from 1930 to 1944, and from 1947 to 1958, he devoted himself to the restoration of the technical level of the Paris Opera Ballet, returning it to its place as one of the best companies in the world.
Lifar was born in Kiev, Ukraine. His year of birth is officially shown as 1904 (as on a 2004 Ukrainian stamp commemorating his centenary). He was the pupil of Bronislava Nijinska in Kiev.
In 1921 he left the Soviet Union and was noticed by Serge Diaghilev, who sent him to Turin in order to improve his technique with Enrico Cecchetti.
He made his debut at the Ballets Russes in 1923, where he became the principal dancer in 1925. Lifar was considered the successor to Nijinsky in the Ballets Russes. He was cast at the age of 21 opposite Tamara Karsavina in Nijinska's Roméo et Juliette (1926) ; Karsavina was twice his age. He originated leading roles in three Balanchine ballets for the Ballet Russes, including La Chatte (1927), with a score by French composer Henri Sauguet and based on an Aesop fable, which featured Lifar's famous entrance in a 'chariot' formed by his male companions; Apollon Musagète (1928) with a score by Stravinsky depicting the birth of the Greek God Apollo and his encounter with the three muses, Calliope, Polyhymnia, and Terpsichore; and Le Fils prodigue (The Prodigal Son) (1929), with a score by Prokofiev, the last great ballet of the Diaghilev era.
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