Yulia Slonimskaya Sazonova
| Yulia Slonimskaya Sazonova | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Yulia Leonidovna Slonimskaya 19 September 1884 Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire |
| Died | 18 November 1957 (aged 73) Paris, France |
| Nationality | Russian / French |
| Other names | Iulie Slonimskaia, Julia Sazonova Slonimskaya, Julia Slonimskaia, Julie Sazonova, Julie Sazonouva, Yulia Leonidovna Sazonova-Slonim, Yulia Leonidovna Slonimskaya, Yuliya Leonidovna Sazonova |
| Years active | 1905-1950 |
| Known for | marionette theater, puppet theory, and dance critique |
Yulia Slonimskaya Sazonova (Russian: Юлия Леонидовна Слонимская Сазонова, 19 September 1884-18 November 1957) was a Russian-born writer, theater critic and historian, actress, and puppeteer. Fleeing Russia after the October Revolution, she moved to France and continued her craft. She wrote and performed marionette shows in Europe and was one of the most prolific women dance and theater critics of the first half of the twentieth century. When World War II broke out, she moved to Portugal and later the United States, before returning to Paris.
Yulia Leonidovna Slonimskaya, known as Ditia, was born on 19 September 1884 in Saint Petersburg, in the Russian Empire to Faina Afanasievna (née Vengerova) and Leonid Zinovevich Slonimsky. The couple had at least 8 children, though only four survived, after Faina lost a set of triplets in 1887. Ditia was the second child in the family, after Alexander (born 1881) and was followed by Nicolas (born 1894), Vladimir (1895-1915), and Michael (1897-1972). Slonimskaya’s father was an editor of the Messsenger of Europe and had trained to be a lawyer. Her mother had trained to be a medical doctor, though she did not complete her studies, and came from an artistic and literary family, including the pianist Isabella Vengerova, historian Semyon Vengerov, and Zinaida Vengerova, a noted translator and specialist on English and French literature. Her maternal grandmother, Pauline (née Epstien) Vengeroff, had written a book about Jewish family life, Rememberings, in 1913, noted for being an early work giving a woman’s perspective.
Though her maternal family had strong Jewish roots, Slonimskaya's mother, denied her heritage, often causing confusion for the siblings. Raised in Saint Petersburg, Slonimskaya attended the Bestuzhev Courses and, at her mother's insistence, pursued mathematical studies, though she also studied dance at the Imperial Ballet School and drama at the Imperial Theater School. After completing a course at the Theater School under Vladimir Davydov and Konstantin Stanislavski between 1905 and 1906, Slonimskaya was given the lead in a play written by Evgeny Chirikov, Jews in the theater company of Lidia Yavorskaya. During the performance, she met the actor, Peter Sazonov, who she would later marry in 1908. Graduating after completion of her mathematics studies, Slonimskaya chose to focus on ballet and acting and was soon touring the provinces with productions and writing about history of dance and theater.
...
Wikipedia