18 replies to this topic

[missvjc420]

There's not much for me to say other than she will be missed. I enjoyed her biography and her role in the Ballet Russes documentary. She is the subject of some of my favorite photos in Haskell's Ballet Panorama.                                    Baronova obituary

[cubanmiamiboy]

missvjc420, on Jun 30 2008, 08:41 AM, said:

There's not much for me to say other than she will be missed. I enjoyed her biography and her role in the Ballet Russes documentary. She is the subject of some of my favorite photos in Haskell's Ballet Panorama.                                    Baronova obituary

Every time i hear one of this icons is gone, i can't help but remember the following quote-(don't remember the author)

"somewhere, beyond the blue, i'm willing to bet she's enchanting the angels"

RIP, Mme. Baronova.

[sandik]

sad news, so travels fast.

[Gina Ness]

What a beautiful dancer and what a beauty!  I absolutely loved her in the Ballet Russe documentary.  A truly great dancer...May she rest in peace...

[Helene]

I hope she's dancing with the angels.

[atm711]

When I turn on my computer the photo that greets me is one of Riabouchinska, Toumanova and Baronova in their Sylphides tutus taken in a bare studio and now they are all gone.  I managed to see Riabouchinska and Toumanova on the Stage when they were guests with Ballet Theatre in the mid 40's; but by that time Baronova had already retired and I did not see her with a ballet company.  However, I was determined to see her on the stage and saw her in a musical comedy on Broadway called 'Follow The Girls' (Jackie Gleason had his first starring role) and the best part of it was that she wore the traditional classical tutu when she performed.  During this time word circulated around the dance studios in NYC that she was taking class at Vilzak-Shollar and off we went!  It was said that she looked marvelous and had "slimmed down to 126 lbs"; imagine saying that about a dancer today---they probably average 20 lbs. less.  When I saw her in the Ballet Russe documentary I came away feeling---'that is someone I wish I had as a friend'.  Rest in peace, Irina.

[Natalia]

Very sad news. May she rest in peace!

I met this delightful lady in St. Petersburg, Russia, while she attended a seminar on the Ballet Russe at the Hermitage Theater, related to the reconstruction of Nijinska's Les Noces by the Maly troupe. I'll never forget her physical beauty -- still striking in her 80s -- lively personality and wit...especially when gently criticizing the Russians' not-too-great attempt to recreate Fokine's 'Petrouchka.' Her mind was sharp as a tack, saying, "No - that's the wrong color dress on the little girl!" or..."That step should be done on the opposite leg!" It's an experience that will stay with me forever.

[Pamela Moberg]

I had the fortune to attend master classes she held at the RAD in London. I thought at the time it was a pity she had given up performing, she was extremely beautiful.
R.I.P.

[drb]

Here are a couple hundred photos of Ms. Baronova from the Australian National Library collection.  You can see her sewing, cooking etc but there are also nearly 200 ballet photos, including many of her in such works as Balanchine's La Concurrence and Cotillon, Lichine's Prodigal Son, Massine's Symphonie Fantastique, ... .
http://www.pictureau...Baronova Irina

You first click the little picture to get to a little picture with descriptive material. Click it again to make it large.

[atm711]

A real treasure trove.  I particularly liked the  photos of 'Aurora's Wedding' where she is wearing the well-known blue and white tutu of the 1930's.  There are any number of photos of ballerinas of that era in the same tutu.

[Paul Parish]

For me, perhaps the BIGGEST news in that wonderful documentary was how much I loved the way Baronova danced. I'd only seen photos, and to my mind, the photos of Toumanova were far more intoxicating. But the way Baronova moved absolutely enchanted me. Of ALL those people, the way she danced looked to me the most musical, the wittiest, the most natural, the most beautifully phrased -- no matter what the role, she was always right.

[Mel Johnson]

One of Baronova's most important contributions to ballet history, IMO, is her re-introduction of the "ballerina buffa" to a large audience.  Many people were locked into the idea of ballet as a rather melancholy, elegiac art form, but Baronova could also be funny, and showed that ballet as a form of expression possessed as much variety as any other theater.

[leonid]

A Memorial Service to celebrate the life of Irina Baronova will be held this Friday the 13th March at 12.00 Noon at St.Paul's Church, Covent Garden London on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of her birth.

[bart]

Thanks, leonid.  I hope those who attend will post here to tell us how it was.

St. Paul's -- the "Actors' Church" -- is a wonderfully approprtiate location for this event.  North Americans may not be familiar with this church and its amazing mission, one tht goes back to the 17th century.  Here is their website.  If you scroll down to March 13, you will find the Baronova memorial service.

http://www.actorschu...tent/callen.htm

[Gina Ness]

Irina Baronova was a Pisces!  I will be thinking of her on her 90th birthday.  I have a special friend who is also featured in the Ballet Russe documentary.  He always speaks of Baronova so highly...almost reverently.  It seems clear to me that he regarded her as one of the finest dancers to grace the stage at the Ballet Russe.