Irina
Life, Love and Dance
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
From a turbulent beginning in Russia to world fame and beyond, this is the vivid, moving story of Irina Baronova's extraordinary life.
Irina was born into a privileged family, whose world was changed forever by the Bolsheviks. They fled Russia to poverty in Bucharest, but Irina's mother was determined that her daughter learn ballet. Her first lessons were taken with the kitchen table as a barre.
Her family struggled to take Irina to Paris, where she made her debut, aged eleven, with the Paris Opera. Spotted by the legendary choreographer George Balanchine, she joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She quickly rose to fame as one the three 'Baby Ballerinas' and toured the world, working with a dazzling array of great names.
Later Irina starred in films, danced with American Ballet Theatre and appeared in plays. But when she met Cecil Tennant, theatrical agent to stars such as Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, Irina had to choose between the limelight and life as a wife and mother . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ballerina Baronova's life story is as enchanting as her dancing. Born in St. Petersburg in 1919 and narrowly evading the Russian Revolution, Baronova and her parents escaped to Bucharest, where she learned ballet using the kitchen table as a barre. Spotted by legendary choreographer George Balanchine at the Paris Op ra, she became, at age 13, one of his three famous "baby ballerinas" with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. There she worked with dance legends L onide Massine, Michel Fokine and Bronislava Nijinska, as well as artists Picasso, Dal and Matisse. As an actress in Hollywood (often portraying dancers), and then as a star with American Ballet Theatre, Baronova continued to work and play with luminaries Yul Brynner, Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. But beyond tales of the personalities she knew, Baronova's prose is a testament to the woman she is: passionate, vivacious and overwhelmingly optimistic, even in the face of divorce, family strife and war. To read her memoir, with its warm personal asides to the reader, is to feel as though one were sitting down with the legend for a glass of champagne so glamorous and delightful is her story. This is a must-read for lovers of ballet and theater. 84 b&w photos.
