Christian Johansson facts for kids
Pehr Christian Johansson (born June 1, 1817 – died December 12, 1903) was a famous teacher, dance creator, and balletmaster for the Russian Imperial Ballet. He worked with the Royal Swedish Ballet from 1829 to 1841. Then, he joined the Imperial Russian Ballet from 1841 to 1866.
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Johansson moved to Russia as a dancer. He became one of the most important dance teachers in Russian history. People in Russia remember him as a great example of artistic male dancing. He started teaching in 1860. By 1869, he was the main ballet instructor at the Imperial Ballet School. He stayed there until he passed away in 1903. Johansson learned from Bournonville and danced with the famous ballerina Marie Taglioni.
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Christian Johansson's Life and Dance Career
Early Career in Sweden
Johansson first performed on stage at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm. He became a student of the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1829. From 1837 to 1840, he was a top dancer. In the 1830s, he was known as one of the male ballet stars. Other famous male dancers at that time included Anders Selinder and Vilhelm Pettersson.
Johansson was a naturally gifted dancer. Crown Prince Oscar helped pay for his studies. He learned from the great Danish dance creator August Bournonville. Johansson studied with Bournonville in Copenhagen for two years. This training taught him the French classical style, called la belle danse. Critics noticed Johansson because he was beautiful, flexible, and graceful. Also, the famous Romantic ballerina, Marie Taglioni, insisted that Johansson be her partner when she performed in Stockholm.
Johansson also danced with other great ballerinas. This was especially true during his time in St. Petersburg. Some of these dancers were Fanny Elssler, Carlotta Grisi, and Fanny Cerrito.
Career in Russia
Moving to Russia in 1841 greatly helped Johansson's dance career. At that time in Europe, male dancers were less important than ballerinas. Only in St. Petersburg could a male dancer become very successful. There, male dancers could perform their own solos. They did not just have to be a ballerina's partner. This is likely why great dancers like Marius Petipa and Jules Perrot came to the Russian Imperial Ballet. Johansson was one of them.
His stage career lasted for four decades. He performed in hundreds of ballets. When his dancing career ended in 1883, he kept teaching classes. He taught at the Imperial Ballet School on Theatre Street in St. Petersburg. He had already been teaching there for ten years. By the late 1800s, almost every ballerina at the Maryinsky Theatre had been taught by Johansson. He taught them either at the Imperial Ballet School or at the Theatre's Classe de Perfection.
Johansson was tall and thin, with perfect posture. As he got older, he would come to ballet class with a small violin and a thick stick. He used the stick to keep the musical beat. He would mumble the counts of the music. Sometimes, he would put the stick aside. Then, his violin would play simple melodies from ballets he knew from his youth. This was a new way to teach in the school's usually serious atmosphere. He was a calm and polite man. He set a good example and his students admired him.
Some of his many students included his daughter Anna Johansson, Pavel Gerdt, Tamara Karsavina, Nikolai Legat, Anna Pavlova, and Agrippina Vaganova.
Johansson's Lasting Impact
Johansson's students were not the only ones he influenced. The Imperial Ballet Master, Marius Petipa, often watched his classes. Petipa would observe and remember what he saw. After these visits, Johansson would jokingly say, "Once again the old man is stealing something from me..." In truth, Petipa often sent male dancers to Johansson. He wanted Johansson to create their dance solos. Dancers would sometimes see their teacher's classroom moves in Petipa's ballets. It is known that Johansson himself created most of the male dances in the Petipa and Tchaikovsky ballet The Sleeping Beauty (1890).
Christian Johansson's daughter, Anna Christianovna Johansson (1860-1917), was also a famous ballerina. She was a soloist for the St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet. She created roles in almost every important new ballet in the late 1800s. For example, she created the roles of the fairy Canari que chant and the Diamond Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty (1890). She also created Aurora, goddess of the dawn in Petipa's The Awakening of Flora (1894). She was also the main ballerina of the Waltz of the Flowers in the first show of The Nutcracker (1892).
