Lydia Sokolova facts for kids
Lydia Sokolova (born 1896, died 1974) was a famous English ballerina. A ballerina is a female ballet dancer. She learned to dance at the Stedman Ballet Academy. She also trained with well-known dancers like Anna Pavlova and Enrico Cecchetti.
Lydia was a very important dancer in Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company. She danced with them from 1913 to 1929. After the company closed, she taught dance and created new dances. She also performed sometimes. Her last time on stage was in 1962 at the Royal Opera House in London.
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Early Life and Training
Lydia Sokolova was born in Wanstead, England. Her birth name was Hilda Tansley Munnings. Her father was Frederick Tansley Munnings. Her mother was Emma Catherine Gaulton.
She started her dance training at Stedman's Academy. She also learned from many famous dance teachers. These included Mikhail Mordkin, Anna Pavlova, Alexander Shiriaev, Ivan Clustine, and Enrico Cecchetti.
First Performances
Lydia first performed on a professional stage in 1910. She was part of the group of dancers called the corps de ballet. This was for the show Alice in Wonderland at the Savoy Theatre in London.
In 1911 and 1912, she toured the United States. She danced with Mikhail Mordkin's All-Star Imperial Russian Ballet. Later, in 1912 and 1913, she joined Theodore Koslov's company. With them, she performed in London, Germany, and Austria-Hungary. At first, she used the stage name Muningsova.
Dancing with Ballets Russes
Lydia Sokolova joined Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1913. Some people thought she was the first English ballerina in Diaghilev's company. However, another dancer named Hilda Bewicke was there before her.
Diaghilev gave her the new stage name, Sokolova. She became the main character dancer for the company. She stayed with them until 1929, when Diaghilev died and the company ended.
Famous Roles and Performances
Sokolova danced with the famous Vaslav Nijinsky in Le Spectre de la rose. But her most well-known role was the Chosen Maiden. This was in Léonide Massine's version of The Rite of Spring in 1920. People praised her for this role. It is known as one of the longest and most tiring solo dances ever.
Other important performances by Sokolova include:
- La Boutique fantasque (1919)
- The Three-Cornered Hat (1919)
- Les matelots (1925)
- Le Bal (1929)
In Les biches (1924) by Bronislava Nijinska, she first danced as one of the Grey Girls. Soon after, she was chosen to dance the main role of the Hostess.
Later Career and Life
After the Ballets Russes company closed, Sokolova went back to England. She started teaching dance and helping with new dance creations. She also performed on stage from time to time.
Her very last performance was in 1962. She danced at the Royal Opera House in London with the Royal Ballet. She played the Marquise Silvestra in Massine's updated version of The Good-humoured Ladies. In that show, Antoinette Sibley danced Sokolova's old role of Mariuccia.
Writing and Family
In 1945, a writer named Henry Gibbs dedicated his book to Sokolova. The book was called Affectionately Yours Fanny: Fanny Kemble and the Theatre. Lydia had helped him find important information for the book.
Lydia Sokolova also wrote a book about her time with the Ballets Russes. It was called Dancing for Diaghilev (1960). She wrote it with Richard Buckle.
Lydia had one daughter, Natasha Kremnev (1917–1968). Natasha's father was Lydia's first husband, Nikolai Kremnev. They married in 1917. Later, Lydia married Leon Woizikovsky, who was also a dancer with Ballets Russes for many years. When Lydia Sokolova died on February 5, 1974, in Sevenoaks, England, her third husband, Ronnie Mahon, was still alive.
See also
In Spanish: Lydia Sokolova para niños
