Tamara Tchinarova facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tamara Tchinarova Finch
Tchinarova in the ballet Les Presages, Sydney, between 6 Dec. 1936 & Jan. 1939
Born	Tamara Yevsevievna Rekemchuk Тамара Евсевиевна Рекемчук (1919-07-18)18 July 1919 Cetatea Albă, Kingdom of Romania
Died	31 August 2017(2017-08-31) (aged 98) Marbella, Málaga, Spain
Occupation	Ballet dancer, writer on dance, interpreter
Years active	1930-1946 as ballerina, 1958-2007 as author
Spouse(s)	Peter Finch ​ ​ (m. 1943; div. 1959)​
Former groups	Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Kirsova Ballet, Polish-Australian Ballet, Borovansky Ballet

Tamara Tchinarova (Russian: Тамара Чинарова), also known as Tamara Finch, was a famous ballerina. She was born in Romania in 1919 and later became a writer and interpreter. Tamara greatly helped develop dance companies in Australia. She also worked as a Russian-English interpreter for ballet groups touring the world. She wrote several non-fiction books under the name Tamara Finch. She was the first wife of the actor Peter Finch. Tamara passed away in 2017.

Early Life and Family Background

Tamara Yevsevievna Rekemchuk was born in 1919 in Cetatea Albă, which was then part of Romania. Her father was a Ukrainian journalist with Georgian roots. Her mother was a nurse of Armenian descent.

Grandfather's Story

Tamara's Armenian grandfather, Kristapor Chinaryan, survived terrible events in the Ottoman Empire. In 1895, he moved to Bessarabia and changed his last name to Chinarov. He became very successful, owning vineyards, houses, and a hotel. He was known for being practical and generous. During difficult times, he even sheltered Jewish families in his home.

Moving to Paris

Tamara's mother, Anna, worked for the Red Cross during World War I. She met Tamara's father, Yevsevy Rekemchuk, and they married in 1918. In the 1920s, the family moved to Paris. Tamara's father wanted to work as a journalist there.

One day, her father took young Tamara to see a performance by the Ballets Russes. This show inspired Tamara to become a ballerina. She soon began her dance training with famous dancers from the Imperial Russian Ballet.

Family Separates

In 1926, Tamara's father decided to return to the Soviet Union. He believed in building a new society. However, Tamara's mother strongly disagreed with the Soviet government. She chose to stay in Paris with Tamara. Tamara and her mother never saw her father again. Tamara then took her mother's maiden name, Chinarova, which was written as "Tchinarova" in French.

Sadly, Tamara's father later faced difficulties in the Soviet Union. He was arrested and died in 1937. Years later, in 1940, Tamara's grandfather Kristapor and his wife were tragically killed by Soviet troops. Other family members were sent away to Siberia, where some also died.

Ballet Career Highlights

Tamara Tchinarova began her ballet training at age 10 in Paris. Her teacher was the famous ballet master Olga Preobrazhenskaya. In 1931, when she was just twelve, Tamara went on tour to Algeria and Morocco. She was introduced as "the littlest ballerina of the world."

In 1932, she performed in Romania, even in her hometown. Roma musicians joined the tour, and Tamara learned complex gypsy dances. She later used these moves in ballets like Petrushka.

Tamara Tchinarova (left) and Nina Youshkevitch (center) at Bungan Beach, NSW, 1936 or 1937

Joining Famous Companies

In Paris, the choreographer George Balanchine noticed Tamara. He chose her and her classmates for dance shows in operettas.

After the death of the famous ballet organizer Sergei Diaghilev, several new ballet companies formed in Europe. Tamara, still a teenager, joined some of these groups. In 1932, she joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She quickly became well-known. Tamara and her classmates Irina Baronova, Tatiana Riabouchinska, and Tamara Toumanova were called Balanchine's "Baby Ballerinas." They were known as the "Russians who have never danced in Russia."

Success in Australia

In 1936, Tamara toured Australia with the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet. She was thrilled when a critic, Arnold Haskell, called her performance in Les Présages "brilliant" and "outstanding." Two years later, in 1938, she returned to Australia with another group, the Covent Garden Russian Ballet. She was admired for her role as Tamar the Georgian Queen in Thamar. She was also praised for her dancing in other ballets like Le Beau Danube.

In 1939, after the tour ended, Tamara and her mother decided to stay in Australia. Tamara taught at a dance school, and her mother made ballet costumes.

Helping Australian Ballet Grow

In 1941, Tamara joined the Kirsova Ballet, founded by Helene Kirsova. For this company, Tamara created several new roles. One important role was Satana in Kirsova's ballet Faust.

During the 1940s, Tamara's help to new Australian dance companies was very important. These included the Polish-Australian Ballet and the Borovansky Ballet. With the Borovansky Ballet, she was a main dancer. She also helped restage famous ballets like Carnaval and Scheherazade from the Ballets Russes.

After the Borovansky Ballet season ended in 1946, Tamara danced in two musical shows. In 1948, she moved to London with her husband. Her mother also moved to London and lived there until 1979.

Later Life and Career

After retiring from dancing, Tamara Finch first worked as a Russian interpreter. She helped trade groups traveling between the Soviet Union and other countries. Later, she returned to the world of ballet. She helped many English-speaking dance companies, like The Australian Ballet, during their tours in Russia. She also helped Russian companies touring in the West.

Tamara also became a writer. She wrote for several dance magazines, including Dancing Times. In 1958, she co-wrote a book of Russian fairy tales for children called The Little King. In the 1980s and 90s, she published biographies about dancers. She also wrote her own life story in 2007.

Personal Life

During World War II, Tamara was engaged to an Australian photojournalist named Fred Breen. Sadly, he died during a bombing raid in Germany in 1942.

A few months later, she met Peter Finch, an aspiring actor from England. They married in 1943, and Tamara continued her dancing career. In 1948, Tamara and Peter decided to move to London. This move was meant to help Peter's acting career, and it marked the end of Tamara's dancing.

They had a daughter named Anita in 1949. The couple separated in 1956 due to difficulties in their marriage. They divorced in 1959. Tamara Finch continued to live in London until 2004. At age 87, she moved to Spain to be closer to her family. In 2006, she met her half-brother, Alexandr Rekemchuk [ru], for the first time. He visited her from Moscow, and she was very impressed by him. Tamara Tchinarova Finch passed away in Marbella in 2017.

See also

• Ballets Russes
• Rachel Cameron
• List of Russian ballet dancers