Xenia Borovansky
Xenia Nikolaeva Smirnova Krüger Borovansky (August 10, 1903 — November 25, 1985) was a Russian-born dancer and choreographer, based in Australia after 1939. She was principal teacher at the Melbourne Academy of Russian Ballet, and active in running the Borovansky Ballet.
Early life[edit]
Xenia Nikolaeva Smirnova was born in Moscow. Her mother Aleksandra Adrianovna Smirnova (née Nikolaeva) was a dancer; her father Nikolay Vasilyevich Smirnov was a military officer. She had a brother Vladimir. She trained in ballet at the Bolshoi Ballet.[1] In the early 1920s, Xenia emigrated with her family from Rostov, Russia to Berlin, Germany.[2] It was in Berlin that Xenia met Edouard Borovansky.
Career[edit]
Xenia Borovansky danced with her aunt,[3] Anna Pavlova,[4] and taught with her mother in Europe before she moved to Australia with her husband during the Covent Garden Russian Ballet tour in 1938–1939.[5] They stayed in Melbourne, and started a ballet school and dance company there.[6] Xenia Borovansky was the head teacher at the school.[1] She also choreographed original pieces, and designed costumes for her school's productions.[7] "I haven't any children, but a very large family of little boys and girls," she said of her students in 1955.[8] Her students included Ludmilla Chiriaeff (in Berlin),[9] Marilyn Jones,[10] and Charles Lisner.[6][11]
Later in life, she helped form the Borovansky Memorial Australian Academy of Dancing, an examination board for Australian ballet dancers,[12] and worked with Agnes Babicheva on creating the Association of Teachers of the Russian Method of Ballet.[13] Borovansky's syllabus continue in use at the Australian Institute of Classical Dance.[10]
Personal life[edit]
Xenia Smirnova married twice. Her first marriage to a man named Krüger ended in divorce. She married Czech-born dancer Edouard Borovansky in 1933, in London. She became a British citizen in Australia in 1945. She was a widow after Edouard died in 1959. Xenia Borovansky died in 1985, in Melbourne, aged 82 years.[14] Her papers are in the Xenia Borovansky collection, Geoffrey Ingram Archive of Australian Ballet, at the National Library of Australia.[15]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Robin Grove, "Krüger, Xenia Nicolaeva (1903–1985)" Australian Dictionary of Biography National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- ^ "[Русские в Австралии] Всё о Ксении Николаевне Борованской". June 27, 2018.
- ^ "Pavlova, Peerless Dancer, Visited Australia Twice" The Argus (January 22, 1944): 2. via Trove
- ^ Michael Meylac, Behind the Scenes at the Ballets Russes: Stories from a Silver Age (I. B. Tauris 2017). ISBN 9781786722058
- ^ "Dancers Seek Home with a Garden" The Argus (April 15, 1939): 10. via Trove
- ^ a b Alan Brissenden, Keith Glennon, Australia Dances: Creating Australian Dance, 1945–1965 (Wakefield Press 2010): 8, 119. ISBN 9781862548022
- ^ "Enthusiasm at Australian Ballet" The Argus (December 10, 1940): 6. via Trove
- ^ Kathleen Coyne, "Memory of Pavlova" The Argus (June 25, 1955): 9. via Trove
- ^ Creative Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-century Creative and Performing Artists, Volume 1 (University of Toronto Press 1991): 1790. ISBN 9781442637832
- ^ a b "History" Australian Institute of Classical Dance.
- ^ Charles Lisner, My journey through dance (University of Queensland Press 1979): 16.
- ^ "Our History" Gay Wightman School of Ballet website.
- ^ Wilfrid Prest, Kerrie Round, Carol S. Fort, eds., The Wakefield Companion to South Australian History (Wakefield Press 2001): 140. ISBN 9781862545588
- ^ "Mme Borovansky Dies" Canberra Times (November 29, 1985): 3. via Trove
- ^ Lisa Waller, "Borovansky Takes a Bow" Canberra Times (May 3, 1990): 12. via Trove
External links[edit]
- Michelle Potter, "Xenia Borovansky & Tamara Tchinarova Finch" Michelle Potter... on Dancing (September 29, 2017); a blog post around a 1980 letter to Borovansky, with photographs.
- Xenia Borovansky at Find a Grave
- Frank Salter, Borovansky: The Man Who Made Australian Ballet (Wildcat Press 1980). ISBN 9780908463046
- Edward H. Pask, The Ballet in Australia: The Second Act (Oxford University Press 1982). ISBN 9780195542943
- A painted portrait of Xenia Borovansky, in the collection of the National Library of Australia.
