Irina: Ballet, Life and Love [Hardcover]

Irina Baronova Tennant (Author), Peg Mccoll (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2006

Choreographer George Balanchine discovered her. Yul Brynner romanced her.
Genius artists designed sets and costumes for her. She danced for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Adolf Hitler and Josef Goebbels—who introduced themselves backstage. This memoir by the elegant octogenarian Irina Baranova celebrates a remarkable life in the arts.

    Born to privilege in 1919, Irina fled with her family from the Bolsheviks to an impoverished life in Bucharest, Romania. Despite their circumstances, Irina’s mother managed ballet lessons for her daughter and the family moved to Paris, where Irina debuted with the Paris Opera at age 12. Spotted by the legendary choreographer George Balanchine, she was selected for the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo at age 13 and toured more than 100 cities around the world.

    Her husband, London theatrical agent Cecil Tennant, introduced her to a “who’s who” of the stage and screen, and her circle of friends and associates included Marlene Dietrich, Clark Gable, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Pablo Picasso, Salvadore Dali, and Marc Chagall as well as ballet legends such as Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Margot Fonteyn. Her funny and moving memoir is not merely the story of a starry life but also about her remarkable instinct for surviving wars, heartbreak, and loss and her fulfillment as a wife and mother of three.

    Featuring beautiful photos and memorabilia from the world of dance, stage, and screen as well as a foreword by leading British dance critic Clement Crisp, this book will appeal to readers with a passion for the arts and life.

 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. 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 Opéra, 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 Léonide Massine, Michel Fokine and Bronislava Nijinska, as well as artists Picasso, Dalí 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. (Sept.)
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Review

...a better-than-good sampling of people, places, and things that matter in the close-knit world of performing artists. -- Attitude: The Dancers Magazine

...a compulsively readable account...an invaluable record of international classical ballet in the 20th century. -- Dance Times

...a long-awaited treasure...delightful and historically valuable...capture[s] the passion of the dancers as they recreate the works of Graham. -- Dancer

...a penetrating personal history that starts and ends in the ballet world. -- Dance International

...a story that encompasses so much more than the ballet world with all its backstage intrigues and jealousies... -- The Westsider

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 544 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Florida; 1st edition (September 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813030269
• ISBN-13: 978-0813030265
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,318,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fairy Tale Life, October 10, 2006

By 

Walter Fekula (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Irina: Ballet, Life and Love (Hardcover)

Several years ago, I had occasion to visit the village on Long Island where I grew up. I visited its small museum and viewed an exhibition - " Russians in Sea Cliff" - chronicling a history of families of Russian descent who settled in the 1930s, built two Churches and accounted for about 10% of its population of 5,000. (My mother was born in Moscow and spoke mainly Russian with her neighbors.) I noticed that there was no mention of Sea Cliff's most notable Russian, Irina Baronova, and pointed this out to the curator who never had heard of her. This inspired me to try and contact my beautiful neighbor.I had a good idea that she was still living and after a few phone calls, I was able to get her address in Australia and wrote her. She is in her late 80's and is 17 years older than myself, so my memory of her was very hazy as I was between 5 and 10 years old when I met her and her gentle parents. At the time, Irina was a prima ballerina at the American Ballet Theatre and spent most of her time in New York City. In my letter, I asked her to join a charity as an Honorary Director. I quote part of her replies, which clearly show her vivid memory and keen intellect.

Received Feb. 10, 2004
"Dear Volodia,
What an unexpected, happy surprise receiving your letter! So many memories sprang back in my mind, Sea Cliff, a truly Russian village, your parents across the street, your brother, and you, funny, at times solemn little boy! And now, you are in charge of a great, humanitarian organization helping all these poor children. My hat is off to you all.
I am touched that you thought of me, and gladly say "yes" to your request. I embrace "little" Volodia of my memories, and send a big hug to you, "big" Volodia, with much affection.
Irina"
"Dear Volodya,
Thank you for your letter and may I say again what a wonderful organization you are heading and what a brilliant job it keeps doing around the world. I feel honoured to join it, if only in name.
In great haste, I found your photo in the newsletter and must agree with you that you have not changed much except for your spectacles which I do not remember you wearing when you were a child... but the same cozy rotundness. We were friends then, although you were a bit shy of me as I was much older and I know now we would be friends without shyness! - Big hug, dear Volodya.,Much love,Irina

These letters are to me a great delight and her memoir is filled with the same charm, goodness and intellect of her most exceptional life. Born in St. Petersburg in 1919, leaving as a little girl and settling in Paris after going from elegance to poverty as a result of the civil war, it is a fairy tale that she debuted at the age of 12 for the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo. Known as one of the "baby ballerinas", her life was totally devoted to ballet until she retired at the young age of 30 after marrying Cecil Tennant, the agent for Lawrence Olivier. She had two children of which the more well known is the actress Victoria Tennant. After reading this thoroughly enchanting book, one should see "Ballet Russes" a wonderful film with interviews of Madame Baronova and others about those incredible times which is thankfully out on DVD.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Irina: Ballet, LIfe and Love, May 24, 2007

By 

E. Bullen (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Irina: Ballet, Life and Love (Hardcover)

I'd be tempted to write this off as endless gossip if it weren't for the fascinating cast of characters involved. A good look at history, too: the golden years of the Ballets Russes in its many incarnations. A delightful memoir from an enchanting lady.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sparkling Irina, July 16, 2007

By 

Mrs. Ann B. Byatt - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Irina: Ballet, Life and Love (Hardcover)

Even for those with little knowledge of ballet this is a sparkling book. It tells a fascinating story of an extraordinary life.