Acting
Natalia Makarova
Born 1940-11-21 · Leningrad, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]
Natalia Romanovna Makarova (Russian: Ната́лия Рома́новна Мака́рова, born 21 November 1940) is a Russian prima ballerina and choreographer. The History of Dance, published in 1981, notes that "her performances set standards of artistry and aristocracy of dance which mark her as the finest ballerina of her generation in the West." Makarova was born in Leningrad in the Russian SFSR of the Soviet Union. At the age of 12, she auditioned for the Leningrad Choreographic School (formerly the Imperial Ballet School), and was accepted although most students join the school at the age of 9. Makarova was a permanent member of the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad from 1956 to 1970, achieving prima ballerina status during the 1960s. She defected to the West on 4 September 1970, while on tour with the Kirov in London. Soon after defecting, Makarova began performing with the American Ballet Theatre in New York City and the Royal Ballet in London. When she first arrived in the West, Makarova was eager to expand her choreography by dancing ballets by modern choreographers. At the same time, she remained most identified with classical roles such as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and Giselle. In December 1975, she and her dance partner Mikhail Baryshnikov featured prominently in an episode of the BBC television series Arena. She was featured in the 1976 live American Ballet Theatre production of Swan Lake, simulcast from Lincoln Center on both PBS and NPR. When ABT artistic director Lucia Chase stepped down, both Makarova and Baryshnikov applied. After the company went with Baryshnikov, she left for the Royal Ballet of London. Makarova continued to excel in many different roles, most notably, her title role in Giselle. In 1989, she returned to her home theatre of the Kirov Ballet and was reunited with her family and with former colleagues and teachers. Her emotional homecoming was documented in the film Makarova Returns, which she wrote as well as presented. After her performance at the Kirov, she retired from dancing, donating her shoes and costumes to the Kirov Museum. Today Makarova stages ballets such as Swan Lake, La Bayadère and Sleeping Beauty for companies across the world. She retired from dancing due to accumulating injuries, especially to her knees. Makarova won a Tony Award, as well as numerous other stage awards for her performances in Broadway revival of On Your Toes. She played Lydia Lopokova (Lady Keynes) in Wooing in Absence, compiled by Patrick Garland. It was first performed at Charleston Farmhouse and then at the Tate Britain. Makarova has been married three times. Once to another ballet dancer and once to director Leonid Kvinikhidze. In 1976, Makarova married industrialist Edward Karkar, and together they had a son, Andrei. Karkar died 22 December 2013, at the age of 81. Janet Sassoon said about Makarova: "When I began teaching in San Francisco, through Madam Bali, I got to work with all these great Russian first dancers when they were there. So I got Natalia (Natasha) Makarova, a Prima Ballerina Assoluta. There was only one Prima Ballerina Assoluta up until the time she danced. And here I had her in my hands for five months after the birth of her child!" Source: Article "Natalia Makarova" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Acting credits
5.0The radiant Alla Sizova stars as Princess Aurora in this artful film version of Tchaikovsky's timeless classic from the world-renowned Kirov Ballet, a production based on the highly acclaimed, original choreography by Marius Petipa. The legendary troupe's majesty and skill are on full display as they perform one of the world's most beloved ballets with supporting performances from Natalia Dudinskaya, Yuri Solovyov and Valeri Panov.
Sleeping Beauty
1964
8.0Roman Viktyuk is either hated or adored. But the eccentricity, the dissimilarity to everything of his work is recognized by everyone. The film by Alexei Uchitel - illustration for the life of the scandalous maestro. Unique shots from rehearsals, a trip to Lviv and New York, young actors, now stars - once opened by Viktyuk, scenes from the director's most striking and challenging performances. And Roman Viktyuk himself, ironic, funny, sincere .
Butterfly
1993
10.0The career of a classical ballet dancer is short and often riddled with injuries, and it takes a special kind of artist to submit to the discipline and strenuous regimen needed to dance with a world-class company. Follows the young and gifted Katja Björner through years of intensive training at the Royal Swedish Ballet School as she develops into an international ballet star.
The Dancer
1994
8.01969. Man lands on the moon. Half a million strong at Woodstock....and Led Zeppelin perform in the gym of the Wheaton Youth Center in front of 50 confused teenagers. Or did they? Filmmaker Jeff Krulik chronicles an enduring Maryland legend, of the very night this concert was alleged to have taken place, January 20, 1969, during the first Presidential Inauguration of Richard Nixon. Led Zeppelin Played Here presents a mid-Atlantic version of what was happening nationwide as the rock concert industry took shape. Featuring interviews with rock writers, musicians, and fans, and several who claim they were witnessing history that night.
Led Zeppelin Played Here
2014
6.5A combination of performances by masters of their arts, this film takes place during the Leningradskoye Leto – the Leningrad "White Nights" annual summer musical festival, featuring music stars, young opera singers, ballet, pop, circus, and amateur artists. Reporters Kostya and Bob are rushing everywhere trying to document the entire festival. Beautiful young singer Svetlana is pursued throughout the festive events by a hopelessly shy police lieutenant, whose unexpected infatuation leaves him unable to speak, but gives him a beautiful baritone voice.
When the Song Does Not End...
1965
NRNo synopsis available yet.
American Ballet Theatre: Gala at the Met
—
NRIn January 1989 the first Message to Man International Film Festival took place in Leningrad. This film, made during the festival, is a record of its events, guests and participants, such as the American director Leo Hurwitz, the Latvian director Ivars Seleckis, and the ballerina Natalya Makarova, among others. It also shows the “engine room” of the festival: the work of the main office and the PROKKa professional cinematographers’ club, guests being greeted and seen off. A charity evening with Natalya Makarova, a memorial service to commemorate the victims of the war and excerpts of documentary films presented at the festival are also featured.
Message to Man
1989
8.0The personal and professional lives of aspiring dancers at New York's American Ballet Theatre School are chronicled in this documentary.
A Dancer's Life
1972
NRThe Royal Ballet's 1980 production of Tchaikovsky's classic ballet.
Swan Lake
1982
NRThe ballet tells the story of a peasant girl named Giselle whose ghost, after her premature death, protects her lover from the vengeance of a group of evil female spirits called Wilis
Giselle
1977
NROnstage at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, the American Ballet Theatre presents a variety of numbers from several recognized ballets, both traditional and modern, including Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet," Gottschalk's "Great Galloping Gottschalk," Tchaikovsky's "The Black Swan," Handel's "Airs" and Chausson's "Jardin aux Lilas." The San Francisco Opera Orchestra provides accompaniment for the dazzling performances.
American Ballet Theatre in San Francisco
1985
