Lucia Nifontova

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Lucia Nifontova
Nifontova in costume with her arms in fourth position
Born
Russian: Любовь Андреевна Нифонтова, romanized: Lyubov Andreyevna Nifontova

(1913-08-30)August 30, 1913
Helsinki, Finland
DiedApril 6, 1987(1987-04-06) (aged 73)
Helsinki, Finland
OccupationBallet dancer
Years active1927–1947
Organization(s)Finnish National Ballet, Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo
AwardsPro Finlandia (1955)

Lucia Nifontova-Saurama (born Russian: Любовь Андреевна Нифонтова, romanized: Lyubov Andreyevna Nifontova; 30 August 1913 – 6 April 1987), better known as Lucia Nifontova, was a Finnish ballet dancer and Finland’s first prima ballerina assoluta. In the 1930s and 40s she and her partner Arvo Martikainen [fi; ru] were the leading dancers in Finland and among the foremost artists in Finnish ballet of all time periods.[1][2]: para. 1 [3]: ch. 45  Her performances of Odette and Odile in Swan Lake were especially noted for their artistic accomplishment and emotional interpretation.[4][2]: para. 7 

Biography[edit]

Early life and education[edit]

Nifontova was born in Helsinki, then part of the Russian Empire, to Andrei Ivanovich Nifontov (Russian: Андрей Иванович Нифонтов; 1876–1962), a Russian imperial civil servant, and Alexandra Nifontova (née Teresia Emilia Grönros[a]; 1879–1945) of Tuusula. She was called Lucia both at home and in public.[5]: para. 8 

She spent six years at a Russian-language elementary school in Helsinki, after which she entered the Hilma Liiman Dance School and then continued her studies at the Helsinki Dance Institute[b]. There she studied under ballerinas from the Mariinsky Theatre Elisabeth Apostoli and Mary Paischeff.[5] Her first public performance was at age 12 in Hollandsflickan ("The Little Dutch Girl") at Helsinki’s Swedish Theatre.[2]

Arvo Martikainen [fi; ru] and Nifontova

Finnish National Ballet[edit]

Dancer and choreographer George Gé [fi; ru] noticed Nifontova’s talent and brought her to the Finnish National Ballet, over which he was the ballet master.[2] There she studied under Gé and other Russian immigrants such as Lyubov Yegorova, Mathilde Kschessinska, Nikolai Legat and Olga Preobrajenska.[5] In 1928 she danced the lead role of Clara in the first performance of The Nutcracker outside Russia.[6] Dancing the role of the Nutcracker Prince was Martikainen, who was to be paired with Nifontova in numerous productions up through the year of his death in 1946.[7] Over the next seven years she danced lead roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Petrushka, Le Spectre de la rose, Swan Lake, Coppélia, Le Bal and Die Puppenfee.[8] She also appeared in a few Finnish films, usually in dancing scenes.[9]

Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo[edit]

During the global depression of the 1930s the Finnish National Ballet suffered great difficulties in paying its artists,[10] and in 1935 Nifontova and Martikainen, along with Gé, Kschessinska and Preobrajenska, left Finland and joined René Blum's Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo.[3]: chap. 14  Nifontova’s coach in the new company was the groundbreaking choreographer Michel Fokine.[5] They performed in Paris, London and South Africa, among other locales.[2]

Return to Finland[edit]

In 1938 retired soprano Aino Ackté took over direction of the Finnish National Ballet and Nifontova returned for two seasons, performing the lead roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Onnen linna [fi] and Le Pavillon d'Armide. After that Nifontova danced periodically as a guest artist at the Finnish National Ballet as well as abroad.[2][8]

In 1941 she directed a production of Les Sylphides using choreography she had learned from Fokine.[11][12][3]: ch. 19  She and Martikainen also taught advanced classes in Fokine’s difficult techniques.[3]: ch. 34  Her final performance was in 1947 as Odette in Swan Lake.[5][13]

Marriage, children and death[edit]

In 1938 she married Eero Saurama (1903–1964), a senior official in the National Coalition Party. They had one son, Antti Saurama (1941–2010).[14] She died aged 73 in 1987 at Meilahti Hospital[2] and is buried next to her parents and son in Helsinki Orthodox Cemetery [fi; ru].

Awards and legacy[edit]

In 1945 Nifontova was named the best classical dancer at an international choreography contest organized by Rolf de Maré in Stockholm.[2][3]: ch. 42  In 1955 she was awarded the Pro Finlandia medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland, the country’s highest honor for artists. Her name lives on (as of 2020) in the Lucia Nifontova scholarship distributed by Pro Dance [fi] to dance students and teachers.[15]

Repertoire[edit]

Ballets, operas and operettas at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, excluding performances on tour:[8]

Filmography[edit]

  • Mustat silmät [fi] ("Dark Eyes", 1929 feature) – the film has been lost and what role Nifontova plays is unknown
  • Jääkärin morsian [fi] (“Bride of the Jäger”, 1931 feature), ballerina at the Warsaw Opera
  • Minä ja ministeri [fi] ("Me and the Minister", 1934 feature), Mademoiselle Ninette
  • Kenttäpostia ("Field mail", 1942 short) – Musical performances intercut with life at the front
  • Suomalaista balettia ("Finnish ballet", 1950 short) – depicts a ballet rehearsal and performance

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Lucia’s mother took a new given name upon marriage as well as taking a new surname, as she converted to her husband’s religion.
  2. ^ This school, directed by Rafael Penger, closed in 1924. It is not the school with the same name that now operates in Helsinki.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kaiku, Jan-Peter (2010-12-09). "Martikainen, Arvo". Uppslagsverket Finland [Encyclopaedia Finland] (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2021-09-12. Dessa två dansares partnerskap räknas till det förnämsta inom finländsk balettkonst. [The partnership of these two dancers is considered the most distinguished in the art of Finnish ballet.]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Vienola-Lindfors, Irma (1987-04-08). "Kuolleita: Tanssitaiteilija Lucia Nifontova" [Deaths: Dance artist Lucia Nifontova]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki. p. 16.
  3. ^ a b c d e Hemming, Eva (2016-01-15) [First published 1991]. Hymy nuoruudelle [A Smile to Youth: Memoirs]. Translated by Wager, Evita. AuthorHouse UK. ISBN 978-951-1-11898-5.
  4. ^ Suhonen, Tiina (2012). "Kolme vientiprojektia menneisyydestä: Maggie Gripenberg, Suomen Kansallisoopperan baletti, Tanssiteatteri Raatikko" [Three past exports: Maggie Gripenberg, the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, and the Raatikko Dance Theatre]. In Laakkonen, Johanna; Suhonen, Tiina (eds.). Weimarista valtoihin: Kansainvälisyys suomalaisessa tanssitaiteessa [From Weimar to the States: Internationalism in the art of Finnish dance] (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Teatterimuseo [fi]. p. 68. ISBN 978-952-67846-0-1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-07-26. Retrieved 2021-10-07. Nifontovaa ylistettiin koko Pohjolan prima ballerinana. Hänen liikkeensä ovat puhtaat ja sielukkaat, ja Odetten ja prinssin adagio oli niin kaunis, että kurkkua kuristi, kirjoitti Robin Hood, teräväsanainen ja balettia tunteva kriitikko. [Nifontova was praised as the prima ballerina of the whole of the North. Her movements were pure and soulful, and Odette's and the prince's Adagio was so beautiful my throat choked, wrote Robin Hood, a sharp-witted critic knowledgeable in ballet.]
  5. ^ a b c d e Karpinskaya, Tatiana (2013-09-18). "Sp 9 2013 by Spektr Magazine - Issuu" 100 лет со дня рождения знаменитой финской балерины Люси Нифонтовой [100th anniversary of the birth of the famous Finnish ballerina Lucia Nifontova]. Spektr [ru; fi] (in Russian). Helsinki. Retrieved 2021-08-09 – via Issuu.
  6. ^ Räsänen, Anu (1994-10-26). "Suomi esitti Pähkinänsärkijän ensimmäisenä lännessä" [Finland was the first to perform The Nutcracker in the West]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  7. ^ "The Nutcracker Dec 1, 1928". Encore: The Finnish National Opera and Ballet performance database. n.d. Archived from the original on 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  8. ^ a b c "Lucia Nifontova". Encore: The Finnish National Opera and Ballet performance database. n.d. Archived from the original on 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  9. ^ "Lucia Nifontova". Elonet (in Finnish). n.d. Archived from the original on 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  10. ^ Vienola, I (1992-01-12). "Maailman tuulia suomalaisissa tanssiaskelissa" [The winds of the world in Finnish dance steps]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki. Retrieved 2021-07-29. Toinen piirre oli jatkuva rahapula, joka uhkasi baletin olemassaoloa. Se karkotti ulkomaille ajan huomattavimmat taiteilijat ... [Another trend was the constant shortage of money that threatened the existence of the ballet. It drove away the most prominent artists of the time ...]
  11. ^ "Sylfidit Aug 31, 1940". Encore: The Finnish National Opera and Ballet performance database. n.d. Archived from the original on 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2021-10-06. 18.10.1941 alkaen toteutus Lucia Nifontova. [Starting 1941-10-18 the staging was by Lucia Nifontova.]
  12. ^ "Sylfidit Oct 18, 1941". Encore: The Finnish National Opera and Ballet performance database. n.d. Archived from the original on 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2021-09-26. Fokinin mukaan uudestaan harjoittanut Lucia Nifontowa-Saurama.
  13. ^ "Swan Lake Feb 12, 1947". Encore: The Finnish National Opera and Ballet performance database. n.d. Archived from the original on 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  14. ^ Saurama, Juha (2010-08-16). "Antti Saurama - Muistot" [Antti Saurama - Memories]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki. Retrieved 2021-07-17. Saurama oli priimaballerina Lucia Nifontovan ja Helsingin kokoomuksen toiminnanjohtajan Eero Sauraman ainoa lapsi. [Saurama was the only child of prima ballerina Lucia Nifontova and Eero Saurama, executive director of the Helsinki district of the National Coalition Party.]
  15. ^ "Pro Dance -stipendiaatit vuonna 2020" [Pro Dance scholarship recipients for 2020]. Pro Dance [fi] (in Finnish). 2020-03-15. Archived from the original on 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-07-22.

External links[edit]

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