Yuri Slonimsky (1902–1978)

Abstract

Yuri Slonimsky, who died in Leningrad on April 23, played a manyfaceted role in the development of Soviet ballet. A spokesman for Socialist Realism, and as such frequently called upon by his government to present the approved point of view to the West, he was also a historian with a deep respect for the classical foundations of the art of ballet. He was, according to Natalia Roslavleva, one of the founders of Soviet ballet criticism, analytical in style and scientific in its approach,1 but he also took an active role in the theatre, providing librettos for a number of ballets. In the 1920s, he helped to organize the experimental programs, Evenings of Young Ballet, that were choreographed by the young George Balanchine; he also wrote monographs on the nineteenth-century masterpieces Giselle and La Sylphide. Though some of his works have been translated into English, still more should be done, for Slonimsky made contributions of value to us in a number of ways; most important, for the insight they provide into the Soviet aesthetic rationale and for the archival material they bring to light. Slonimsky was born in St. Petersburg on March 12, 1902, and was educated at the Law School of the University of (by then) Petrograd and the Theatre Division of its Institute of History of Arts. An early interest in ballet led to his beginning to write reviews at the age of seventeen, at which time he also put in his share of time at the barre in order to understand the technical aspect of his subject matter. A number of essays and books followed, but almost always the writing was complemented by teaching activities, as he lectured on the history of ballet at the Choreographers' Faculty of the Moscow Theatre Institute and the Ballet Tuition Faculty of the