María Ruanova

María Ruanova
Born María Ruanova
(1912-07-03)July 3, 1912
San Juan, Argentina
Died June 5, 1976(1976-06-05) (aged 63)
Buenos Aires
Occupation Ballet dancer
Known for Prima ballerina at the Teatro Colón

María Ruanova (July 3, 1912, San Juan, Argentina – June 5, 1976, Buenos Aires, Argentina) was an Argentine dancer, choreographer, teacher and ballet master,[1] known for her performances at the Teatro Colón and internationally.[2] She is considered the first Argentina-grown ballet dancer to gain international fame.[3][4]

Biography

Ruanova's parents were Emilio Ruanova and Mercedes Maury, who met in Barcelona.[3] Her parents had three other children, Merceditas, Angelita and Matilde, with María being the youngest.[3] Her parents immigrated to Argentina and lived in Merlo, Buenos Aires before she was born.[3] She was born in the province of San Juan on 3 July 1912.[3] Her parents returned to Buenos Aires in 1918, after having moved to La Rioja a few years earlier.[3] In Buenos Aires Ruanova became seriously ill with bronchial problems.[3] Doctors recommended physical exercise to improve her condition and thus she took up dancing.[4]

Ruanova, along with her sisters Matilde and Angelita (Ángeles), started dancing under the tutelage of Russian ballerina, María Oleneva during a free classic dance course at the Teatro Colón (Colombus Theatre) in 1924.[3][4] While her sisters performed with the Cuerpo de Baile in 1925, Ruanova joined Adolph Bolm's ballet, Siluetas.[3] She and her sisters were given a position at the Teatro Colón the following year.[3] Ruanova was first a soloist and, by 1932, a prima ballerina at Teatro Colón.[4][5] Here they were further tutored by dance greats such as Bronislava Nijinska, Boris Romanoff, Elena Smirnova, Michel Fokine, Antonia Mercé and Serge Lifar.[3][4] Ruanova earned a role in Fokine's Pájaro de Fuego ballet as prima ballerina.[3]

In 1936 she was invited to perform as prima ballerina in René Blum's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.[1][3][4] Her success in France led to other international performances in London, Cape Town, Pretoria, Durban, Johannesburg, Glasgow, Manchester and Paris.[3] She danced in El Amor Brujo, Cascanueces, Carnaval, El Espectro de la Rosa, Petrouschka, Anitra, Sílfides.[3] She also filmed Don Juan and L'Épreuve d'amour.[3]

Ruanova performed in Mozart's 1942 world premier concert, choreographed by George Balanchine, at Teatro Colón.[1][4][6] She was hired by the Ballet del Marqués de Cuevas as prima ballerina and Maestro in 1957, and toured Europe with this company.[3][4] She became ballet director at the Uruguayan SODRE from 1964 to 1967[1][4] and at Teatro Colón from 1968 to 1972.[1][3][4]

Recognition

María Ruanova school of dance

Ruanova is celebrated as the first Argentine-born ballet dancer to have learned to dance in Argentina and gain international recognition.[3][4] She was one of the first prima ballerinas at Teatro Colón and is considered one of its greatest dancers.[7] In 1986 Argentina's Ministry of Culture created the "Premio María Ruanova" award in her honor, awarded yearly by the Argentine dance council, Consejo Argentino de la Danza (CAD).[4][8] The award has been declared of permanent "Interés Cultural" (cultural interest) by the Ministry.[8][9] It is the country's highest and most important award for dance.[1][2][10][11] Argentina's national school of dance, la Escuela Nacional de Danzas "María Ruanova", was named in her honor.[1][12] The Ministry of Culture also released a DVD on the life and work of María Ruanova.[13]

Death

Ruanova died on 5 June 1976 and her remains are interred at the Cementerio de la Chacarita in Buenos Aires.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "MARIANELA NÚÑEZ: PREMIO MARÍA RUANOVA - En su país reconocen su trayectoria". 7 June 2011.
  2. 1 2 [http://www.ellitoral.com.ar/es/articulo/165774/[ENLACEFRASE] "Mataco Lemos distinguido en Buenos Aires"]. El Litoral. 19 June 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Manso, Carlos (10 June 2012). "María Ruanova: Homenaje María Ruanova, la que abrió el camino".
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "María Ruanova, la primera de una serie de estrellas". 6 June 2001.
  5. ↑ "Google le rinde homenaje a la bailarina Olga Ferri". La Gaceta. 20 September 2013.
  6. ↑ Taper, Bernard (1996). Balanchine, a Biography. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520206397.
  7. ↑ "¿Quién fue Olga Ferri?". La Gaceta. 20 September 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Premio María Ruanova 2013". Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "Premio María Ruanova". Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  10. ↑ "Presenta: Ballet En Gala: "Homenaje A Silvina Perillo"". Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  11. ↑ "Gala de Ballet "Giselle" en Paraná". 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  12. ↑ "Historia". Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "Historia general de la danza Argentina". Retrieved 2 March 2014.

External links

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