Ileana Leonidoff (3 March 1893 â€" 1 January 1968) is a pseudonym for
Elena Sergeevna Pisarevskaya (Russian: Елена Сергеевна
ÐŸÐ¸Ñ Ð°Ñ€ÐµÐ²Ñ ÐºÐ°Ñ ), a Russian-born emigrée who first made a
career in Italy in silent films and then as a noted dancer and
choreographer. She was the founder and lead dancer of the Dance School
of Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. During World War II, she fled to South
America, first teaching in Argentina and then in Ecuador in 1950. She
was the first director of the Ballet Oficial de Bolivia, then served
as the director of the Guayaquil Ballet in Ecuador, and became the
founder of the Ballet School of Trujillo, Peru. She was honored as a
knight of the Order of the Condor of the Andes in 1953.Elena Sergeevna
Pisarevskaya was born in 1893 in Sevastopol, a town on the Black Sea
on the Crimean Peninsula during the Russian Imperial Period to
Cleopatra Gavrilovna (née Sudkovskaya) and rear admiral Sergei
Petrovic Pisarevsky. Her maternal uncle was the landscape painter,
Rufin Sudkovsky and her father was a career naval officer who led the
detachment of cruisers of the 3rd Squadron of the Pacific Fleet during
the 1877â€"1878 Russo-Turkish War and in 1905 was made a Vice Admiral
of the Black Sea Fleet. Pisarevskaya had two siblings: a brother, also
named Sergei (1882â€"1949), who later served in the Russian army and a
sister, Lida (later Marskaja), who would also become a dancer. After
their father's death in 1908, Cleopatra brought her daughters to Milan
around 1911, where Pisarevskaya's first performances were for
charitable events and concerts held by the Accademia Filarmonica
Romana in 1916. A few months later in her second performance, she
developed laryngitis and performed as a dancer, changing the direction
of her career.In 1917, Pisarevskaya, now using the stage name of
Ileana Leonidoff, was chosen by Anton Giulio Bragaglia to appear in
his silent film Thaïs. For her film debut, Leonidoff portrayed the
Countess Bianca Stagno-Belincioni, who is involved in a love triangle
between Thaïs and the Count of San Remo. Subsequently she appeared in
a series of films directed by Aldo Molinari [it], including Saffo
(1918), Venere (1919), Il mistero di Osiris (1919) and Giuditta e
Oloferne (1920), as well as in Attilla [it] (1918) directed by Febo
Mari and as Eusebia in Giuliano l'Apostata (1920) directed by Ugo
Falena. In all, Pisarevskaya made seventeen film appearances between
1917 and 1922, when she left film to return full-time to dancing. Even
during the time she was making films, Leonidoff continued to dance,
performing in 1918 for the opening of the Galleria L'Epoca in Rome and
in 1919 performing original dances at the Teatro Costanzi, as well as
in a production of Carmen.In 1920, Leonidoff and Molinari found the
Leonidoff Russian Ballet, in which Molinari handled the costuming and
scenery, and Leonidoff choreographed the plays they selected. That
same year, Leonidoff married Giuseppe Massera, and used the name
Leonidoff-Massera for some performances. As an introduction to their
ballet, the pair offered The Swan Dance at a party on 22 May 1920 with
a positive reception. The formal debut of the company followed on 28
May 1920 at the Teatro Quirino di Roma where Leonidoff performed five
dances: Canzoni Arabe (Arab Songs), Fantasia indiana (Indian Fantasy),
Foglie d' Autunno (Autumn Leaves), Pirrica and Sèvres de la Vieille
France. After touring for the summer, the ballet corps returned to
Rome and performed at the Teatro Costanzi adding two new
choreographies, Scherzo veneziano (Venetian Scherzo) and Fiaba russa
(Russian Fables), to much acclaim. The following year, Leonidoff
Ballet toured Italy, performing in Bologna, Milan, Palermo and Venice.
The tour was repeated for those cities in 1922 and added venues in
Brescia, Florence and Turin.
Elena Sergeevna Pisarevskaya (Russian: Елена Сергеевна
ÐŸÐ¸Ñ Ð°Ñ€ÐµÐ²Ñ ÐºÐ°Ñ ), a Russian-born emigrée who first made a
career in Italy in silent films and then as a noted dancer and
choreographer. She was the founder and lead dancer of the Dance School
of Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. During World War II, she fled to South
America, first teaching in Argentina and then in Ecuador in 1950. She
was the first director of the Ballet Oficial de Bolivia, then served
as the director of the Guayaquil Ballet in Ecuador, and became the
founder of the Ballet School of Trujillo, Peru. She was honored as a
knight of the Order of the Condor of the Andes in 1953.Elena Sergeevna
Pisarevskaya was born in 1893 in Sevastopol, a town on the Black Sea
on the Crimean Peninsula during the Russian Imperial Period to
Cleopatra Gavrilovna (née Sudkovskaya) and rear admiral Sergei
Petrovic Pisarevsky. Her maternal uncle was the landscape painter,
Rufin Sudkovsky and her father was a career naval officer who led the
detachment of cruisers of the 3rd Squadron of the Pacific Fleet during
the 1877â€"1878 Russo-Turkish War and in 1905 was made a Vice Admiral
of the Black Sea Fleet. Pisarevskaya had two siblings: a brother, also
named Sergei (1882â€"1949), who later served in the Russian army and a
sister, Lida (later Marskaja), who would also become a dancer. After
their father's death in 1908, Cleopatra brought her daughters to Milan
around 1911, where Pisarevskaya's first performances were for
charitable events and concerts held by the Accademia Filarmonica
Romana in 1916. A few months later in her second performance, she
developed laryngitis and performed as a dancer, changing the direction
of her career.In 1917, Pisarevskaya, now using the stage name of
Ileana Leonidoff, was chosen by Anton Giulio Bragaglia to appear in
his silent film Thaïs. For her film debut, Leonidoff portrayed the
Countess Bianca Stagno-Belincioni, who is involved in a love triangle
between Thaïs and the Count of San Remo. Subsequently she appeared in
a series of films directed by Aldo Molinari [it], including Saffo
(1918), Venere (1919), Il mistero di Osiris (1919) and Giuditta e
Oloferne (1920), as well as in Attilla [it] (1918) directed by Febo
Mari and as Eusebia in Giuliano l'Apostata (1920) directed by Ugo
Falena. In all, Pisarevskaya made seventeen film appearances between
1917 and 1922, when she left film to return full-time to dancing. Even
during the time she was making films, Leonidoff continued to dance,
performing in 1918 for the opening of the Galleria L'Epoca in Rome and
in 1919 performing original dances at the Teatro Costanzi, as well as
in a production of Carmen.In 1920, Leonidoff and Molinari found the
Leonidoff Russian Ballet, in which Molinari handled the costuming and
scenery, and Leonidoff choreographed the plays they selected. That
same year, Leonidoff married Giuseppe Massera, and used the name
Leonidoff-Massera for some performances. As an introduction to their
ballet, the pair offered The Swan Dance at a party on 22 May 1920 with
a positive reception. The formal debut of the company followed on 28
May 1920 at the Teatro Quirino di Roma where Leonidoff performed five
dances: Canzoni Arabe (Arab Songs), Fantasia indiana (Indian Fantasy),
Foglie d' Autunno (Autumn Leaves), Pirrica and Sèvres de la Vieille
France. After touring for the summer, the ballet corps returned to
Rome and performed at the Teatro Costanzi adding two new
choreographies, Scherzo veneziano (Venetian Scherzo) and Fiaba russa
(Russian Fables), to much acclaim. The following year, Leonidoff
Ballet toured Italy, performing in Bologna, Milan, Palermo and Venice.
The tour was repeated for those cities in 1922 and added venues in
Brescia, Florence and Turin.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.