Outstanding ballet dancer Osipenko Alla: biography, interesting facts and achievements

Alla Evgenievna Osipenko, whose life story will be described in the article, is the legend of the theater, a bright star among the ballerinas. She was a student of A. Vaganova, participated in the productions of the outstanding choreographers of her time. Her grace and dramatic talent, she won both residents of the RSFSR, and foreign audiences.

Alla Osipenko: biography

Alla was born in Leningrad on June 16, 1932. She lived with her mother, nanny, grandmother Maria and great-aunt Anna.

Osipenko's mother came from the Borovik family. In the ancestors of the ballerina were the artist Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky, the poet Alexander Lvovich and the photographer Alexander Alexandrovich - also Borovikovsky. Alla's father was from Ukrainian nobles. In the 37th he was put in prison because he started publicly vilifying Soviet power and demanding the release of the tsarist officers. His mother divorced him. Then, when it was time to receive a passport, despite the requests of the mother, Alla left her father's surname - she felt that another decision would be a betrayal.

Vocation

Raised the girl strictly. She spent most of the time with adults, she was not allowed out into the yard. And she lacked communication with peers, her obstinate nature demanded to break away from excessive care. The case presented itself in the first class - she read about the choreographic circle and persuaded her relatives to let her enter. If only a couple of times a day to come back later, do not sit in four walls! But the girl herself at that time was far from dancing - her mother wanted to become a ballerina, and not she.

But thanks to the mug, Osipenko Alla Evgenievna found her calling. Her teacher noted her talents and persuaded her mother to give her daughter to a choreographic school. She was enrolled there on June 21, 1941, and on June 22 the war began.

The children were transported to Kostroma, then to Molotov (now Perm). Ballet was taught first in the church, then, when they were transported to Courier, in barracks. "Hunger and cold," Alla recalls about those times. Students were engaged, often without removing their coats and mittens. Those were hard times, but it was in the evacuation, and perhaps thanks to her, that Osipenko fell in love with art forever.

New stage

After the school Osipenko Alla came to the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater named after Kirov (now the Mariinsky Theater). Her work here did not always develop smoothly. The first test was a severe leg injury. The young twenty-year-old Osipenko, on the wave of inspiration after the rehearsal, did not come off-she jumped out of the trolley ... and almost for a year and a half had to forget about the scene. Only stubbornness helped her to return. According to her, this incident helped her to realize what she really wants.

Kirov Theater was a heavy school. He demanded a special, punchy character. But outside the stage Alla was by no means a fighter, on the contrary. She believed critics who questioned her talents. I had to give my best and physically - rehearsals occupied almost all the time.

The crown of her work was the role in the "Stone Flower" (1957), where she danced in the image of the Mistress. The next day she woke up famous. Itself Osipenko Alla once noticed that the glory, perhaps, came to her not so much because of the talent, but because of the originality of the image. For the first time the ballerina appeared on the stage in only one tight fitting tights.

KGB

Success had the opposite side. Firstly, she was considered an actress of one role. Secondly, her fame attracted the attention of the KGB. It was especially strictly controlled after 1961, when its partner Rudolf Nureyev fled the USSR. Alla was a witness of this flight - the famous "jump" Nureyev.

This happened during the tour. Nureyev refused to follow the schedule, for which they decided to send him back to Moscow. But Nureyev wanted to continue touring. He managed to break free and rushed to the plane, in which his comrades departed for London. Did not have time - and in the same place, in Paris, he asked for political asylum. Later in the USSR, despite his absence, Nureyev was sentenced to seven years for treason. Alla acted as his protector.

In the meantime, with Alla, they literally did not take their eyes off. In London she was placed in a separate room. They released it and locked it with a key, leaving it unaccompanied anywhere. She was forced to hide from the fans, and to the requests of journalists invariably replied that Asipenko Alla can not give an interview, since she "gives birth." Later it was allowed to visit only the socialist countries.

Alla had previously endured the patience of the KGB. During her first tour in Paris, back in 1956, she (the first among the Soviet ballerinas) received the prize of Anna Pavlova. And one day, fulfilling the request of a friend, she handed the parcel to her sister, escaping from the observers - through the back door.

L. V. Jakobson

In the Kirov theater Osipenko Alla has played in a lot of productions, among them - Sleeping Beauty, Bakhchisaray Fountain, Cinderella, Othello, The Legend of Love. But the heavy atmosphere, scandals, tensions with the leadership, creative dissatisfaction - all this gave the ballerina an unbearable fatigue. After 21 years of work in the theater, she left.

Together with partner John Markovsky, she joined the troupe of LV Jakobson, to his "Miniatures". This was a risky step - the production of Jacobson was constantly subjected to censorship, sought out in them signs of anti-Sovietism, tried to prohibit. The rebellious character of the ballerina has also manifested itself here. When the commission banned the dance number "Minotaur and Nymph" for his "eroticism," Alla, along with the choreographer, rushed to the chairman of the city executive committee AA Sizov. To their surprise and joy, the number was allowed to be placed.

The character of Jakobson was heavy. He was ready to rehearse at any time, round the clock. And the rehearsals took place in a small inconvenient room. The choreographer forced the actors to give themselves completely to work, to act practically on wear and tear, to the fullest extent. Perform complex, almost impossible movements. But Alla was glad to work with Jacobson. She considered him a genius, idolized him and even was a little in love with him. So there were productions "Firebird", "Swan" and "Idiot", which Yakobson put specifically for Osipenko. But the relationship between the ballerina and the choreographer gradually gave a crack.

When in 1973 Osipenko was injured again, Jakobson did not want to wait for her recovery.

End of career

After leaving Jakobson, Osipenko and Markovsky were on the street. It was a difficult time, there was almost no work. Luck smiled at them in 1977, when they met with the choreographer B. Ya. Eifman, becoming the leading actors of his troupe "The New Ballet". There the ballerina worked until 1982. But this was already the end of her career, largely predetermined by her break with Markovsky.

In the future, Alla auditioned in the cinema - "Voice" Averbakh, half-naked Ariadne in "Sorrowful anticipation" A. Sokurov. Theatrical performances. Then, after perestroika, Osipenko went abroad, where she taught choreography for a long time. She continued to do this in Russia.

Love

Ballerina Alla Evgenievna Osipenko was married several times. Tragic trace in her life left the death of her only son, born from the actor Gennady Voropayev.

Her marriage with John Markovsky is more known. Their brilliant duet was called "a couple of centuries". Alla called Markovsky his best partner. According to her, in dance, they seemed to become a single whole. The first time they performed together in Perm, and at the same time began their romance, although she was twelve years older. They were together for 15 years. After the break with him, Alla could not find herself another similar partner, she said, this became their end as dancers.

Teachers and idols

The idol of the ballerina for a long time was Natalia Dudinskaya. Osipenko passionately imitated her. Imitation served as a bad service - it prevented to show their own individuality, and Alla had to retrain. She had other idols among the ballerinas, for example, Vera Arbuzova.

Among the people who pushed her talent, Alla especially notes Boris Fenster. At one time he saw and helped to reveal the girl's abilities. At that time she was called a "girl with a paddle", because she was too plump for a ballerina. But Fenster noticed her and offered her the role of Pannochka in Taras Bulba. He became a strict mentor, forcing her not only to lose weight, but also to think about herself.

The ballerina and Lidia Mikhailovna Tyutina also helped a lot. In many ways thanks to her, Osipenko was able to return after the injury.

It is impossible not to mention Agrippina Vaganov. She was a strict teacher, often screaming at her student and often noticed that she thanks to her character would end up living in a music hall. But at the same time she was a wonderful, unorthodox teacher.

A ballerina is a title

As noted in an interview by Alla Osipenko herself, a ballerina is a title, and not a profession. And to become it, you need a character. Osipenko with her whole life proved this statement. Success and failure, happiness and drama - all this formed her such an unordinary personality.