A fragile, painful, shy ballerina who does not like to dance. It is very difficult to recognize in this person the great, airy, inimitable, talented Ulanova. Labor, perseverance and determination made the era of Russian ballet out of a “pale, sickly girl”.
Awards, worldwide fame, popular love, as well as loneliness, sincerity, a strong sense of duty - all this is Galina Ulanova. A ballerina who lived in difficult times and who won the hearts of contemporaries and descendants.
Parents
January 8, 1910 in the family of the Ulanovs, ministers of the Mariinsky Theater, a daughter was born. The girl was named Galina. The head of the family, Sergey Ulanov, was an artist in the theater, but ended his career as a ballet director. Mom Gali - the famous ballerina Ulanova (before the marriage of Romanov) Maria. Soon after the birth of her daughter, Maria Fedorovna devotes herself to teaching. Many famous soloists came out from under her wing, including their daughter Galina Ulanova (ballerina).
The biography of the ballerina tells about the difficult childhood of the girl. Often, she recalled how hard it was for parents to earn a living. In post-revolutionary Russia, it was not easy for everyone to live, especially for creative people. Father agreed with cinemas to perform before the sessions for a nominal fee. In any weather, parents together with Galya went on foot to the other end of the city to show the number in the unheated hall. But the audience liked the Ulanovs couple, their light and bewitching dance. Despite the conditions and payment, the artists gave all the best for the number, and then warmed up before the next session. The girl watched them, watched a movie and fell asleep in a cold room.
Vocation
From childhood, she saw how hard it was to be a ballet dancer, and she didn’t want such a fate. As they say, it was written in the family that in the future Galina Ulanova is a ballerina. The biography of the daughter of ballet dancers tells how young Galya cried when her parents gave her to a ballet school.
At nine years old, the doors of the State Choreographic School opened before the girl. Her first teacher was her mother. Pupils loved Maria Fedorovna, considered her kind and cordial. But even this did not rejoice Galina Ulanova (ballerina).
The biography of the artist is replete with memories in which she says how difficult it was for her to love ballet. It all happened very hard, there wasn’t that lightness, airiness and fairy tale that the viewer sees. On the other side of the scenes, ballet is serious work, pain and overcoming failures in staging numbers.
By the way, the mother was very strict and demanding in relation to his main student. The girl often cried and did not want to engage, with all her heart she hated ballet. But they did not consider another profession in the family, as did the option that Galina might remain unknown.
“I didn’t want to dance”, - Ulanova (ballerina)
The biography of Galina Sergeevna is filled with tragedy and loneliness. With all her heart, she could not take classes, ballet drill. Even being famous, she lamented: “How can you love something that is so difficult to give!” It is difficult for everyone and always in this profession, but the little girl Gala seemed to be the hardest for her. Perhaps it was. The fact is that by nature, the ballerina Ulanova is very shy and painful.
The burden of shyness Galina Sergeevna carried her whole life. At first, she was not given answers at the blackboard, then the interview seemed to her torture, and she always tried to avoid even speaking in a small circle of colleagues. A vivid example is given by her colleagues in the theater. Once, after a long absence of Galina Sergeevna, the whole team organized a warm meeting for her. But even feeling her moral duty, the ballerina could not express her gratitude in words. Instead, she bought small bouquets and put each on a table or music stand as a sign of attention and gratitude. Ballerina Ulanova always believed that it was necessary not to speak, but to act!
Confession
In her dreams, little Galya was never a ballerina, she was attracted to the sea (as a baby, she always repeated: “I want to be a sailor boy!”). But her moral duty to her parents made her devote herself to ballet. Her dislike and occupation through force made her mother think about the correct choice of the future for her daughter. Persistence, determination and natural plasticity every day "planed" the perfect ballerina, and Maria Fedorovna gained confidence in the deed.
Floriana's party in Sleeping Beauty is Ulanova's first role as a professional ballerina. The closed, modest and afraid of the public girl was very hard given every exit on stage. And the first time flashed in a cycle of fear.
A huge contribution to the development of professional skills of a ballerina was made by A. Ya. Vaganova. An outstanding choreographer studied with Ulanova long after graduation. Agrippina Yakovlevna was constantly looking for an individuality in the dance that would suit Galina Sergeyevna, since she was very unlike the others. And the choreographer tried to reveal this dissimilarity, and not to hide it.
The love of the hall from the first appearances on the stage began to receive Galina Ulanova. The ballerina was very strict about her work and for a long time was not satisfied with it.
"Swan Lake" made the nineteen-year-old Galina very famous. But the shy ballerina did not believe the public and slowly despaired and disappointed.
Crucial moment
Giselle was the role that opened the heart of Galina Sergeevna and launched ballet into it. It is curious that initially this part was to be performed by another ballerina. Ulanova tried on a role for a long time, studied character, but, imbued with history, performed it amazingly. Giselle helped Galina Sergeevna realize that one of the main things in her work was the ability to transform. At the same time, the highlight of Ulanova was natural shyness and “principle” naturalness, they never let her put on a mask and give ostentatious emotions and feelings.
Then Ulanova began to love her roles, her heroines, relive their lives, endow them with new qualities. Perhaps the most memorable role of Galina Sergeevna is Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.
The whole life of the outstanding Galina Ulanova is ballet. Brilliant images, inimitable performance, titanic work, the change of theaters and cities - all this made up the life of a fragile and shy woman.
