Biography of Matilda Kshessinskaya

The name of this first and last prima ballerina of the ballet of tsarist Russia is fanned by the range of rumors, conjectures and scandals. Her personal life and career on stage were inextricably linked with the royal family. The Russian ballet was created as a whim for the individuals of the royal blood, he also existed at their expense, so it is not surprising that many well-known and not so famous ballerinas were the lover of crowned persons. Especially in this field I remember the famous ballerina Kshesinskaya.




Matilda Kshesinskaya was the real queen of the Petersburg Ballet, she introduced in it the concept of prima ballerina for herself and stayed with her until the end of the tsarist era of Russia. About this woman there were rumors that she like no other of the then ballerinas from the first minutes of her speech could take possession of the public.

Kshessinskaya herself told that when she comes on the scene, she knows that among those who watch her performance are those whom she likes, and when she comes to the stage she of that part of the audience makes it clear that she is dancing, exclusively for them.

Matilda Kshessinskaya at one time became not only the prima ballerina of the ballet of tsarist Russia, but also conquered the heart of the future Tsar Nicholas II. This woman knew how to charm the king's people with her dance, for this she was awarded not only recognition as a great ballerina, she was also the mistress not only of the tsar, but also of Grand Duke Sergey Mikhailovich, and this is not the whole record of victories of this fragile from the first the look of a woman.

The future prima ballerina in Tsarist Russia was born to a Pole family who danced in the Imperial Theater, and her mother was a dancer who danced in the same theater. She had good physical data, and as a child she showed interest in ballet, so my father arranged it for a ballet school.

She studied diligently, and at the final ballet of the school, in which she studied, the whole agustey family came. She liked the very king, and then the successor of Nikki. Between the heir and the budding Russian ballerina, the novel broke out, it did not last long, but was violent and was very much discussed in society.

At first, the heir to the throne went to the polka ballerina for tea, later he gave her money to rent a luxurious mansion, where their meetings continued. He showered her with flowers, gifts, confessions of love, but ... It was time and he was engaged to Alice of Hesse, who later turned into Alexandra Feodorovna.

The ballerina was hard at the break, but she did not give a kind (she would know then that in 1918 the entire royal couple, including her rival, would be shot, probably would not have met with representatives of the royal family at all).

In honor of the coronation, Nicholas II was given a grand performance, and, of course, she was not invited to the leading parties, but she did act in it. The secret of Kshesinskaya's success in ballet is that she danced with passion and emotion, and not like a clockwork doll. Even the eminent Italian gastrolers dimmed compared to it. This woman attracted eminent persons with her sexuality, which she skillfully showed through the ballet. She was honored with great praises in life as a wonderful ballerina and during her lifetime became a mega star.

So, the abandoned Matilda did not grieve for a very long time, since she was supported in every possible way, Prince Sergey Mikhailovich tried to support him, he bought her a mansion, later contributed to the purchase of a mini-power station, and when he was not, she continued to receive admirers who gave her what they could . Kshesinskaya was very economic, because all the gifts that were given to her once were entered in a special register, this rule also extended to her clothes, she was very fond of dressing, and that it was easy to make a kit, all things were given their own number.

Kseshinskaya could at any time turn to her high patrons for whatever reason, somehow, because of her, even the director of the Imperial Theaters, Prince Volkonsky, resigned (he presented her with a fine for failing to comply with his order, she complained where necessary and he canceled it, but was forced to quit).

At a festive dinner after her benefit, she once met Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich (the son of her boyfriend Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich), this acquaintance quickly developed into a violent romance, as a result of which prima ballet became pregnant.



She carefully concealed her pregnancy and for almost 6 months no one knew about it. In 1902 she gave birth to Vladimir's son.

Even after the birth of Vladimir, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich did not offer her marriage ambiguously, he even agreed to recognize Vladimir as his son, but Matilda was waiting for an offer from Andrei, and he was still slow.

As a result, she started an affair with her partner in ballet, Pyotr Vladimirov, who, as she confessed, was very good and carried her on the stage as if a glass of champagne. The result of this affair was that Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich was shooting with his wife's lover, as a result, the latter suffered.

Matilda has a special right to dance only a few months of the year, and the rest of the time to live in pleasure. The new director of the Imperial Theaters did not like the freedom of the ballerina to put it mildly, he was also against the fact that despite cohabitation with the two Grand Dukes, it skillfully exposes it, but no one forbids it, and everyone is happy with this debauchery.

Kshesinskaya was an excellent hostess, after she built herself a mansion called Kshesinskaya Palace, she began to equip it with furniture that was made on the basis of the parameters of the Kshesinskaia itself, as well as near this palace there were technical facilities that completely impaired the functionality of the whole building. At the same time, this was carefully thought out by the owner herself.

In the courtyard of 1914, World War I, Matilde was already over 40 and she was in a different world, where everything is very unsteady and unstable. She organized a hospital near her mansion and gave her last performance before the sovereign.

During the revolution, she hid for some time, then moved to the Caucasus in the hope that the Revolution would cease and the tsarist regime would again be in the country, but this did not happen, and in 1920 the ballerina fled to France with her son. With her, she had no money, just like her husband's husband, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich.

In France, they settled in the house that was bought long before the revolution, but she was forced to lay it. In 1921 she married the father of her son, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich. She was offered highly paid contracts, but she did not want to perform more on the grand stage, but still she acted as a ballerina once, being in emigration.

In France, the prima ballerina of the Tsarist ballet opened her ballet school in 1926, and there was no absence from the students.



Kshessinskaya understood that many of her students would not achieve anything in life, but she needed money. In her free time, she loved to play in the casino. In 1936 she was last in her life performed in London, she was applauded and many times called to bow (she was 64 then).

Then she wrote her memoirs in which she laid out her life story. She lived for almost 100 years before she was only a few months old until her centenary, and thus she was included in the list of the world's longest-serving ballerinas.