Kasyan Goleizovsky

Goleizovsky, Kasyan (b Moscow, 5 Mar. 1892, d Moscow, 4 May 1970). Russian dancer and choreographer. Leader of the experimental movement in Moscow in the 1920s. He studied first in Moscow and then (1902-9) in St Petersburg, where he was a pupil of Fokine. He graduated in 1909 and danced with the Bolshoi (1909-18). In 1916 he established his own Moscow studio, called the Quest, and made numerous concert miniatures for it. He also began to stage small works at theatres outside the Bolshoi, especially in cabaret theatres such as the Bat or the Mamonovsky Theatre of Miniatures, rapidly becoming a popular choreographer in the world of cabaret. In 1918, with the fervour of revolution sweeping Russia, he was invited to head the studio of the Bolshoi Theatre School. In 1922 he formed his own company, the Moscow Chamber Ballet, for which he made some of his most innovative works, including the miniatures Faun (mus. Debussy) and Salomé (mus. Strauss), daring in its portrayal of eroticism on stage. An experimentalist who was not afraid to court controversy in his quest for modernity, he was a great influence on other young Russian choreographers, most notably George Balanchine. His most important work was Joseph the Beautiful, a 1925 ballet (with music by Vasilenko) produced for the Bolshoi's Experimental Theatre. A controversial piece about the struggle of the individual for freedom, it prompted the traditionalists, led by Tikhomirov, to drop it from the repertoire. His Lola for the Bolshoi in 1925 was cancelled by the management; in 1927 he choreographed The Whirlwind (mus. Ber) for the Bolshoi, but it was performed only once. With his works now dropped from the Bolshoi repertoire, Goleizovsky increasingly turned to concert programmes and music halls for his livelihood. In 1933-4 he made a brief return to the Bolshoi, and again in the 1960s when the post-Stalinist era was opening up new opportunities for choreographers. During the Second World War he worked as a choreographer for the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Ministry of the Interior. In the late 1930s he worked arranging folk dances in the various Soviet republics, prompting him to write Forms of Russian National Choreography or Images of Russian Folk Choreography (Moscow, 1964). A list of his other works includes Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor (Moscow, 1934), Sleeping Beauty (Kharkhov, 1935), Fountain of Bakhchisarai (Minsk, 1939), Two Roses (mus. A. Lensky, Moscow, 1941), Scriabiniana (Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, 1962), and Leili and Medzhnun (mus. S. Balasanian, Moscow, 1964).