Vera Zorina

Zorina, Vera (orig. Eva Brigitta Hartwig;b Berlin, 2 Jan. 1917, d 9 Apr. 2003). German-US dancer and actress. She studied dance with Eugenia Eduardova and Tatiana and Victor Gsovsky in Berlin. She made her stage debut at the age of 13 performing as a First Fairy in Max Reinhardt's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1930). She went to London in 1933 where she studied with Nikolai Legat and Marie Rambert. That same year she partnered Anton Dolin in the West End staging of Ballerina, a play by Lady Eleanor Smith with ballet interludes choreographed by Dolin. That led to an invitation to join de Basil's Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo (1934-6), which is where she picked up her Russianized stage name. In 1937 she appeared as the temperamental Russian ballerina Vera Barnova in the London staging of the Rodgers and Hart musical On Your Toes, a performance which brought her to the attention of film and theatrical producers from America. In 1938 she began appearing on Broadway and signed a seven-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Now committed to Hollywood, she appeared in a string of film musicals which helped to popularize ballet in America. A list of her film credits includes The Goldwyn Follies (1938), On Your Toes (1939), I Was an Adventuress (1940), Louisiana Purchase (1941), Star Spangled Rhythm (1942), Follow the Boys (1944), and Lover Come Back (1946). She was married to Balanchine (1938-46), with whom she had worked on Broadway and in Hollywood. She appeared on Broadway in I Married an Angel (1938) and Louisiana Purchase (1940), both of which were choreographed by Balanchine. After her Hollywood contract expired Zorina returned to the ballet stage, as a guest artist with Ballet Theatre (1943), but her return to the world of dance was not a success. However, she did enjoy a career as a narrator-performer of dramatic oratorios, including Honegger's Joan of Arc at the Stake (1948), Stravinsky's Persephone (1955), and Debussy's Le Martyre de Saint-Sébastien. She later worked as an opera director for the Santa Fe Opera, the New York City Opera, and the Norwegian Opera. She published her autobiography, Zorina, in New York in 1986.

• Born: Jan 02, 1917 in Berlin, Germany
• Died: Apr 09, 2003 in Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Occupation: Actor
• Active: '30s-'40s
• Major Genres: Comedy, Musical
• Career Highlights: The Goldwyn Follies, Lover Come Back, I Was an Adventuress
• First Major Screen Credit: The Goldwyn Follies (1938)

Biography

European ballerina and actress Vera Zorina, born Eva Brigitta Hartwig to Norwegian parents in Berlin, appeared in a few Hollywood musicals from the late '30s through the early '40s. She learned to dance as a small child and by age seven was already a professional. In 1929, Zorina appeared in Max Reinhardt's A Midsummer Night's Dream as the lead elf, a role that earned her favorable reviews. After joining the Ballet Russe in 1933, Zorina began touring England and the U.S. While she was appearing in the London version of the popular musical On Your Toes, movie mogul Sam Goldwyn saw her and signed her to star in 1938's Goldwyn Follies. Later that year she also made her Broadway debut in I Married an Angel. For the frosting on that year's cake, she married the great choreographer George Balanchine. The union lasted through 1946 and after divorcing Balanchine, she married Columbia Records president Goddard Lieberson. Though Zorina was a wonderful dancer, her acting skills were lacking and by the end of the '40s, she had left films in favor of infrequent stage appearances and to narrating modern classical music pieces during concerts. Following experience directing opera in Santa Fe, NM, during the '70s, Zorina became the managing director of the Norwegian Opera. In 1978, she became a music consultant and record producer for Columbia. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Lucky Luciano Buy this Movie	Follow the Boys Buy this Movie	Star Spangled Rhythm Buy this Movie	Louisiana Purchase Buy this Movie
The Goldwyn Follies Buy this Movie

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