Alla Osipenko: Beauty and Resistance in Soviet Ballet

by Joel Lobenthal

Alla Osipenko is the gripping story of one of history's greatest ballerinas, a courageous rebel who paid the price for speaking truth to the Soviet State. She studied with Agrippina Vaganova, the most revered and influential of all Russian ballet instructors, and in 1950, she joined the Mariinsky (then-Kirov) Ballet, where her lines, shapes, and movements both exemplified the venerable traditions of Russian ballet and propelled those traditions forward into uncharted and experimental realms.
She was the first of her generation of Kirov stars to enchant the West when she danced in Paris in 1956. But dancing for the establishment had its downsides, and Osipenko's sharp tongue and marked independence, as well as her almost-reckless flouting of Soviet rules for personal and political conduct, soon found her all but quarantined in Russia. An internationally acclaimed ballerina at the height of her career, she found that she would now have to prevail in the face of every attempt by the Soviet state and the Kirov administration to humble her.
In Alla Osipenko, acclaimed dance writer Joel Lobenthal tells Osipenko's story for the first time in English, drawing on 40 interviews with the prima ballerina, and tracing her life from Classical darling to avant-garde rebel. Throughout the book, Osipenko talks frankly and freely in a way that few Russians of her generation have allowed themselves to. Her voice rises above the incidents as unhesitating and graceful as her legendary adagios. Candid, irreverent, and, above all, independent -- Osipenko and her story open a window into a fascinating and little-discussed world.

Genres: Russia

280 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2015

Reviews

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I thought it was really interesting. It is a biography of a famous ballerina living in the USSR. And it's interesting from a historical perspective, but the parts I enjoyed the most were the descriptions of the ballets and the music and the costumes and everything else that goes into a ballet. The drama between the dancers and the other members of the company is also pretty entertaining. I can't imagine what it's like to live in a country where your success is based in large part on your political affiliations and not on your talent or abilities.

I received this as an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley about a zillion years ago in exchange for an honest review.

[C. Purtill · Rating 3 out of 5]

The life of Alla Osipenko is fascinating as is the exploration of Soviet-era ballet. This book, however, meanders from one event in Osipenko's life to another without much connection. Also, the e-galley copy I received was filled with typos and grammar errors on every single page which was terribly distracting from the narrative. I hope the version that is printed will be free of these errors and possibly edited a second time so that readers can get their full enjoyment out of a biography of a woman who led a very interesting life.

A full review of this will come in January on the website, Dance Advantage.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc to review.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alla Osipenko was one of the Soviet Union’s greatest ballerinas and this well-researched biography brings her story to a wider audience. The author met and interviewed Osipenko on many occasions thus giving the reader and intimate glimpse into her life and the world of Soviet ballet. It was indeed a fascinating life and I enjoyed learning about it. I enjoyed too the chance to read about the place ballet held in Soviet political life and about the tours the ballet companies took abroad – resulting in various defections. However, as biography I found it less than satisfactory. It jumps about too much and can’t seem to decide whether it’s a scholarly biography or a memoir from Osipenko herself. There’s far too much invented dialogue, too – it’s unlikely even Osipenko could remember actual conversations that took place so many years ago in such detail. Also, for non-ballet professionals or enthusiasts there’s far too much description of actual performances and choreography which I found tedious. All in all this is a book that badly needed editing – a shame as it could have been a really riveting read.

[Liz Haigney Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally absorbing account of dance, politics and repression at the Kirov at the height of the Cold War. Osipenko began her Kirov career in the early 1950s. Over the next thirty years she danced with legends like Soloviev, Nureyev and Baryshnikov, made indelible impressions when the company toured Paris and London -- and continually ran afoul of cultural and political watchdogs in ways that hurt her career and severely limited her opportunities to be seen abroad. Urged many times over the years to defect, Osipenko could not bring herself to leave behind her mother and son. (Some of the Soviet officials' machinations would be funny if the results weren't so damaging. Once the dancer Violette Verdy, on a visit to Russia, asked Osipenko how many children she had. "One," Osipenko answered. Verdy then explained that each of several times impresarios at the Paris Opera asked whether Osipenko could appear there, they were told she was pregnant and on leave.) Lobenthal's account is a detailed and thorough look at the world of Soviet dance in '50s, '60s and '70s. He makes good use of his extensive interviews with Osipenko but also of many other accounts and sources, making this a thoughtful as well as sympathetic account of a dancer who should have been better known in the West than she was. There are some good clips of Osipenko on YouTube -- you'll find yourself wanting to see more of her dancing after you've read this excellent biography.

[Zeynep Şen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't the most engaging of reads but it was still plenty interesting to work through. There's no doubt that Alla Osipenko is an incredible woman, person and ballerina and learning of her life & art in the Soviet Union was a unique experience. If anything, this goes to show that we need more dance literature out there.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Vanessa Fabiano · Rating 2 out of 5]

great ballerina, rollercoaster life, outspoken woman. but this book doesn't do Osipenko justice. It's a collection of anecdotes, sloppily written and apparently not edited for clarity or coherence. Shame. someone please write this woman a biography to match her talent and personality.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.

There’s a saying in journalism: “Don’t dump your notebook into your story.”

Alas, Joel Lobenthal has dumped his notebook into his story.

Alla Osipenko had a truly fascinating life: she was a world-famous ballerina who lived through WW2 and massive changes in the Soviet Union, performed all over the world, and had a wide variety of intellectual interests far beyond just ballet. Unfortunately, that life was described to the reader in such a disjointed fashion that I had problems following what was going on. Part 1- a description of her family – had such convoluted story telling that I remain confused as to who exactly Osipenko’s parents were, when she was born, and how her family’s past influenced her. Part 3, which begins to delve into her ballet training, is more a collection of anecdotes that might be interesting individually but fail to paint a cohesive picture about Russian ballet education and how it affected Osipenko.

The order of information was quite choppy. Lobenthal would relate an anecdote, and then, with no transition, shift to something completely different. At one point, Osipensko appears to discover documents that illuminate some of her family’s hidden history; the next paragraph, with no warning, we’re suddenly learning about her being picked to dance a special role, and the documents are never mentioned again. Not only is this hard to follow, it made me as a reader quickly loose interest, as a thread of activity would be dropped and the conclusion never picked up again.

Lobenthal states that he conducted over 40 one-on-one interviews with Osipensko. Gathered over the course of her time in the U.S., Osipensko’s words paint her as an intelligent, articulate, funny women with amazing talents and a determined, rebellious sprit. Unfortunately, the poor structuring of this book failed to truly communicate the story behind that woman.

Was this book interesting? Certainly, because Osipensko’s life was interesting. Could this book have done so much more? Yes, absolutely.

[natasa · Rating 1 out of 5]

tönkretesz engem a netgalley. én tényleg nem vagyok az a félbehagyós típus, de már megint sikerült ígéretes könyv helyett egy ilyen igénytelen paripafalloszba nyúlnom.
az még aránylag hagyján, hogy tele van elgépeléssel (bár igazán lehetne erre is figyelni), és hogy pl. a bevezetőben kétszer szerepel pár oldal eltéréssel szinte ugyanaz a mondat, valamint hogy kétszáziksz oldalon harminchatszor fordul elő a nevertheless szó (igen, rákerestem) - végülis még nem végleges, szerkesztés előtt álló arc-ról beszélünk. de hogy ilyen ritmusmentes, dögunalmas stílusban kell átrágnunk magunkat egy balerina életén, hát, ez meglehetősen szomorú. teljesen olyan, mintha az író úr csak úgy random egymás után dobálta volna a jegyzeteit (és mivel ezt más is megjegyezte a kritikájában, lehet benne valami).
pedig olyan szép a borítója szerintem.

az ilyet hívják lukra futásnak, asszem.

[Tfalcone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got a free copy from net galley in exchange for an honest review:
Good biography of the life of Alla Osipenko from her humble beginnings to stardom as ballerina. The translation seems a little clumsy at times, but hat could be because it was an uncorrected copy.

[Pam Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book of the greatest ballerina that lived who was quarantened in Russia because she spoke out about the Soviet State ad paid the penalty for doing so., brilliant exposure of life within russia's walls.

[c]

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