 |
Tribute to Genia Melikova By GLORIA MARINA SAN ROMÁN
I was immensely saddened to learn that a former colleague of mine, Genia Melikova, died on March 5 at the age of 74. Genia and I met in 1972, when I came to teach classical Spanish dance at Juilliard and she was teaching classical ballet. But the first time I had the honor of watching her perform was in 1956, when she appeared with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas at the Gran Teatro Opera in Buenos Aires, in my native land of Argentina.
 |
| Genia Melikova teaching a ballet class in 1979. (Photo by Peter Schaaf) |
|
The daughter of Russian parents, Genia Melikova was born in Marseille, France. She began her dance training in Nice with Julia Sedova. At an early age, she joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo under the direction of Leonide Massine. Following World War II, Genia and her parents emigrated to the United States, where she trained under the direction of Anatole Vilzak and Anthony Tudor, performing with American Ballet Theater. From 1954-62, she danced with the Paris-based Marquis de Cuevas company. She had leading roles in The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake (in which she was the first Western ballerina to be partnered by Nureyev after he defected from Russia in 1961). She was also a member of the London Festival Ballet from 1963-64 before she came to New York.In 1969 she joined the faculty at Juilliard, where she choreographed and directed Vivaldiana in March 1985 and restaged the "Pas de Trois" from George Balanchine's Paquita. This ballet was originally performed by the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas in 1948 and was first performed in New York by the New York City Ballet in 1951. In addition to her 26 years at Juilliard, Genia also taught at the Igor Youskevitch School of Ballet and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center.Genia and I shared many wonderful memories of our former careers as professional dancers, often chatting in the dressing room in between classes. As a colleague, she was wonderful to work with. Genia's devotion to her profession and her kindness won her the regard and admiration of her colleagues and students alike. She will be sorely missed by me and many others in the dance world.
|
