Anatole Bourman (1888-1962)

I have received several suggestions about dancers that I have not yet written about. Please give me time. Think about it Diaghilev's Ballets Russes existed for twenty years (1909-1929) during which time many dancers came and went. Dancers that are often forgotten by today's dancers are the ones I want especially to bring to your attention.

In 1911 Anatole Bourman (1888-1962) joined Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, with whom he remained until 1922. Prior to joining this company, he had been a member of the Maryinsky Ballet. He is often called the "forgotten man" of the ballet -- seldom mentioned in books on Diaghilev or in dance dictionaries, although he wrote The Tragedy of Nijinsky (1937) a biography of his classmate. Bourman and his wife, Léocadia Klementovitch, came to America in 1927, where he became ballet master of the Strand Theatre in New York City. Later Bourman opened a school in Springfield, Mass.

(First published November 1995)

Next: Antoine Bournonville (1760-1843)