Prima ballerina assoluta is a title awarded to the most notable of female ballet dancers. To be recognised as a prima ballerina assoluta is a rare honour, traditionally reserved only for the most exceptional dancers of their generation. Originally inspired by the Italian ballet masters of the early Romantic ballet, and literally meaning absolute first ballerina, the title was bestowed on a prima ballerina who was considered to be exceptionally talented, above the standard of other leading ballerinas. The title is very rarely used today and recent uses have typically been symbolic, either in recognition of a prestigious international career, or for exceptional service to a particular ballet company. There is no universal procedure for designating who may receive the title, which has led to dispute in the ballet community over who can legitimately claim it. It is usually a ballet company that bestows the title, however some dancers have had the title officially sanctioned by a government or head of state, sometimes for political rather than artistic reasons. Less common is for a dancer to become identified as a prima ballerina assoluta as a result of public and critical opinion.
The first recorded use of the title as a company rank was in 1894, when French ballet master Marius Petipa bestowed it on Italian ballerina Pierina Legnani. He considered her to be the supreme leading ballerina in all of Europe.[1]
The second ballerina to be given the title was Legnani's contemporary Mathilde Kschessinska, in 1895.[2] Petipa, however, did not agree that she should hold such a title; although an extraordinary ballerina, he felt that she obtained the title primarily via her connections with the Imperial Russian court, as she had an affair with Nicholas II,[3] [4] [5] as well as two other Romanov (Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich and her future husband Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich).[6] [7]
Legnani's heir in the Italian ballet tradition, Attilia Radice trained with Enrico Cecchetti at La Scala in Milan where she became a leading dancer and was appointed prima ballerina assoluta at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma[8] in 1935.[9] [10]
The only Soviet ballerinas to hold the title were Galina Ulanova, acclaimed as prima ballerina assoluta in 1944,[11] and Maya Plisetskaya in 1960.[12]
The Swiss-born American Eva Evdokimova became recognised as a prima ballerina assoluta following guest appearances with the Kirov Ballet in the 1970s, when she was named as such by the company ballet mistress, Natalia Dudinskaya.[13] The title was later recognised by a vote of the Senate of Berlin.[14]
Other dancers awarded the title include Anneli Alhanko from Sweden (in 1984), Alicia Alonso from Cuba, Alessandra Ferri from Italy (in 1992),[15] [16] and Alicia Markova and Margot Fonteyn (in 1979),[17] both from England.
The only French dancer to hold the title is Yvette Chauviré.[18] [19]
Though the U.S. has no process for designation of the title, Rudolf Nureyev referred to the American ballerina Cynthia Gregory of the American Ballet Theatre as the nation's prima ballerina assoluta; however this has never been formally acknowledged.[20] Another not to hold the title is Anna Pavlova, one of the best known ballerinas in history.
In South Africa, the only ballerina granted the title prima ballerina assoluta (in 1984)[21] was Phyllis Spira (1943–2008).[22]
| No | Name | Nationality | Notes | - | 1 | Appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Mariinsky Ballet at the request of Marius Petipa. | - | 2 | Polish / Russian | Appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Mariinsky Ballet, allegedly due to her connections with the Imperial Russian Court. Petipa is known to have attempted to block her promotion. | - | 3 | No record of the title being officially sanctioned; however, she is credited as a Prima Ballerina Assoluta in numerous sources. She is also credited as such by English National Ballet, of which she was co-founder and by the Royal Ballet of London, of which she was the first Prima Ballerina. | - | 4 | Italian | Trained at La Scala under Enrico Cecchetti, she was appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta at Rome Opera House in 1935. Retired in 1957, she held the position of Director of the ballet school at Rome Opera House until 1975. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 5 | Russian | The first dancer to be appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta by the Soviet Government, following her transfer to the Bolshoi Ballet. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Cuban | No record of the title being officially sanctioned, however she is credited as a Prima Ballerina Assoluta in numerous sources, including the Cuban National Ballet, of which she is the founder. | - | 7 | Russian | Appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Bolshoi Ballet by the Soviet Government, as successor to Galina Ulanova. | - | 8 | Was named Prima Ballerina Assoluta by the ballet mistress of the Kirov Ballet, following guest appearances with the company in the 1970s. The title was later sanctioned by the Senate of Berlin. | - | 9 | Appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Royal Ballet in 1979, as a gift for her 60th birthday. The title was also sanctioned by Queen Elizabeth II as patron of the company. | - | 10 | 20th century. | - | 11 | The title bestowed on her in 1984 by the Soviet Ministry of Culture after her guest appearance at the Bolshoi Ballet.[23] In 1990, she was appointed Dancer of the Court (hovdansare) by the King of Sweden.[24] | - | 12 | South African | The title was bestowed upon her by the president of South Africa in 1984. | - | 13 | 1992[25] | - |