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Leon Danielian On Film

I only knew Leon Danielian from his appearance on film with Alexandra Danilova and Frederic Franklin in ‘Gaîté Parisienne’ with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.

So it was great to see this snippet of a performance, close up and in front of a curtain.

I’ve followed this fragment with a section of the ‘Can Can’ from the famed Léonide Massine ballet that shows Danielian in action on stage.

The dance critic John Martin said of Leon Danielian ‘The boy can dance like a house afire’.

Danielian studied with Mikhail Fokine and Mikhail Mordkin, debuting with the Mordkin Ballet in 1937 and becoming a principal when the company transmuted into Ballet Theatre in 1940.

He left not long after to find his greatest fame with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, dancing leading roles in works by Léonide Massine, George Balanchine and Bronislava Nijinska. His partners included the legendary Alexandra Danilova and Yvette Chauvire, and the American ballerina Ruthanna Bori.

He was equally known for purely classical roles (the Bluebird pas de deux from 'The Sleeping Beauty') and for comic and character parts (Harlequin in Fokine's 'Carnaval', the Peruvian tourist in Massine's 'Gaite Parisienne’).

Danielian choreographed three comic ballets for the company - 'Sombreros' (1956), 'The Mazurka' (1957) and 'Espana' (1961).

On retirement, he taught at American Ballet Theatre and was director of the school from 1967 to 1980. He was then a professor of dance at the University of Texas in Austin from 1982 to 1991.

Enjoy!