Bermuda School Of Russian Ballet

Seventy years ago, on 24 January 1937, Nicolai Legat passed away in a quiet backwater of Kensington. He occupied a fine house with a spacious Studio at 46 Colet Gardens. Today, Colet Gardens is no longer quiet, since it became by curious coincidence or might it be irony the Royal Ballet School. It continues to use the studio at 46 Colet gardens where Legat originally taught; on a sight next door to the house where Legat lived. His name means little in the present thriving world of ballet, but in his day, he had his moment of glory, and in the annals of ballet history his name is recorded.

Nicolai Legat was a multi-talented artist. Legat’s ancestry of German and Swedish stock had always been associated with fairgrounds and theaters, which eventually brought them to Russia. Legat’s parents were both dancers and father Gustave taught in the Bolshoi school. Legat has recorded some lively accounts of a wonderful childhood in old Moscow but, when the family moved to St. Petersburg, and then life became a little harder.

From a very large family, four were sent to the Imperial Theater School, to learn ballet. Nicolai and his brother Serge, who were inseparable, became pupils of the great master, Christian Johansson, a Swedish professor whose remarkable line of dancers included Mathilde Kschesinska, Preobrajenska and Legat himself.

The Legat brothers quickly established themselves as leading dancers. Together, they also developed a remarkable gift for caricature, and produced an album of ballerinas and dancers of the Imperial Ballet. These caricatures are much prized even today and are very rare. Legat also developed as a unique artist drawing and sketching characters from the world around him.

In the prime of life, the brothers scored a striking success with their first choreographic work, the ballet The Fairy Doll. They worked together in perfect harmony until a tragic circumstance severed their lives. In 1905 the Imperial Ballet went on strike, and for the first time, Nicolai and Serge found themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. After a drinking bout, Serge committed suicide. Legat records that the reason was due to Serge’s love of Petipa’s daughter. Nicolai was deeply affected by the loss of his brother.

Nevertheless, Nicolai Legat’s fame was assured; but he handled fame uneasily. With the retirement of Marius Petipa, choreographer and creator of Maryinsky’s Classical repertoire, followed by the death of Christian Johansson, professor of the Class of Perfection and creator of the Russian School, Nicolai Legat stood unchallenged as the natural successor. Legat became ballet master and principal choreographer, continuing to dance leading roles. The young Michel Fokine, Legat’s pupil, whose revolutionary ideas and artistic flair were alien to Legat’s traditional background and teaching. Folkine was the source of upset and distress when he began teaching and choreographing, but later found his fame and fortune as choreographer in the original Ballet Russe.

Legat’s greatest contribution and legacy as his name implies was his teaching. He was working with his students Nijinsky, Pavlova, Karsavina, Trefilova, Vaganova, Fokine, Massine, Balanchine, Obukov and many more, all of the dancers of that era.

Legat is also known to have worked very closely with Marius Petipa setting Pas de Deux and solos for Petipa’s most prestigious ballets and working very closely with Petipa’s daughter Maria. Two or three of Legat’s choreographies have survived, although it was known that his ballets were full of flowing dance and that his arrangements were musical and in good taste. His greatness is remembered for the brilliance and logic of his teaching. Which, he passed on to the Russian teachers of today. Legat’s system is uncodified and unrecorded, and can only be passed on to the next generation from teacher to teacher. His dance had the lyrical qualities of the French school and during his collaboration with Johansson had been refined and perfected, a magical movement and quite unique in the whole spectrum of ballet. This is rarely seen in the dancers of today.

After 25 years of service in the Imperial Theater he resigned his position at the Maryinsky and was rewarded with a handsome benefit and a gold cigarette case from Tzar Nicolas II.

Legat began teaching privately and became infatuated with one of his young pupils, Nadine Nicolaeva (DeBriger). Legat made Nadine his partner and eloped with her on a Paris tour, where they were married in 1910. Seeking a divorce from his wife Tchumakova, this was not officially finalized until 1919.

Life was fraught with peril during the days of the Revolution and dancers had to scrape a living by any means possible. They toured for the troops (there is a caricature of himself and Nadine, her reflection is shown in the back of his coat it is so worn).

For a time Legat became ballet master at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. Legat felt that at this time he was a very small cog in a large wheel and not able to help his wife Nadine who was accepted by the Bolshoi as a soloist but was refused ballerina status despite her phenomenal technique and acrobatic skills.

Nicolas and Nadine can be credited with what we know to day as an Adagio Act. Legat choreographed all the lifts and acrobatic feats that are presented by the ice skaters of today. Many of which you may have seen on the television.

Legat tells a story of his return to Moscow after a tour in Europe to find Cossack soldiers living in his home. Asking if he could take the picture of his mother from the wall the Cossack replied “that’s my mother”. Legat then asked if he could take his violin from the shelf – the violin that was handed to him by Johansson – with that the Cossack snatched the violin from Legat’s hand and broke it over his knee. For Legat that was the final straw and when Nadine was granted sick leave in 1922; they left Moscow via Germany and France and finally settled in London. Legat who was then staging ballet for the Palladium created The Moscow Arts Ballet and started his own school in Fitzroy Square.

In 1925 Legat was engaged as ballet master by Serge Diaghilev for the original Ballet Russe. Nadine Nicoliva also joined the company. After a tour in Germany and France, Legat found it untenable to accept the liaison which was forced by Diaghilev upon Nijinsky, who was Legat’s student and protégé. - But that is a whole story in itself.- Legat enjoyed teaching his own collogues and students from the Maryinsky, but the new dancers entering the company did not understand the artistry or epaulement of his classes.

In 1930 Legat established his School of Classical Russian Ballet, at Colet Gardens. At this time he was doing choreography for the Carmagao Society and the school became a Mecca for leading dancers all over the world.

This created the influence and knowledge for some outstanding young English dancers; including Sir Anton Dolin, Dame Margot Fonteyn, Dame Ninette de Valois, Dame Alicia Markova, Harold Turner, Michael Soames, Alan Carter, Stanley Judson, Jack Spurgon, Pearl Argyle, Mary Horner, June Brae, Wendy Toye, Joy Camden, Barbera Vernon (Gregory), Lady Moira Kennedy (ne. Shearer), Ruth French, Phyllis Bedells.

Legat who never really learned English used his students to communicate, one of whom was a young dancer from Yugoslavia, Ana Roje, who because of this became Legat’s assistant.

Legat was deeply loved and revered by all. He had a brilliant and caustic wit but a very gentle personality, a nostalgic clown. He talked gibberish and mimed like a monkey but as a teacher his class was artistically creative, unbelievably progressive and inspiring to all. Legat was the key to the future development of British ballet.

And in that context this impeccable teacher can be called the Great-Grandfather of British ballet.

Britain’s gain was inevitably Russia’s loss as Legat was the keystone of the Imperial Russian Ballet which became the foundation and inspiration of British ballet. Legat’s methods were continued by his pupil of some 20 years Agrippina Vaganova, who guided the course of Soviet ballet. But she changed the system adding more Italian technique veering toward the gymnastic. Fortunately there were sufficient of the older generation of teachers working with the school who followed the teaching of Johansson/Legat, keeping the lyrical and artistic beauty produced in the young Russian dancers of today.

Physical excess offers little that belonged to the true artistry and beauty of the school.

Today we have many technical brilliant dancers but no real Artists.

Contact Information

 (441) 293 4147 (441) 295- 8621

Studio (441) 292 2192

(441) 293 8789

PO Box HM 661, Hamilton, Bermuda HM-BX

General Information: info@balletbermuda.bm
Webmaster: John@balletbermuda.bm

Last modified: 09/02/08