Slavenska, Mia

▪ 2003

Mia Corak 

      Croatian-born American ballerina and teacher (b. Feb. 20, 1914/16, Brod-na Savi [now Slavonski Brod], Croatia—d. Oct. 5, 2002, Westwood, Calif.), was celebrated for her powerful stage presence, enhanced by her dazzling virtuoso technique and dramatic flair, as well as the beauty of her face and red hair. She later made an equally strong impression as a much-respected teacher. Slavenska began her ballet studies in Zagreb, Croatia, and later also studied in Vienna and Paris. As a young child she danced in children's roles at the opera house in Zagreb, and when she was 12, she featured herself in an evening-length recital of dances she had choreographed. At the age of 17, she became prima ballerina of the Zagreb opera house's ballet company, and at the dance competition held in conjunction with the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Slavenska was one of the only three dancer-choreographers honoured with an award. She achieved greater renown the following year as one of the stars of the film La Mort du cygne (U.S. title, Ballerina). In 1938 Slavenska joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and for the next several years she traveled with that company internationally, dancing the principal roles in such classical ballets as Giselle, Swan Lake, and Coppélia as well as 20th-century works by Michel Fokine and Léonide Massine. She eventually settled in the United States, where she became a citizen in 1947. Slavenska then made numerous guest appearances with ballet companies and formed a succession of touring groups, including Ballet Variante and, with Frederic Franklin, the Slavenska-Franklin Ballet. It was with the latter company that she danced one of her most noted roles, Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire (1952). Slavenska opened her own ballet studio in New York City in 1960, and in the late 1960s she moved to Los Angeles, where she had a studio and also taught at the University of California, Los Angeles (1969–83), and the California Institute of the Arts (1970–83).

* * *