Lucia Nifontova-Saurama (born Russian: Любовь Андреевна Нифонтова, romanized: Lyubov Andreyevna Nifontova; 30 August 1913 – 6 April 1987), better known as Lucia Nifontova, was a Finnish ballet dancer and Finland’s first prima ballerina assoluta. In the 1930s and 40s she and her partner Arvo Martikainen [fi; ru] were the leading dancers in Finland and among the foremost artists in Finnish ballet of all time periods.[1][2]: para. 1[3]: ch. 45 Her performances of Odette and Odile in Swan Lake were especially noted for their artistic accomplishment and emotional interpretation.[4][2]: para. 7
Biography
Early life and education
Nifontova was born in Helsinki, then part of the Russian Empire, to Andrei Ivanovich Nifontov (Russian: Андрей Иванович Нифонтов; 1876–1962), a Russian imperial civil servant, and Alexandra Nifontova (née Teresia Emilia Grönros[a]; 1879–1945) of Tuusula. She was called Lucia both at home and in public.[5]: para. 8
She spent six years at a Russian-language elementary school in Helsinki, after which she entered the Hilma Liiman Dance School and then continued her studies at the Helsinki Dance Institute[b]. There she studied under ballerinas from the Mariinsky Theatre Elisabeth Apostoli and Mary Paischeff.[5] Her first public performance was at age 12 in Hollandsflickan ("The Little Dutch Girl") at Helsinki’s Swedish Theatre.[2]
During the global depression of the 1930s the Finnish National Ballet suffered great difficulties in paying its artists,[10] and in 1935 Nifontova and Martikainen, along with Gé, Kschessinska and Preobrajenska, left Finland and joined René Blum's Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo.[3]: chap. 14 Nifontova’s coach in the new company was the groundbreaking choreographer Michel Fokine.[5] They performed in Paris, London and South Africa, among other locales.[2]
Return to Finland
In 1938 retired soprano Aino Ackté took over direction of the Finnish National Ballet and Nifontova returned for two seasons, performing the lead roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Onnen linna [fi] and Le Pavillon d'Armide. After that Nifontova danced periodically as a guest artist at the Finnish National Ballet as well as abroad.[2][8]
In 1941 she directed a production of Les Sylphides using choreography she had learned from Fokine.[11][12][3]: ch. 19 She and Martikainen also taught advanced classes in Fokine’s difficult techniques.[3]: ch. 34 Her final performance was in 1947 as Odette in Swan Lake.[5][13]
In 1945 Nifontova was named the best classical dancer at an international choreography contest organized by Rolf de Maré in Stockholm.[2][3]: ch. 42 In 1955 she was awarded the Pro Finlandia medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland, the country’s highest honor for artists. Her name lives on (as of 2020[update]) in the Lucia Nifontova scholarship distributed by Pro Dance [fi] to dance students and teachers.[15]
Repertoire
Ballets, operas and operettas at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, excluding performances on tour:[8]
^This school, directed by Rafael Penger, closed in 1924. It is not the school with the same name that now operates in Helsinki.
References
^Kaiku, Jan-Peter (2010-12-09). "Martikainen, Arvo". Uppslagsverket Finland [Encyclopaedia Finland] (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2021-09-12. Dessa två dansares partnerskap räknas till det förnämsta inom finländsk balettkonst. [The partnership of these two dancers is considered the most distinguished in the art of Finnish ballet.]
^ abcdefghVienola-Lindfors, Irma (1987-04-08). "Kuolleita: Tanssitaiteilija Lucia Nifontova" [Deaths: Dance artist Lucia Nifontova]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki. p. 16.
^ abcdeHemming, Eva (2016-01-15) [First published 1991]. Hymy nuoruudelle [A Smile to Youth: Memoirs]. Translated by Wager, Evita. AuthorHouse UK. ISBN978-951-1-11898-5.
^Suhonen, Tiina (2012). "Kolme vientiprojektia menneisyydestä: Maggie Gripenberg, Suomen Kansallisoopperan baletti, Tanssiteatteri Raatikko" [Three past exports: Maggie Gripenberg, the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, and the Raatikko Dance Theatre]. In Laakkonen, Johanna; Suhonen, Tiina (eds.). Weimarista valtoihin: Kansainvälisyys suomalaisessa tanssitaiteessa [From Weimar to the States: Internationalism in the art of Finnish dance] (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Teatterimuseo [fi]. p. 68. ISBN978-952-67846-0-1. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2020-07-26. Retrieved 2021-10-07. Nifontovaa ylistettiin koko Pohjolan prima ballerinana. Hänen liikkeensä ovat puhtaat ja sielukkaat, ja Odetten ja prinssin adagio oli niin kaunis, että kurkkua kuristi, kirjoitti Robin Hood, teräväsanainen ja balettia tunteva kriitikko. [Nifontova was praised as the prima ballerina of the whole of the North. Her movements were pure and soulful, and Odette's and the prince's Adagio was so beautiful my throat choked, wrote Robin Hood, a sharp-witted critic knowledgeable in ballet.]
^Vienola, I (1992-01-12). "Maailman tuulia suomalaisissa tanssiaskelissa" [The winds of the world in Finnish dance steps]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki. Retrieved 2021-07-29. Toinen piirre oli jatkuva rahapula, joka uhkasi baletin olemassaoloa. Se karkotti ulkomaille ajan huomattavimmat taiteilijat... [Another trend was the constant shortage of money that threatened the existence of the ballet. It drove away the most prominent artists of the time...]
^"Sylfidit Aug 31, 1940". Encore: The Finnish National Opera and Ballet performance database. n.d. Archived from the original on 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2021-10-06. 18.10.1941 alkaen toteutus Lucia Nifontova. [Starting 1941-10-18 the staging was by Lucia Nifontova.]
^Saurama, Juha (2010-08-16). "Antti Saurama - Muistot" [Antti Saurama - Memories]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki. Retrieved 2021-07-17. Saurama oli priimaballerina Lucia Nifontovan ja Helsingin kokoomuksen toiminnanjohtajan Eero Sauraman ainoa lapsi. [Saurama was the only child of prima ballerina Lucia Nifontova and Eero Saurama, executive director of the Helsinki district of the National Coalition Party.]
