Talk:Prima ballerina assoluta

Merge
Definitely merge list of PBAs into article. Crazy-dancing (talk) 18:42, 15 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Done. — Robert Greer (talk) 12:41, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Kschessinskaya 's title & "the chart"
I highly doubt that Nicholas II bestowed Kschessinskaya with the title of assoluta (& I doubt any of the other Monarchs did for the other danseuses mentioned in the chart). There has always been a story floating around from source to source that K. was named assoluta in 1896. Coryne Hall's bio of her - which is largely an expansion of K's memoirs "Dancing St. Petersburg" and contained little to no primary sources - also gives this as fact, but mentions nothing about the circumstances, if there was a "ceremony", etc., it merely mentions that she was given the title, and that's it. Now that I think about it, I don't buy it. I don't think she ever received such a title offically. She might have been hailed as such after a performance by an over-eager theatre director (and certainly not Petipa), & she surely used her influence to hog top-billing on theatre posters and gain more and more roles, but the title is open to question. Legnani is more than likely the only true assoluta of her era, at least from what I can gather from my years of "balletic-archaeolgy digging". Perhaps I can dig up more? To be continued ... I hope. --Mrlopez2681 (talk) 05:14, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

removal of the "awarded by section" in the chart
Though it is quite a romantic notion, the monarchs & heads of state listed certainly did not award any such title to the ballerinas listed. I am still doubtful that Kschessinskaya was ever named "Assoluta" at all, but I really have no hard evidence to support this, only LOTS of circumstantial bits and pieces. Mrlopez2681 (talk) 02:51, 3 December 2010 (UTC)

country of "prima ballerina assoluta"
What is to be meant by "country" of the "prima ballerina assoluta" in the table listing the names of dancers awarded with such title? If by that it is to be meant "country of citizenship", then Ms Legnani was Italian, not Russian; if it is to be meant "country of activity/residence at the time of award", then it should be specified. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.64.25.245 (talk) 16:24, 13 November 2011 (UTC)

Kschessinskaya
Kschessinska was never really referred to as "assoluta" until about 1906, but any evidence of her being officially titled as "assoluta" only shows up in her own memoirs "Dancing In St. Petersburg". Any other reference of her being titled as such only appears in sources where her memoirs are the source for this information. Frankly I think it was a lie generated by her. --Mrlopez2681 (talk) 04:22, 8 September 2012 (UTC)

Gloria Mestre
Please see Talk:Gloria_Mestre. Robert Greer (talk) 18:01, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

reverting good-faith edit of Yvette Chauviré
Chauviré was a great ballerina but never anointed assoluta by the French government. There is a film about her, "Yvette Chauviré : France's Prima Ballerina Assoluta." The originally title is "Yvette Chauviré: Une ètoile pour l’example", one of many film (and book and play) titles that has been changed by a foreign distributor or publisher. — Robert Greer (talk) 00:50, 20 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Reverted your reverted edit for several reasons:
 * 1. Chauviré was already mentioned in the text. Thus there is no reason not to mention her in the table.
 * 2. There are sources proving that she was named an "assoluta". There are no sources provided that put that in question.
 * 3. Your personal opinion is no source.
 * 4. You justified your edit with some translated film titles. A film title alone is not a serious source. Thus it is not a serious reason.
 * 5. Furthermore you justified your edit with "but never anointed assoluta by the French government." That is not a serious reason either. The French government was never and is not an official entitled institution to grant an "assoluta".  [Neither the Soviet government, the Queen nor the Senate of Berlin are entitled to grant an "assoluta" even if the "sanctioned" that title(s).]  An argumentation that a not entitled institution did not anoint something is absolutely for the birds.
 * Thus your edit was not adequate. with best wishes from VINCENZO1492   09:42, 20 October 2016 (UTC)

Mestre, Ananiashvili, Zakharova
’s recent inclusion of Svetlana Zakharova is odd: “Credited as étoile of La Scala, prima assoluta being equivalent.” It is not: the rank of prima ballerina étoile is a principal at La Scala Theatre Ballet, that’s all; drawn from the French title danseur étoile. And: “Also credited by some sources as assoluta of the Bolshoi Ballet, unconfirmed.” Well then…

Also, the inclusion of Gloria Mestre is questioned on Talk:Gloria Mestre, and that of Nina Ananiashvili is unsourced either in this article or in theirs. 93.19.248.151 (talk) 16:24, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

Zakharova is NOT assoluta. She is a prima ballerina and a La Scala étoile, but Dying Swan probably made a mistake on that because étoile is higher than principal, it is a title unique to La Scala in the usage. The only étoiles are Zakharova and Bolle. Mary Woolworth (talk) 19:25, 24 October 2022 (UTC)