Eva Evdokimova

Eva Evdokimova-Gregori (December 1, 1948 – April 3, 2009) was a Prima Ballerina Assoluta with the Royal Danish, Berlin Opera Ballets, English National Ballet and guest artist with virtually every major ballet company worldwide.

Early life

Born in Geneva, Switzerland to a stateless Bulgarian father and an American mother Evdokimova, an American citizen from birth, began her ballet studies as a child in Munich. She later attended the Royal Ballet School in London, where she studied for several years under the direction of Maria Fay. In 1966, she became the first non-Danish dancer to join the Royal Danish Ballet, where she continued her studies under Vera Volkova.

Career

Eva Evdokimova
Born	(1948-12-01)December 1, 1948 Geneva, Switzerland
Died	Manhattan, New York
Cause of death	Cancer
Alma mater	Berlin Opera Ballet
Occupation	Ballet dancer
Years active	1971-2005

She graduated into the Berlin Opera Ballet in 1969, where she danced her first Giselle in 1971. She was promoted to prima ballerina in 1973, a position she held for 12 years. For many years she was also the leading ballerina of the London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet), where she was chosen by Rudolf Nureyev to dance the first Princess Aurora in his production of The Sleeping Beauty with the company in 1975. It was Eva Evdokimova that created the name English National Ballet and is solely credit with the concept, vision, passion, integrity and extraordinary superior intellect that virtually overnight changed not only the name of the company to The English National Ballet, but assured the immediate world standing, prestige and financial stability. It was her "gift" to England. Pitifully and shamefully only a few words about this exist on the English National Ballet's website.

Throughout her career, she repeatedly danced with virtually every major international ballet company including the Kirov Ballet, where she was coached by Natalia Dudinskaya, the American Ballet Theater, and the Paris Opera Ballet. She was frequently paired with Nureyev, with whom she said, "I've danced in... nearly every city in the world." Their partnership lasted over fifteen years and they performed hundreds of times together.

After a performance with the Kirov Ballet she was awarded the title "Prima Ballerina Assoluta." Subsequently she was billed that way internationally. Evdokimova is considered by many to be the finest exponent of the romantic style since the Russian ballerina Olga Spessivtseva. In addition to her insuperable interpretations of the tragic heroines of the Romantic era, namely Giselle and La Sylphide, her repertoire encompassed about 150 roles ranging from classical to contemporary works. The last dance created for her (by choreographer Henning Rübsam) in 2002, prompted New York Times critic Jennifer Dunning to comment, "Both the solo and her performance were celebrations of the kind of artistry that comes only with maturity and experience."

The first American to win any international ballet competition, Evdokimova won the Varna International Ballet Competition in 1970, having been snubbed earlier that year in a Moscow competition. She was awarded the charter Ulanova Prize in 2005 for "selfless dedication to the art of dance".

Later life

Probably the most comprehensively trained ballerina of her time (having studied virtually every method of ballet technique), Evdokimova later became a dance teacher and coach around the world. After her performing career, she was ballet mistress at the Boston Ballet and judged numerous international ballet competitions.

Death

She died on April 3, 2009, aged 60, from complications of cancer in Manhattan, New York, according to her husband, Michael S. Gregori.

Further reading

• The Times "Eva Evdokimova: prima ballerina assoluta", April 18, 2009
• Dance Magazine, December 2005, interview
• Ballet Arts bio.
• Oxford Dictionary of Dance entry
• People, January 11, 1988, Vol. 29, No. 1
• Portrait of an Artist: Eva Evdokimova, Dance Books, London 1982 [1]