Eugenia Kolosova

Eugenia Kolosova
Portrait by Alexander Varnek c. 1800s
Born	Eugenia Ivanovna Kolosova December 15, 1780
Died	March 30, 1869(1869-03-30) (aged 88) St. Petersburg
Years active	1794-1826

Eugenia Ivanovna Kolosova (Russian: Евгения Ивановна Колосова; December 15, 1780 – March 30, 1869) was a Russian ballerina.

She was engaged at the Imperial Theatres in 1799–1826, during which she had a successful career as first a solo ballerina and later as a dramatic actress.

Biography

She was born into an artistic family. Since childhood, she has performed in musical and dramatic performances; at the age of 14 she successfully made her debut in the ballet "Pygmalion" by Jean-Philippe Rameau. After graduating from Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in 1799 (teacher - I. Valberkh), she was accepted as a soloist in Imperial Theatres.

She performed the title roles in ballets staged by her teacher Valberch, as well as choreographersCharles Le Picq, Chevalier and Charles Didelot. The first ballerina to create the image of her contemporary on the Russian ballet stage is the Girl (Titov's New Werther), Vasilisa (Russians in Germany, or the Consequence of Love for the Fatherland by Paris). She was one of the first to perform Russian dances on the ballet stage; one of the first in Russia to change the magnificent stylized costume to an antique chiton.

She also successfully performed as a dramatic actress in dramas and comedies. She left the stage in 1826.

She was engaged in pedagogical activities, among her students were ballerinas Maria Danilova, Avdotia Istomina and Likhutina, Anastasia Andreevna.

She was buried at the Smolensky Cemetery in 1936, the ashes were transferred to Tikhvin Cemetery with the installation of a new tombstone