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Creator
Hiden, Georgia
Call number
(S) *MGZMD 362
Physical description
.21 linear feet (1 box)
Preferred Citation

Georgia Hiden collection of Mathilde Kshessinska materials, (S) *MGZMD 362. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Mathilde Kshessinska was a Russian ballet dancer and teacher. The Georgia Hiden collection of Mathilde Kshessinska materials dates from 1939 to 1973, and contains letters to Hiden from or concerning Kshessinska, photographs of Kshessinska, and clippings relating to her career. The material is in French, German, and English.

Biographical/historical information

Mathilde Kshessinska (1872-1971) was a Russian ballet dancer and teacher. She studied at the Imperial Theater School in St. Petersburg, and made her debut at the Mariinsky Theater. She was appointed prima ballerina assoluta in 1895, only five years after her debut. Kshessinska retired from the stage in 1911. She had one son, Vladimir, with the Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia. Kshessinska and the Grand Duke married in 1921, and she was given the title Princess Romanovsky-Krasinsky. The two resided in Paris, where Kshessinska opened a ballet school in 1929.

Georgia Hiden was a dancer, and a friend of Kshessinska and her son.

Scope and arrangement

The Georgia Hiden collection of Mathilde Kshessinska materials dates from 1939 to 1973. The collection contains letters to Hiden from or concerning Kshessinska, photographs of Kshessinska, and clippings relating to her career. The collection also contains one short letter from Jurgen Schneider and a note regarding the death of Erika Hanka. The material in the collection is in French, German, and English.

Letters from Kshessinska and her son, Vladimir Romanoff, are in French, and date from 1939 to 1973. Kshessinska's letters are short, and briefly touch on subjects such as her health, the death of her sister, her gratitude to Hiden, and her dance students. Letters from Kshessinska's son, Vladimir Romanoff, chiefly concern his mother and monetary problems after her death. Clippings include photocopies of reviews of Kshessinska's performances in 1903 and 1912 from an Austrian newspaper.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Georgia Hiden, 1993.

Processing information

Compiled by Kit Fluker, 2014

Using the collection

Location

Jerome Robbins Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

The author/creator retains copyright of materials. For information on obtaining permission to publish, contact the Dance Division at dance@nypl.org.