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Creator
Strelska, Vera, 1901-1989
Call number
*MGZMD 590
Physical description
0.67 linear feet (3 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Lila Hollin collection of material on Vera Strelska, *MGZMD 590. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Vera Strelska (1901-1989) was a Ukrainian-born ballet dancer who performed in companies in both Russia and the United States. The collection, dated from 1922-1989, contains biographical sketches, promotional materials, photographs, and printed matter related to Strelska's career as a dancer and teacher.

Biographical/historical information

Vera Strelska (1901-1989) was a Ukrainian-born ballet dancer who performed in companies in both Russia and the United States. Strelska (alternate spellings Strielskaya, Strelskaya) was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 1901. Her early dance training began with Bronislava Nijinska, who she studied under in St. Petersburg. In 1920, Strelska's father, a Russian White Army officer, was assassinated by the Bolshevists. She and her mother escaped to Istanbul where she completed her studies.

During the 1920s and early 1930s, Strelska performed on both film and stage and was part of multiple dance companies in countries including Russia, France, Turkey, and the United States. She performed in the Ballet Moderne, the Michael Mordkin Ballet, and was prima ballerina at the Philadelphia Civic Opera. Strelska most famously partnered with Alexander Gavrilov, the premier dancer of Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. In 1934, Strelska experienced a car accident where she was injured. She then became a teacher, opening her own studio. Apart from having her own studio, in 1939, Strelska and Dennis Landers (member of Ted Shawn's dance company) established a studio in Washington D.C., and in 1940 the two were married.

Strelska died at her home in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, on April 27, 1989, at age 88.

Scope and arrangement

The Lila Hollin collection of material on Vera Strelska, dated from 1922-1989, contains biographical sketches, promotional materials, photographs, and printed matter related to Strelska's career as a dancer and teacher.

The collection includes two biographical sketches, one written shortly after Strelska came to the US, and another written by Lila Hollin after Strelska's death in 1989.

Several flyers and brochures promote performances at various venues as well as dance instruction offered by Strelska.

The photographs depict artwork, as well as Strelska and fellow dancers in costumes from various productions.

The collection also contains souvenir programs from companies or performances that featured Strelska, all signed by Strelska.

The remainder of the collection holds programs and pamphlets from Strelska's performances, along with scrapbook pages, clippings, magazines, a musical score, costumes, drawings by Strelska, and an essay on the "Strelska System" that she wrote later in life.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Lila Hollin in 1990.

Processing information

Processed by Micaela Yang in 2026.

Separated material

An original drawing (*MGZGD Str V Win 1) and a cassette with an interview of Strelska (*MGZTCO 3-3319) were separated from the collection and are available at the Library for the Performing Arts.

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