Yakobson, Leonid (EN)

Yakobson Leonid Veniaminovich, *15 (2) January 1904 St. Petersburg, †18 October 1975 Moscow, Russian dancer, choreographer, and ballet master. In 1926 he graduated from the ballet school in Leningrad, where he studied under V. Ponomaryov. From 1926 to 1933 he was a soloist with the Kirov Theatre, and from 1942 to 1950 and again from 1956 to 1975 served there as ballet master; between 1933 and 1942 he was a dancer and ballet master at the Bolshoi Theatre. In 1970 he founded in Leningrad his own company, Choreographic Miniatures, which continues to exist and to cultivate the artistic legacy of its founder. As a dancer, he was a gifted performer of character and comic-grotesque roles, such as Puss in Boots (The Sleeping Beauty, music by P. Tchaikovsky) and the Acrobat (The Red Poppy, music by R. Glière). As a choreographer, he made his debut in 1930, collaborating with S. Kaplan, V. Vainonen, and V. Chesnakov on the ballet The Golden Age (music by D. Shostakovich). He achieved particular success with his numerous choreographic miniatures, which in 1958 he assembled into a full-evening program for the Kirov Theatre. The miniature became Jakobson’s characteristic mode of artistic expression. Among the best known are The Hunter and the Bird (music by E. Grieg), Troyka (music by I. Stravinsky), Rodin (music by C. Debussy), Viennese Waltz (music by J. Strauss), Mozartiana, and Surprise Symphony (music by Joseph Haydn). In his work he employed unconventional and highly individualized movements and choreographic designs; consequently, each of his new creations provoked considerable controversy.