Carina Ari
| Carina Ari | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Maria Karina Viktoria Jansson 14 April 1897 , Sweden |
| Died | 24 December 1970 (aged 73) Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Occupation | ballerina, choreographer, sculptor, philanthropist |
| Years active | 1913-1951 |
| Known for | creating the Carina Ari Foundation |
Carina Ari (14 April 1897-24 December 1970) was the artistic name of Maria Karina Viktoria Jansson, a Swedish-born dancer. After a noted career of dance and choreography which spanned from 1913 to 1939, mostly in Paris, Ari married and moved to Argentina. Taking up sculpting, she created busts of several prominent figures. Beginning in 1951, she created endowments to care for dancers, establishing funds to care for ill or aging dancers, to promote new talent, and to establish a library in Sweden to encourage study on dance. The Carina Ari Library in Stockholm holds one of the most extensive collections of archival materials on dance in Europe.
Maria Karina Viktoria Jansson was born on 14 April 1897 in , Sweden. Raised in poverty, with questions of her heritage, due to her swarthy complexion, Jansson dreamed of becoming a dancer from a young age. In 1911, she enrolled in the dance school offered by the Royal Swedish Opera, graduating in 1913.
Upon completion of her studies, Jansson entered the corps de ballet of the Royal Swedish Ballet (RSB). 1913 was the year in which Michel Fokine joined the RSB as its artistic director. His approach differed to what had been done in the past, promoting dancers to roles based on ability, rather than by their rank in the company. Fokine selected Jansson to participate in the corps de ballet for the production of Les Sylphides and the following year chose her for a small role in Scheherazade. Activities of the ballet company were suspended during World War I, but in 1918 and again in 1919, Jansonn participated with Fokine in two guest appearances over the summer at the theater of Tivoli Gardens. During the first of these appearances, Jansonn changed her artistic name to Carina Ari.
In 1919, Ari quit the Royal Ballet, borrowed money, and moved to Charlottenlund Denmark to study with Fokine, who had taken a villa there. After graduating from Fokine's training and receiving his endorsement for her choreographic abilities, she returned to Stockholm. She was hired by Mauritz Stiller to choreograph the ballet Schaname for his film Erotikon (1920). The ballet scene was extensive and required the entire Royal Ballet for the performance. Soon after filming ended, she left Stockholm and moved to Paris. She worked as a principal dancer with the Rolf de Maré's Ballets suédois from 1920 to 1923, noted for her flowing arm movements. The first production by the company, Ibéra was composed by Isaac Albéniz, based on Spanish themes suited both Ari's dark appearance and her dancing style. She also appeared in Jeux and La Nuit de Saint-Jean to acclaim, and then in 1922, Jean Börlin, the other soloist and choreographer, wrote Anitra’s Dance especially for her. She performed the piece receiving good reviews and calls for encore, but the notice she was getting caused conflict with Börlin, who forbade her to dance it again. Ari left the company after the 1923 season.
...
Wikipedia