Tamara Toumanova always longed to
visit Georgia, the homeland of her mother, whose family name she carried with
pride throughout her life. She came into the world in unusual circumstances:
her mother, Evgenia Tumanishvili, was traveling to Vladivostok in distant
Siberia to join her husband, Konstantin Zakharov, a doctor of the Caucasian
Military District. Tamara was born in a train carriage on the way on March 2,
1919.
Tamara Toumanova, From the archive of the Art Palace
of Georgia
Evgenia's brother, Zakaria Tumanishvili,
had introduced her to Zakharov and encouraged the marriage. However, after
Zakharov's untimely death from a viral illness, Evgenia later married Colonel
Vladimir Khazidovich-Boretsky of the Russian Army. Although publications often
cite him as Tamara’s father, he was in fact her stepfather—one who played a
significant role in her upbringing. Yet it was Evgenia who remained the central
figure in Tamara’s life.
Though not a dancer herself, Evgenia was deeply
passionate about ballet. She idolized Olga Preobrazhenskaya, and often attended her performances at St. Petersburg's Mariinsky
Theater. The
thought occurred to her to take her daughter to the ballet studio. Observing little Tamara’s musical abilities,
Evgenia once said, "My child should grow up in Paris," and went on
to work tirelessly to make that dream a reality, especially after learning that
Preobrazhenskaya had opened a ballet school there.
Tamara Toumanova,From Nino Ananiashvili’s archive
Tamara was brought to the studio at the age of
five. Her talent was obvious, and it did not go unnoticed by Anna Pavlova, who visited
Preobrazhenskaya’s school in search of young dancers for a gala at the
Trocadero in Paris. Although Tamara stood quietly at the back, Pavlova spotted
her instantly, and
invited her to her own studio. From then on, Tamara’s artistic journey became
intertwined with Pavlova and her partner Victor Dandre.
It was also at Preobrazhenskaya’s school that
another iconic figure recognized Tamara’s potential: George Balanchine. This was her first interaction
with him, who, at that time, was looking to establish his own
company and make a name for himself in Europe. Toumanova soon became Balanchine's "Baby Ballerina." He said
he anticipated a
bright future for her., and
confidently told Evgenia, “Dubrovskaya is a star, but the next star will be
your daughter.”
Tamara’s exotic beauty—dark almond eyes,
raven-black hair, and porcelain complexion—earned her the nickname "The
Black Pearl of Ballet." Audiences across Europe were enchanted, and she
quickly rose to international fame.
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Tamara Toumanova, 1953,
in Jumpology by Philippe Halsman
Tamara shared a bond with Balanchine. When he left for America, she continued her successful
performances in Europe; however, she eventually chose to follow
him across the Atlantic.
In the U.S., she expanded into musical theater and cinema. She starred in the Broadway musical A Star Before Our Eyes, and made her Hollywood debut in Days of Glory (1944), acting alongside Gregory
Peck. The film’s producer, Casey Robinson, became her husband. They were
married in the Russian-Greek Orthodox Church of the Mother of God in
California. Toumanova later remembered seeing Balanchine at the chapel.
"How could I miss my daughter's wedding?" he told
her, congratulating the surprised mother and daughter.
Tamara
Toumanova and Gregory Peck on the set of the movie Days of Glory, From the archive of the Art Palace of Georgia
Tamara Toumanova and Gregory Peck on the set of the movie Days of Glory, From the archive of the Art Palace of Georgia
Balanchine never forgot Tamara. In 1946, he was invited to choreograph
for the Paris Opera Ballet,
and offered Toumanova the
chance to join him once again. At the time, Balanchine was creating a ballet
set to Bizet’s Symphony in C Major, titled The
Crystal Palace (Le Palais de Cristal), which remains in the Paris Opera
Ballet’s repertoire under that name. Toumanova was cast in the second act of this brilliant work: Adagio. The premiere was a
triumph.
George Balanchine and Tamara Toumanova rehearsing in the
Foyer de la Danse at Théâtre National de l'Opéra in Paris, June 1947, Photo by
Serge Lido
To this day, the
Adagio from Balanchine’s ballet Symphony
in C (as the work is known in the United States) is remembered as “Toumanova’s Adagio.” In 1988, when Nino Ananiashvili was invited to
perform with the New York City Ballet, she was offered this very role. It was a
deeply symbolic moment for her. Just a year earlier, during the Bolshoi Theater’s American tour, Ananiashvili had met Tamara
Toumanova in the United States, where the legendary “Black Pearl” of world
ballet came especially to see her perform.
Tamara
Toumanova and Nino Ananiashvili,From Nino Ananiashvili’s archive
Tamara Toumanova, Nino
Ananiashvili and Alexey Fadeechev, From Nino Ananiashvili’s archive
“I was shocked,” Ananiashvili recalls. “I didn’t even know what to say to her. She came
to congratulate me on my successful
performance and
handed me a small box. ‘This brooch belonged to Anna Pavlova,’ she told me. ‘It was a gift from her to me.
Now I want you to wear it, to keep it as a memory from me.’ I was so stunned that my whole body froze. After
that meeting, I would often call her. I even wanted to dedicate a concert to
her, but by then she was already ill and unable to leave the house.”
Anna Pavlova’s brooch, From Nino Ananiashvili’s archive
Tamara Toumanova’s letter to Nino Ananiashnili, From Nino Ananiashvili’s archive
In 1989, Tamara Toumanova called her
relatives in Tbilisi from
America,
the family of artist Gia
Pkhakadze, the
great-grandson of Toumanova’s uncle Zakaria Tumanishvili, to inform them of her mother’s passing. Evgenia Tumanishvili
was buried in the United States, where her grave bears the inscription:
“Princess Evgenia Tumanishvili.” Though Tamara longed to return her mother’s
remains to Georgia, it proved impossible to bring home this noble descendant of
the Tumanishvili family from Kheltubani—a lineage tracing back to King Erekle’s
chief judge.
On May 29, 1996, Tamara Tumanova died in Santa
Monica.
She is buried next to
her mother at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.
