“La Karsavina,” in Paris, London, St. Petersburg, 1909–1918

Abstract Karsavina became an international star with the Ballets Russes. These were hectic years as Karsavina traveled between St. Petersburg and Paris, joining Diaghilev when free from the Maryinsky, and traveling to London for seasons at the Coliseum Theatre. She performed major classical ballets at the Maryinsky while she simultaneously learned to embody Fokine’s new performance practices. As Fokine’s ideal interpreter, her plastique, fluidity, musical phrasing, and depth of characterization won her international praise. For personal and political reasons, Karsavina omits some information in Theatre Street: how she met her British husband, Henry James (Benjie) Bruce, and divorced her first husband; her pregnancy and the birth of her son. But she does describe the chaos of revolution in her beloved homeland, and her terrifying escape through Russia with Benjie and their infant to arrive in England, where her life was unalterably changed. Her story hints at the private grief of émigrés.