Ludmila Tcherina Art

Ludmilla Tchérina was a French prima ballerina, sculptor, actress, painter, choreographer and author of two novels. She was born Monique Tchemerzine, into Circassian aristocracy as the daughter of Kabardian Prince Avenir Tchemerzine (Shamyrze), a former Russian general, who had escaped from St. Petersburg and Stéphane Finette, a French woman. She studied with Blanche d'Alessandri, Olga Preobrajenska and Clustine. She started dancing at 16 and danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where she was spotted by Serge Lifar. Tchérina made her Paris debut creating the rôle of Juliet in his Romeo and Juliet in 1942, becoming the youngest prima ballerina in the history of dance. In 1945, she was a principal dancer with the Ballet des Champs-Élysées and performed in Paris concerts with her husband Edmond Audran. She created various rôles in Lifar's ballets including Mephisto Waltz in 1945, A la mémoire d'un héros in 1946 and Le Martyre de Saint-Sebastian in 1957. Tchérina appeared often with the Paris Opera, the Bolshoi Ballet and the Kirov Ballet as a guest performer. She acted in several films, including The Red Shoes, Les Rendezvous, The Tales of Hoffmann, Oh... Rosalinda!! and Luna de Miel. She also appeared on television. In the 1980s, Tchérina wrote and published two novels under her name, L'Amour au Miroir (1973) and La Femme a L'Envers (1986). Tchérina had a lifelong passion for painting and exhibited in many major galleries. She also conceived and executed several monumental sculptures, including Europe à Coeur, chosen in 1991 by the EU to symbolize the union of Europe and now located at the European Parliament. In 1994, she created Europa Operanda, now installed at the French terminal of Eurotunnel. Tchérina married Raymond Roi in 1953. She was decorated with the Officier, Legion d'honneur in 1980 Tchérina died in 2004, aged 79, and is buried at the Montmartre Cemetery, Paris.