Hilda Butsova
{{Short description|English ballet dancer (1896–1976)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Hilda Butsova
| image = Hilda Butsova.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| other_names = Hilda Boot Mills
| birth_name = Hilda Boot
| birth_date = July 11, 1896
| birth_place = Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, U.K.
| death_date = March 21, 1976 (aged 79)
| death_place = Scarsdale, New York, U.S.
| nationality =
| occupation = Dancer
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| spouse = {{marriage|Harry Mills|1925}}
| children = 1
}}
Hilda Butsova (born Hilda Boot, July 11, 1896 – March 21, 1976),{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095538815|title=Hilda Butsova|website=Oxford Reference|language=en|access-date=2020-04-23}} was an English ballet dancer, a member of the companies of Russian dancers Anna Pavlova and Mikhail Mordkin.
Early life
Hilda Boot was born in Nottingham.{{Cite journal|date=December 1, 1923|title=Twinkling Toes: Few dancers can aspire to such romantic success as that of Hilda Butsova, the Nottingham girl who became Pavlova's understudy.|journal=Answers|volume=71|pages=5}} She trained as a dancer at Stedman's Dancing Academy,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49344773/star-ballerina-to-appear-here/|title=Star Ballerina to Appear Here|date=1927-01-07|work=The Pomona Progress Bulletin|access-date=2020-04-23|pages=2|via=Newspapers.com}} and then with Alexandre Volinine and Enrico Cecchetti.
Career
Boot was selected in 1912 to join Anna Pavlova's touring company, along with fellow English dancer Muriel Stuart, when both were young.{{Cite book|last=Kinney|first=Margaret West|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PehCAAAAIAAJ&q=Hilda+Butsova&pg=PA304|title=The Dance; Its Place in Art and Life|date=1924|publisher=Frederick A. Stokes Company|pages=304|language=en}} Boot's professional name was changed to "Butsova" at this time.{{Cite news|last=Clark|first=Margy|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49360949/the-world-of-dance-remains-her/|title=The World of Dance Remains Her Life|date=1972-11-05|work=Kingsport Times-News|access-date=2020-04-23|pages=37|via=Newspapers.com}} Boot and Stuart were soloists with the Pavlova company until 1925.{{Cite journal|date=November 17, 1921|title=Anna Pavlowa Ends Season Here After Fine Series of Performances|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0PM6AQAAMAAJ&q=Hilda+Butsova&pg=RA15-PA44|journal=Musical Courier|volume=83|pages=44}}{{Cite journal|date=September 1, 1921|title=Pavlowa Tour Starts in Quebec|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0PM6AQAAMAAJ&q=Hilda+Butsova&pg=RA5-PA31|journal=Musical Courier|volume=83|pages=31}}{{Cite journal|date=October 27, 1921|title=Pavlowa Brings Distinguished Ballet Artists|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0PM6AQAAMAAJ&q=Hilda+Butsova&pg=RA13-PA41|journal=Musical Courier|volume=83|pages=41}} She danced on the London stage in productions of The Fairy Doll (1920, 1924, 1925), Visions (1924, 1925), A Polish Wedding (1924, 1925), Amarilla (1924, 1925), La fille mal gardée (1925), Coppélia (1925), and Magic Flute (1927).{{Cite book|last=Wearing|first=J. P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5vFEAwAAQBAJ&q=Hilda+Butsova&pg=PA316|title=The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel|date=2014-03-27|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8108-9302-3|pages=40, 316, 388, 392|language=en}}
Butsova joined Mikhail Mordkin's company,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49344311/butsova-in-mordkin-ballet-to-appear-at/|title=Butsova in Mordkin Ballet to Appear at Prudden Auditorium|date=1926-11-27|work=Lansing State Journal|access-date=2020-04-23|pages=13|via=Newspapers.com}} and toured with them for a few years.{{Cite book|last=Amberg|first=George|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GMJ9CgAAQBAJ&q=Hilda+Butsova&pg=PT278|title=Ballet in America - The Emergence of an American Art|date=2013-05-31|publisher=Read Books Ltd|isbn=978-1-4733-8000-4|pages=14|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Jones|first=Isabel Morse|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49360314/russian-ballet-is-gayly/|title=Russian Ballet is Gayly Accoutered|date=1927-01-10|work=The Los Angeles Times|access-date=2020-04-23|pages=25|via=Newspapers.com}} In 1931, she was ballet mistress at the Little Playhouse in Cincinnati, Ohio.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49344145/soloist-for-charity-ball/|title=Soloist for Charity Ball|date=1931-11-08|work=The Cincinnati Enquirer|access-date=2020-04-23|pages=72|via=Newspapers.com}} She retired from full-time performing in 1932.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/23/archives/hilda-butsova-78-ballerina-in-pavlovas-company-dead.html|title=Hilda Butsova, 78, Ballerina in Pavlova's Company, Dead|date=1976-03-23|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-04-23|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}
In her later years she was a dance instructor in New York City,{{Cite journal|date=September 1943|title=It May Interest You To Know|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZF0VAAAAIAAJ&q=Hilda+Butsova&pg=PA388|journal=Journal of Physical Education and Recreation|volume=14|pages=388}} and the North Carolina School of the Arts.{{Cite news|last=Jackson|first=Dot|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49344439/she-danced-with-best-in-worlddot/|title=She Danced with Best in World|date=1972-10-25|work=The Charlotte Observer|access-date=2020-04-23|pages=26|via=Newspapers.com}} In 1940s she taught courses with the Dance Educators of America.{{Cite news|title=Newest in Dances is 'Defense Swing'|date=July 29, 1941|work=The New York Times|page=12t}}{{Cite news|title=Masters' Dance Course|date=July 26, 1943|work=The New York Times|page=14}} She and Muriel Stuart spoke at a commemorative event in New York in 1956, marking the 25th anniversary of Anna Pavlova's death.{{Cite news|title=Talks Here Mark Pavlova's Death|date=January 23, 1956|work=The New York Times|page=22}} She directed a ballet in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1959.{{Cite news|last=Connolly|first=Maureen|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49360405/understudy-of-famed-pavlova-arrives/|title=Understudy of Famed Pavlova Arrives Here to Begin Rehearsal for Ballet Next Month|date=1959-01-10|work=The Times-Tribune|access-date=2020-04-23|pages=3|via=Newspapers.com}} In 1974, she created original choreography, Dress Rehearsal, for the civic ballet of Greenville, South Carolina.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49360712/oroginal-ballet-set-for-show/|title=Original Ballet Set for Show|date=1974-03-31|work=The Greenville News|access-date=2020-04-23|pages=21|via=Newspapers.com}} She gave an oral history interview about her dancing years in 1975.{{Citation|last=Kendall|first=Elizabeth|title=Interview with Hilda Butsova|date=1975|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/82990064|language=en|oclc=82990064|access-date=2020-04-23}}
Personal life
Hilda Butsova married theatrical manager Harry Mills in 1925. They had a son, Alan. She died in 1976, aged 79 years, after a heart attack in Scarsdale, New York.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp64079/hilda-butsova-nee-boot Portraits of Hilda Butsova] in the National Portrait Gallery.
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