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##### March 22, 1998 OBITUARY ## Galina Ulanova Is Dead at 88; A Revered Bolshoi Ballerina ##### By MICHAEL SPECTOR MOSCOW, March 21 -- Galina Ulanova, whose uncanny blend of unabashed emotionalism and lyrical restraint made her one of the greatest dancers of the 20th century, died here today. She was 88. Revered in Russia from the moment she made her debut in Leningrad's Maryinsky Ballet in 1928, she riveted the Western world in 1956 when she traveled with the Bolshoi Ballet to London's Royal Opera House. There she astonished critics and fans alike with her performances as Juliet and Giselle. Inspired by Prokofiev's score to 'Romeo and Juliet' (one of three he wrote for the ballerina) and by the bold choreography of Leonid Lavrovsky, Miss Ulanova's dancing, and that of the Bolshoi, helped make the case after Stalin's death that Russian classical ballet remained the finest in the world. 'The impact of the Bolshoi has been overwhelming,' wrote John Martin, The New York Times's dance critic, when the company traveled for the first time to New York in 1959. 'And it will be something of a calamity if we ever allow ourselves to recover.' Even with the advance publicity about the majesty of Miss Ulanova's role as Juliet, American critics found themselves astounded. 'To see a legend assume the dimensions of reality before us,' Mr. Martin wrote about her dancing in 'Romeo and Juliet,' 'and in the process lose nothing of the quality of legend, is a rare and wonderful experience.' It was, however, an experience that Russian ballet fans were able to enjoy for decades. Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova was born in 1910 in St. Petersburg -- the home of Fokine, Balanchine, Petipa, Nijinsky and so many other legends of Russian dance. She was taught there by her mother -- who also danced professionally -- before entering the famous ballet school there. She joined the Maryinsky Theater in 1928, the same year she completed her classical dance training, and she would live long enough to see it become the Kirov and then revert, when the Soviet Union dissolved, to its original name. It was there that she made her name in Mr. Lavrovsky's 'Romeo and Juliet,' as well as in such classical staples as 'Swan Lake' and 'Giselle.' In 1944, Miss Ulanova was transferred -- reportedly after a personal request by Stalin -- to the Bolshoi in Moscow. She danced with the Bolshoi until 1960, and for most of that time she was the company's and the Soviet Union's chief soloist. Miss Ulanova performed most of the greatest roles in classical ballet, including the leads in 'Giselle,' 'Swan Lake,' 'Cinderella' and 'Sleeping Beauty.' Such was her power that when Mr. Martin criticized -- mildly -- her performance in 'Swan Lake' during the 1959 New York tour, Pravda responded the next day by accusing him and The Times of being 'bent on continuing the cold war.' Despite her star status -- and the tension that can cause -- Miss Ulanova was highly popular, eventually becoming a teacher to the greatest dancers -- including Yekaterina Maksimova, Nina Timofeyeva and the current Bolshoi director, Vladimir Vasilyev -- who followed her. 'On many occasions people tried to push us into conflict,' Maya Plesetskaya, who replaced her in 1960 as the Bolshoi's leading female dancer, wrote two years ago in her memoirs. 'It could never happen.' Miss Plesetskaya had only praise for the woman whom she remembered seeing for the first time on the day in 1939 that Hitler's Foreign Minister, Joachim Von Ribbentrop, arrived in Moscow to sign the notorious pact between Germany and the Soviet Union. 'She was an angel and she danced like one,' she wrote. Few stars are able to handle the demands of dancing into their 40's, but Miss Ulanova -- who was 49 when she struck New York like a thunderbolt -- was one of them. Still, she often vowed that she would retire when she was 50 and she did. Unlike most of her contemporaries, who return frequently into their dotage for special performances, Miss Ulanova then devoted the rest of her life to teaching. She received nearly every medal the Soviets bestowed on their most accomplished citizens, including the Order of Lenin and the Stalin Award. Although she tried to remain politely uninvolved in party politics -- always an impossibility at the time -- she was twice named a Hero of Socialist labor. President Boris N. Yeltsin, recovering at his dacha from his most recent illness, issued a statement today praising Miss Ulanova as a rare Russia genius. 'She was the greatest ballerina of the 20th century,' he said. 'Her life and the art of dance to which she has give her soul has become part of Russian and world culture. Ulanova has always been for us the symbol of conscience, honor and dignity. She was a true artist.'
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