29 Facts About Serge Lifar

Serge Lifar made his debut at the Ballets Russes in 1923, where he became the principal dancer in 1925.

Serge Lifar was considered the successor to Nijinsky in the Ballets Russes.

Serge Lifar was cast at the age of 21 opposite Tamara Karsavina in Nijinska's Romeo et Juliette ; Karsavina was twice his age.

Serge Lifar gave the company a new strength and purpose, initiating the rebirth of ballet in France, and began to create the first of many ballets for that company.

Serge Lifar codified two additional positions, known as the sixth and seventh positions, with the feet turned in, not out like the first five positions.

Serge Lifar undoubtedly influenced Yvette Chauvire, Janine Charrat, and Roland Petit.

In 1958, Serge Lifar was forced into retirement due to a strained relationship with the Opera management.

In 1935, Serge Lifar presented his most significant ballet, "Icare".

Serge Lifar recognized that ballet required not just the recreation of old traditions but the exploration of new ways forward.

Serge Lifar believed that rhythm was the key link between the two art forms, but not all rhythmic structures were suitable for dance.

However, Serge Lifar did not believe that art could exist solely in the realm of theoretical musings; it had to be realized on stage.

Serge Lifar saw in Icare a symbol of aspiration, the desire to reach great heights, an indomitable spirit, and the inevitable punishment for striving towards the unattainable.

Serge Lifar even commissioned music for the piece from Igor Markevitch, but after hearing it, Lifar realized that no melody could convey the stark beauty of the myth and the unique vision of dance he sought to embody.

Serge Lifar understood that the flight and fall of "Icare" did not require traditional musical accompaniment.

Serge Lifar concluded that the drama could be conveyed through silence or the dull thuds of a heartbeat, with sharp, sudden sounds breaking through the silence to highlight the climactic moments.

Serge Lifar decided that Icare would be the first ballet staged without music.

Serge Lifar wanted to prove that dance as an art form could be so expressive that it could exist without accompaniment.

Serge Lifar challenged traditional notions of ballet, and his bold decision left a profound mark on the history of choreography.

In "Icare", Serge Lifar explored the full depth of corporeal lyricism.

However, the true uniqueness of this production lay elsewhere: for the first time, Serge Lifar sought to liberate dance from the rigid dependency on music, giving it its own sound.

Serge Lifar sought to avoid imposing a musical score onto his own rhythm and dance, believing that the human body had immense melodic potential and fearing that additional music might dissolve the natural harmony of the dance and distract the audience.

On 30 March 1958, at age 52, Serge Lifar faced off against the 72-year-old impresario George de Cuevas in a duel in France.

The duel was precipitated by an argument over changes to Black and White, a ballet by Serge Lifar that was being presented by the Cuevas ballet company.

Serge Lifar had his face slapped in public after insisting that he retained the rights to Black and White.

Serge Lifar sent his seconds to Cuevas who refused to extend an apology and chose to duel with swords.

Serge Lifar died in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 15 December 1986, aged 81, and was buried in Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois Russian Cemetery.

The Serge Lifar Foundation was set up on 23 August 1989 by Lifar's companion, Countess Lillan Ahlefeldt-Laurvig.

In 1935 Serge Lifar published his confessio fidei titled Le manifesto du choregraphe, proposing laws about the independence of choreography.

Serge Lifar wrote a biography of Diaghilev titled Serge Diaghilev, His Life, His Work, His Legend: An Intimate Biography published by Putnam, London, 1940.