Irina Baronova (1919–2008) was one of the three legendary 'baby ballerinas' of the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo. Escaping the Russian revolution, Baronova and her family left St Petersburg for Bucharest, where she began her dance training, then Paris. In 1932, at thirteen, she was engaged by George Balanchine for his Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo. She danced with the Ballets Russes companies until 1939, performing in Australia in 1938–1939. From 1941 she appeared with the American Ballet Theatre, on Broadway and in films. After retiring, she lived in London with her husband, theatrical agent Cecil Tennant, and their children. Urged by Dame Margot Fonteyn, she emerged from retirement to teach at the Royal Academy of Dance. Baronova lived the last eight years of her life in Byron Bay, New South Wales, where she completed her memoirs, Irina: Ballet, Life and Love (2005). The year before she died she worked as a consultant with The Australian Ballet in Melbourne.
In this portrait by Jenny Sages, Baronova is pictured advising a young ballerina rehearsing with The Australian Ballet. Sages visited the ballet studio many times, drawing and photographing her subject during her intense engagement with the dancers. After becoming very close to Irina during the creation of the portrait, Sages recalls that when she died she was farewelled on a hilltop by her family and friends from the ballet world, with loving anecdotes, laughter and champagne, and a classical trio playing 'The Dying Swan'.
Gift of the J Sages Family Trust 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Jenny Sages
The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the
Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a
Reproduction request. For further information please contact
NPG Copyright.
