BIOGRAPHY:

Mia Slavenska was born in Brod na Savi, Croatia, on February 20, 1916, the daughter of Milan and Heddwiga (Palme) Corak. Her early teachers include Josephina Weiss, former Ballerina of the Viener Stadts Opera, Margarita Froman, ballerina of the Bolshoi and Maximilian Froman, soloist of the Bolshoi. Mia Slavenska was a student at the Royal Academy of Music, Zagreb, Croatia for five years, where she majored in piano. She studied ballet in both Vienna and Paris. At age 12, in Vienna, she studied with Leopold Dubois, ballet master and first dancer of the Vienna State Opera, and modern dance with Gertrud Krauss, later the foremost proponent of modern dance in Isreal. In Paris, her teachers included Mathilda Kchessinskaja, Olga Preobrajenska, and Lubov Egorova, Prima Ballerinas of the Maryinsky Theater. In New York, she completed her ballet training in the Cecchetti Method under his protégé Maestro Vincenzo Celli. She came to the United States in 1939 and was naturalized in 1947. She married Kurt Neumann and had one daughter, Maria.

1919 First apperance on stage as “Trouble” in Madama Butterfly, National Theater of Zagreb, Croatia.
1920 Began ballet training with Josephina Weiss
1921 Training with Margarita and Maximilian Froman and made appearances at the National Theater of Zagreb, Croatia.
1922 Debut at age 6 at the Zagreb National Theatre dancing the Froman-Rebikoff La Sylphide.
1922-1927 Appearances with Zagreb National Theatre
1925 Performed at the age of 9 the leading role in Figurine, music by Shafrensek-Kavic and choreographed by Margarita Froman especially for her.
1928-1933 First recital at the Zagreb Academy of Music at age 12 dancing a program choreographed by her. Also engaged as soloist of Zagreb National Ballet. Her first role was as the Princess in the Fokine-Stravinsky Firebird.
1933-1935 Concertized throughout then-Yugoslavia. First performance in Split, Dalmatia.
1934-1935 Prima Ballerina of the National Theater of Zagreb, Croatia. Proclaimed Prima Ballerina Assoluta at age 18 in 1934. Her debut in that capacity was as “Swanilda” in the Delibes-St. Leon Coppelia and on the same bill, dancing the title role in the Fokine-Stravinsky Firebird.
1936 Acclaimed the winner of the World’s First Dance Olympics in Berlin, Germany.
Appeared in Serge Lifar’s David Triomphant opposite Lifar as David’s wife, Melhola, in Paris, France.
1937 Made triumphant debut at La Salle Pleyel on July 7 in Paris.
Awarded Plaque d’Honneur by France as ambassadress of good will between France and Yugoslavia in Belgrad.
Starred in prize-winning motion picture, La Mort du Cyne, (Ballerina, in USA). Concert tours with partner Anton Vujanic throughout Europe and North Africa.
1938 Guest star with the newly organized Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, in the Principality of Monaco. Her first appearance was as the “Gloveseller” in the Massine-Offenback Gaite Parisienne.

1938-1941 and
1942-1943

 Prima Ballerina, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Toured in the USA, France, England, North America, Canada, and South America.
1944-1945 Formed Slavenska, Tihmar and Company.
1946 Married Dr. Kurt Neumann.
1947 Gave birth to her daughter, Maria.
1948 Rejoined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as guest ballerina.
1947-1952 Toured the United States, Canada and Central America with her own concert ballet company, Slavenska Ballet Variante.
1951 First appearance at Ted Shawn’s Theatre: Jacob’s Pillow.
1952 Guest starred with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in Chicago.
Formed Slavenska-Franklin Ballet with Frederic Franklin.
Created and produced ballet A Streetcar Named Desire, based on the play by Tennessee Williams and choreographed by Valerie Bettis.
Created the lead role of “Blanche.”
1952-1954 Toured with Slavenska-Franklin Ballet throughout the USA, Canada and Japan.
1954 Prima Ballerina with Ballet Theatre (now American Ballet Theatre). Featured in Guy Lombardo’s Arabian Nights at Jones Beach Marine Theater co-starring with Lauritz Melchoir.
1954-1955 Prima Ballerina of the Metropolitan Opera, New York City.
1956-1958 Artistic Director and guest ballerina with the Louisville Ballet.
1957 Choreographed Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Delibes’ Coppelia for Gus Lambiez’s Children’s Theater in New York City.
1955-1960 TV debut in National Broadcasting Company Spectacular.
Guest star on:
Max Liebman’s Show of Shows
The Steve Allen Show
The Firestone Hour
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Bell Tele[phone Hour with Alicia Alonso, Nora Kaye and Melissa Hayden, in Anton Dolin’s Pas de Quatre.
Performed with Igor Youskevitch at Wolf Trap near Washington, D.C., before an audience of 28,000.
Guest starred with Ballet Theatre at Lewisohn Stadium in New York, and with the London Festival Ballet, in London.
Danced many times at Jacob’s Pillow, including an engagement with the Slavenska Ballet Variante.
Performed in many summer theaters in Song of Norway, Oh, Jupiter, and as ”Vera” in On Your Toes.
1958-1960 Artistic Director, Fort Worth Ballet Arts
World Premiere Ballet in the round at Casa Manana
World Premiere of her own ballet, Chiaroscuro
1960-1969 Private teaching in New York City.
1961 Danced at the Brooklyn College, New York, partnered by Igor Youskevitch.
Retired from the stage on July 17 in American Dance Festival, Metropolitan Arts Center. Her Cavalier was Igor Youskevitch.
1969-1983 Faculty, Dance Department, University of California at Los Angeles.
1970-1984 Faculty, Dance Department, California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles.
1971-1991 Private teaching, Los Angeles, California.
Oct. 5, 2002 Died in Los Angeles, California.
April 18, 2005 Ashes interred at Mirogoj Cemetery, Zagreb, Croatia.