Nina Fonaroff
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Nina Fonaroff | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 March 1914 New York City, United States |
| Died | 14 August 2003 (aged 89) London, United Kingdom |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer, choreographer, teacher |
| Years active | 1930s–1990s |
Nina Fonaroff (3 March 1914 – 14 August 2003) was an American dancer, choreographer and teacher. She was an early member of the Martha Graham Dance Company[1][2]
Fonaroff was born in New York City to Russian émigré parents in a musically active household. Her father, Mark Fonaroff, was among the first Russian violinists to teach at the Institute of Musical Art in New York, and family friends included Sergei Rachmaninoff and Pablo Casals.[1] Her mother Vera was also classical violinist and violin teacher.[3] Nina studied violin and piano as a child and painted as well, later attending the Max Reinhardt School of Theatre and Design in Vienna and studying with George Grosz in New York.[1]
She began formal dance training at the age of 11 with Michel Fokine and his wife Vera Fokina, studying the style of Isadora Duncan. She later attended the School of American Ballet and the Cornish School in Seattle, where she met Martha Graham and the composer Louis Horst, who became a major influence.[2]
