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[chamomilla]

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[chamomilla]

x born in 1892 to a wealthy merchant family in St. Petersburg
x is one of four children, obviously the youngest and the only girl
x started ballet training at the Imperial Ballet School when she was six years old
x protege of ballet mistress, Polina Petrova and predicted a glorious career
x when she was 15, her father went bankrupt and they scraped by for a few years
x the family had to flee their creditors in St. Petersburg and moved to Paris in 1909
x around the same time, Diaghilev founded the Ballets Russes and Yevgeniya joined as a soloist
x when prima ballerina Ida Rubinstein left the company, Yevgeniya was promoted to principal to cover her spot
x sponsor money started rolling in, even if she wasn't given anything circumstantial to dance
x was primarily partnered by Nijinsky in his own creations which most often highlighted him as a dancer
x dreamed of working with the company's house choreographer, Fokine
x was celebrated in certain circles, but not a huge star like some of the other Ballets Russes ballerinas
x meanwhile, her parents went about finding a fitting match for her, preferably a man who'd bring money back into the family
x but Yevgeniya wasn't interested in getting married at all, she wanted the glorious career she'd been promised
x besides, she had fallen in love with a girl, her dresser at the theatre
x the two kept their relationship a secret until Léonie had to leave Paris to help with the war effort as WWI broke out
x during the war, Yevgeniya began taking on bigger roles, seeing as many of the other ballerinas were elsewhere occupied
x she finally became the star she'd always wanted to be, but she was alone and her parents were getting insistent
x eventually, along came a man with enough money that she couldn't refuse anymore
x as peace descended on Europe again and Léonie returned home from the front, Yevgeniya married and thereby secured her family's situation
x Léonie never returned to the theatre, their paths crossing only one last time