JOHANSSON, CHRISTIAN

born May 20, 1817, Stockholm, Sweden died 1903, St. Petersburg, Russia in full Per Christian Johansson Swedish-born ballet dancer and a chief teacher at the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg who helped develop the Russian style of ballet. Johansson studied at the Royal Swedish Ballet School and in Copenhagen with August Bournonville, who was most responsible for establishing the traditions of the Royal Danish Ballet. In 1841 Johansson became premier danseur at the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1860 he began teaching at the Imperial School and on his retirement from the stage in 1869 was officially appointed to the school teaching staff. As opposed to the strict, repetitive Italian method, Johansson's teaching method incorporated a variety of ballet styles: the Russian, the Danish, and the classic French. He emphasized purity of line but, like Bournonville, made sharp distinction between the male and female style. During an era when male ballet dancers were generally unpopular and were often given only supporting roles, Johansson was particularly knowledgeable about male ballet technique and often advised Marius Petipa, choreographer of the Imperial Ballet. Johansson's pupils, many of whom danced in Petipa's ballets and later became teachers, included Eugenia Sokolova, Olga Preobrajenska, Mathilde Kschessinskaya, and Anna Pavlova.