Yekaterina Vasilyevna Geltzer (November 2, 1876 - December 12, 1962) was a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet

Bolshoi Ballet

The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies, however it only achieved worldwide acclaim by the early 20th century, when Moscow became the...

 who danced in the theatre from 1898 to 1935. She worked with Marius Petipa

Marius Petipa

Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer of ballet that has ever lived....

, Sergei Diaghilev

Sergei Diaghilev

Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev , usually referred to outside of Russia as Serge, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, from which many famous dancers and choreographers would arise.-Early life and career:...

, and Reinhold Glière

Reinhold Glière

Reinhold Moritzevich Glière was a Russian and Soviet composer of German–Polish descent.- Biography :Glière was born in Kiev, Ukraine...

. After the Russian Revolution of 1917

Russian Revolution of 1917

The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...

, she helped to preserve the art of ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. She was the first ballet dancer to receive the title of "People's Artist of Russia

People's Artist of Russia

People's Artist of Russia, also sometimes translated as National Artist of Russia, is an honorary title granted to citizens of Russia.It succeeded both the all-Soviet union award People's Artist of the USSR , and more directly the local republic award, People's Artist of the RSFSR , after the...

" (1925). Her most famous post-revolutionary role was a Chinese dancer in the premiere of Gliere's Red Poppy

The Red Poppy

The Red Poppy or sometimes The Red Flower is a ballet in three acts and an apotheosis; score written by Reinhold Glière and a scenario by Mikhail Kurilko. This ballet was created in 1927 as the first Soviet ballet with a modern revolutionary theme....

. This production was staged by her husband Vasily Tikhomirov

Vasily Tikhomirov

Vasiliy Dmitriyevich Tikhomirov was a dancer and a choreographer with the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, Russia. His most distinguished production was The Red Poppy , with his wife Yekaterina Geltzer in the main role. He and Geltzer were buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery....

 for her 50th birthday. In 1943, she was awarded a Stalin Prize and also received an Order of Lenin

Order of Lenin

The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...

 and an Order of the Red Banner of Labour

Order of the Red Banner of Labour

The Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...

.

Once backstage at the Bolshoi Theatre

Bolshoi Theatre

The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...

, and well past the age of 60, Geltzer was heard telling her colleagues "help me get myself up en pointe, after that I know what to do."