A digital tribute · 1916–2002
A Croatian prima ballerina. A world stage.
From Brod na Savi to the great stages of the world. A life devoted to dance, creative freedom and the generations to come.
An artist beyond borders
Mia Čorak Slavenska was a Croatian-American ballerina, choreographer and teacher. She united classical virtuosity with dramatic expression and an independent creative spirit. Her story belongs both to Croatia’s cultural heritage and to the history of American ballet.
01 / Life story
Move along the timeline and open an event to discover more.
Brod na SaviMia Čorak was born on 20 February 1916 in Brod na Savi, now Slavonski Brod. From this town, her life would take her to the ballet centres of Europe and America.
Source: Hrvatska enciklopedija
ZagrebIn 1924 she appeared as the Heart in the Zagreb premiere of Krešimir Baranović’s ballet Licitarsko srce, choreographed by Margarita Froman. Her Zagreb teachers included Josefina Weiss and Margarita Froman.
Source: Hrvatska enciklopedija
ZagrebThe Croatian Biographical Lexicon records her as prima ballerina at the Croatian National Theatre in 1934–1935. Her Zagreb roles included Swanilda in Coppélia and the Firebird.
Source: Hrvatski biografski leksikon
BerlinAt the 1936 Berlin dance competition she received a top award. The competition took place during the Olympic Games; this was a dance honour, not an Olympic sporting medal. Slavenska became her international stage name.
Source: Hrvatski biografski leksikon
ParisShe played ballerina Nathalie Karine in Jean Benoît-Lévy’s French film La Mort du cygne. Released in the United States as Ballerina, the film brought her art to cinema audiences.
Monte CarloShe joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Touring expanded her international career, with a repertoire spanning classical ballets and works by choreographers including Fokine and Massine.
USAShe formed Slavenska Tihmar and Company. Her own companies and concert programmes offered artistic independence and brought ballet to audiences beyond major theatre centres.
USA · CanadaWith Frederic Franklin she founded the Slavenska–Franklin Ballet. She danced Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, choreographed by Valerie Bettis after the play by Tennessee Williams.
Source: Hrvatski biografski leksikon
New YorkIn the mid-1950s she was a prima ballerina at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Sources date the engagement differently: the Croatian Encyclopedia gives 1954–1955, while the Croatian Biographical Lexicon gives 1955–1956.
Source: Hrvatska enciklopedija
New York · Los AngelesAfter her stage career, she devoted herself to teaching in New York and Los Angeles. At UCLA, the California Institute of the Arts and in private classes, she worked with new generations of ballet and contemporary dancers.
Source: Hrvatski biografski leksikon
Los AngelesShe died on 5 October 2002 in Los Angeles. Her artistic legacy continues through her students, archival records and renewed interest in her life.
Source: Hrvatska enciklopedija
ZagrebThe Croatian Society of Professional Ballet Artists launched Slavenska Prix in 2006. The competition became international in 2010, connecting the great ballerina’s name with ballet’s future.
Source: HDPBU — Slavenska Prix
02 / Artistry
From classical ballet to contemporary drama, her repertoire reveals an artist of remarkable expressive range.
Classical repertoire
The Romantic ballet was among the leading roles of her international career.
The Zagreb chapter
Swanilda brought together youthful stage assurance, character and comedy.
Created for her
Marc Platt’s ballet, set to music by Richard Rodgers, was created expressly for Slavenska.
Dramatic ballet · 1952
Blanche DuBois in Valerie Bettis’s choreography: a literary character expressed through movement.
Source: Slavenska Dance Preservation — About Mia · Hrvatski biografski leksikon
03 / Photographic traces
A photograph holds what happens only once on stage. Selected archival material with sources and usage rights.
Ribbon background: contemporary AI artwork created for this website.
04 / Legacy
Her legacy lives on in dance studios, documentary film and a competition bearing her name.
Maria Ramas and Kate Johnson bring Mia Slavenska’s life back into focus. A daughter’s personal search becomes a story of art, memory and belonging.
Organised by the Croatian Society of Professional Ballet Artists, this international competition carries her name into the work of new generations.
Discover Slavenska PrixTeaching at UCLA and CalArts, alongside private classes, makes her educational legacy an equally important part of her story.
Biographical sourcesA Croatian-American prima ballerina, choreographer and teacher, born in Brod na Savi in 1916. She died in Los Angeles in 2002.
Her international career with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, her company with Frederic Franklin and her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in the ballet A Streetcar Named Desire.
Start with the Croatian Encyclopedia, the Croatian Biographical Lexicon and the documentary project Mia, a Dancer’s Journey. Links are listed in the sources.
Sources and further reading
This biographical overview draws on the sources below. Their dates for her Metropolitan Opera engagement differ; the timeline makes that distinction explicit.
Editorial review: 9 October 2026.
