Tcherina, French ballerina and actress, dies at 79

<br>PARIS (AP) _ Ludmila Tcherina, who rose to early stardom as a French ballerina and later became an actress and artist, has died at age 79, the culture minister said. <br><br>Tcherina died Sunday. the

Monday, March 22nd 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PARIS (AP) _ Ludmila Tcherina, who rose to early stardom as a French ballerina and later became an actress and artist, has died at age 79, the culture minister said.

Tcherina died Sunday. the cause of death was not immediately known.

Born Oct. 10, 1924, in Paris of a Russian aristocrat father and French mother, Tcherina made her name as a youth. At age 15, she became a prima ballerina with the Grands Ballets of Monte Carlo.

Under the pseudonym of 'Tcherzina,' she was the youngest prima ballerina in the history of dance, French Culture Minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon said in a statement, saluting her career.

In 1970, near the end of a decades-long career, she dazzled Paris audiences with her performance in ``Jeanne au Bucher'' (``Joan of Arc at the Stake'').

A multifaceted artist, Tcherina also was a choreographer, painter and sculptor. A painter since her youth, Tcherina held exhibitions in capitals around the world. She painted and danced in an exhibition at the Pompidou Center in Paris to reveal her theory of ``total art,'' in which all aspects are born of breathing and movement.

Her web site, www.ludmila-tcherina.com, says she acted in 18 films.

The site, the Culture Ministry and a statement from Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said she won an Academy Award for foreign actress for her role in the early 1950's film ``The Tales of Hoffmann.'' However, according to the book ``Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards,'' no such award was given.

A press official at the Culture Ministry indicated that the information concerning her Oscar came from her entry in ``Who's Who.''

Raffarin praised her as ``an essential figure of French art in the 20th century.''

Funeral arrangements and surviving family members were not immediately available.