Roman Jasinski was a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 ballet dancer who performed from 1933-1950 with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was a ballet company created by members of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1938 after Léonide Massine and René Blum had a falling-out with the co-founder Wassily de Basil...

. A premier danseur, he was recognized for his elegance and style. After retiring from performing, he and his wife Moscelyne Larkin

Moscelyne Larkin

Moscelyne Larkin is one of the "Five Moons", Native American ballerinas from Oklahoma to gain international fame in the 20th century. After dancing with the Original Ballet Russe and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, she and her husband settled in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in 1956 they founded the...

 founded a ballet school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and in 1956, the Tulsa Ballet

Tulsa Ballet

Tulsa Ballet is a professional American Ballet company located in Tulsa, OK. The artistic mission of Tulsa Ballet is "To preserve the tradition of classical ballet, promote the appreciation of contemporary dance, create works of superior and enduring quality, and educate through exemplary...

. It is one of numerous regional companies founded by former members of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.

Early life and education

Born in Warsaw in 1907, Jasinski began dance studies as a boy. After extensive studies in Warsaw, Jasinski began dancing with Ida Rubinstein

Ida Rubinstein

Ida Lvovna Rubinstein was a Russian ballerina, actress, patron and Belle Époque figure.- Early life :Born in Kharkov, or possibly St. Petersburg,p408 into a wealthy Jewish family, Rubinstein was orphaned at an early age. She had, by the standard of Russian ballet, little formal training. Tutored...

's company in 1928.

Career

He next danced with Serge Lifar

Serge Lifar

Serge Lifar ; 15 December 1986) was a French ballet dancer and choreographer of Ukrainian origin, famous as one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the 20th century.-Biography:Lifar was born in Kiev, Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire...

. In 1933 Jasinski joined the Ballets Russe de Monte-Carlo

Original Ballet Russe

The Original Ballet Russe was a ballet company established in 1932 by René Blum and Colonel Wassily de Basil as a successor to the Ballets Russes. The company assumed the new name Original Ballet Russe after a split between de Basil and Blum...

, where he danced works by the leading choreographers of the time, such as George Balanchine

George Balanchine

George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...

, Michel Fokine

Michel Fokine

Michel Fokine was a groundbreaking Russian choreographer and dancer.-Biography:...

, Leonide Massine and Bronislava Nijinska

Bronislava Nijinska

Bronislava Nijinska - February 22, 1972)) was a Russian dancer, choreographer, and teacher of Polish descent.Nijinska was born in Minsk, the third child of the Polish dancers Tomasz and Eleonora Nijinska . Her brother was Vaslav Nijinsky...

. He was premier danseur from 1933 to 1950.

After 1954, he and his wife Moscelyne Larkin

Moscelyne Larkin

Moscelyne Larkin is one of the "Five Moons", Native American ballerinas from Oklahoma to gain international fame in the 20th century. After dancing with the Original Ballet Russe and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, she and her husband settled in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in 1956 they founded the...

, a ballerina with the same company, retired from performing. They had a child that year and moved to Tulsa. There they founded and directed a school and the Tulsa Ballet

Tulsa Ballet

Tulsa Ballet is a professional American Ballet company located in Tulsa, OK. The artistic mission of Tulsa Ballet is "To preserve the tradition of classical ballet, promote the appreciation of contemporary dance, create works of superior and enduring quality, and educate through exemplary...

 1n 1956. The company had its premier in New York in 1983.

Jasinski is known for having served as a model for the Walt Disney

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...

 film Fantasia

Fantasia (film)

Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The third feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are...

(1940).

Marriage and family

In 1943 he married Moscelyne Larkin

Moscelyne Larkin

Moscelyne Larkin is one of the "Five Moons", Native American ballerinas from Oklahoma to gain international fame in the 20th century. After dancing with the Original Ballet Russe and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, she and her husband settled in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in 1956 they founded the...

, a younger dancer with the company. In 1954 they had a son, Roman Larkin Jasinski.