I dedicate these lines to the one we, her friends and colleagues, as well as fans, used to call – and still do – Lully. That is, Ileana Iliescu. She belongs to that pleiad of prima ballerinas who built the fame of Romanian ballet, shining from the beginning of the 1960s: Irinel Liciu, Magdalena Popa, Leni Dacian, Cristina Hamel, Alexa Mezincescu. But the long-lasting career of Ileana Iliescu extended to our days, after the Revolution, with the natural status of a pedagogue, assistant choreographer, company manager...Flipping through the Contemporanul magazine collection, which in those years dedicated a generous space to the art of dance, a few flashbacks may illustrate the rich, brilliant artistic career of Ileana Iliescu, then in full swing. She danced Odette-Odile, Aurora, Myrtha, Coppelia... Perhaps the hottest applause rewarded her unforgivable performance as Quitry in Don Quixote, next to her favorite partner. "With Vasile Marcu as stage director and choreographer, this ballet made a sensation Thursday evening at the Romanian Opera House, especially owing to the leading duo Ileana Iliescu-Marin Ştefănescu… Their outstanding verve convinced us that they are the most flamboyant duo of the Opera…" (Contemporanul, October 9, 1970).She was one of the favorite ballerinas of the late choreographer Oleg Danovski, who appreciated and cast her in many roles. "This ballet [Nastasia, choreography by Oleg Danovski] often includes impressive physical exertion, movements full of force and acuity that express as straightforward feelings… the remarkable performers of which are Valentina Massini and Petre Ciortea, Ileana Iliescu, Cristina Hamel, Ştefan Bănică and others…" (Contemporanul, February 11, 1972).Tilde Urseanu, a choreographer of symphonic ballets also valued Lully: "The most successful rerun seems to me The Sorcerer's Apprentice, set to the symphonic poem by Paul Dukas, whose choreographic expression responds better to the contemporary esthetic requirements and taste… Ileana Iliescu makes here visible proof of her brilliant technique of a toe-dancer in the role of The Broom…" (Contemporanul, June 8, 1973). "In Chore-Patetica, Alexandru Schneider cast the most in vogue soloists of the Opera, Ileana Iliescu and Marinel Ştefănescu. They dance here with faith and accurate technique…" (Contemporanul, June 22, 1973).The permanent opera column signed Polyfem registers weekly performances of Ileana Iliescu, not only in ballet shows, but also in numerous choreographic divertissements from operas the prima ballerina did not turn down, to the delight of the audience, who looked forward to each new appearance. Walpurgis Night, The Temple Scene or the Slaves' Dance had a decisive contribution to the constant success of Faust, Lakmé or Aida… Ileana Iliescu's sensual dance stirred many passions. I remember, among others, a gesture of the American ambassador to Bucharest, Harry Barnes Jr., who, as impatient as any aficionado of ballet, like Theophile Gautier, facing the closed door between the stage and the auditorium, did not shrink from escorting us to the basement through a corridor known only to initiates, among heating pipes and rats dancing on oil slicks, to offer the Diva the usual bunch of flowers in her dress room after the show.I have always liked to tell her, Let me kiss your hand, Lully! Her invariable reply was a bright, warm smile. I wonder why all the great artists can smile so beautifully…
by Nicolae Spirescu
