Svetlova was born in
Paris, France, with the name Yvette von Hartmann to Russian parents. She began studying dance as a young child and made her professional debut as a child performer in Paris in 1931 with the experimental ballet troupe of
Ida Rubinstein. In Paris, she studied under
Vera Trefilova,
Lubov Egorova, and various other Russian emigres. In her late teens she became a soloist with the
Original Ballet Russe, dancing with that company for three seasons. While there she notably created roles in
David Lichine's
Graduation Ball and
George Balanchine's
Balustrade. After leaving the
Ballet Russe, Svetlova came to the United States to dance as a guest artist with the
American Ballet Theatre in
New York City. She then joined the
Metropolitan Opera Ballet, where she appeared for seven seasons, beginning in 1943–44. In 1951 she danced with the
New York City Opera Ballet as a featured soloist for one season. From 1944 to 1969 Svetlova led her own touring dance concert group and made guest appearances in Europe with
Guido Lauri. Svetlova's accomplishments as a ballerina were later eclipsed by her second career as a dance teacher and choreographer at the
Southern Vermont Arts Center (1959–64); the Svetlova Dance Center in Dorset, VT (1965–95); and
Indiana University where she was professor of ballet and chairwoman of the ballet department (1969–92). She died in
Bloomington, Indiana in 2009. ==References==