Olga Sapphire

Olga Sapphire
Midori Shimizu
Saphhire performing in The Dying Swan, 1937
Born	Olga Ivanova Pavlova (1907-06-28)28 June 1907 Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died	20 June 1981(1981-06-20) (aged 73) Tokyo, Japan
Nationality	Russian Japanese
Other names	Midori Aoyama, Origa Shimizu
Occupation(s)	ballerina, choreographer, dance instructor
Years active	1928–1980
Known for	Introducing the pedagogy of classical Russian dance to Japan

Olga Sapphire (Russian: Ольга Сафайя or Russian: Ольга Сапфир, Japanese: オリガ・サファイア, 28 June 1907 – 20 June 1981) was the stage name of Russian and Japanese ballerina and choreographer Olga Ivanovna Pavlova (Russian: Ольга Ивановна Павлова), whose married name was Midori Shimizu (Japanese: 清水みどり). She was classically trained at both the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute and the Moscow Choreographic School. She performed in Russia until her marriage in the early 1930s to a Japanese diplomat, Takehisa Shimizu. After agreeing to move to Japan in 1936, she developed classical ballet there, bringing with her theoretical and pedagogical materials to underpin her dance lessons and establish the field.

From 1936 until her retirement in 1957, Sapphire was employed by the Nihon Gekijō variety theater, in Tokyo, serving as its prima ballerina, choreographer and ballet instructor. She performed classic Russian ballets, managing all aspects of the productions, as well as choreographing Japanese dances for stage and film. She retired from the stage in 1953, but continued to be involved in ballet production until 1957. In her later years, Sapphire wrote three books about ballet, which remain influential in Japan.