Yuri Grigorovich
Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, Yuri Grigorovich was one of the world's dominant ballet choreographers. Born in St. Petersburg (Leningrad at the time) in 1927, Grigorovich came from a family of skilled performers. His uncle danced with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, and his mother trained with ballerina Marina Semyonova, one of the Bolshoi's stars. Other family members were involved in the circus. The joy of physical perfection remained with Grigorovich throughout his life, and in his work. He graduated from the Leningrad Choreographic School in 1946, and then joined the Kirov ballet. In 1956, he choreographed his first ballet with students from the Kirov school. The following year, the Kirov presented his first major production, The Stone Flower, with designs by Simon Virsaladze. Grigorovich and Virsaladze would remain collaborators for the next thirty years. After two years as Ballet Master of the Kirov, in 1964 Grigorovich became artistic director of the Bolshoi, a position he held until 1995. His best-known productions include: Spartacus (one of the high points of Soviet dance), Ivan the Terrible, Romeo and Juliet, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker. In addition to receiving the ballet world's honors and celebrations, Grigorovich continues to choreograph contemporary and classic ballets, most recently with the Krasnodar Ballet Theatre.
