orig. Georgy Melitonovich Balanchivadze
born Jan. 22, 1904, St. Petersburg, Russia
died April 30, 1983, New York, N.Y., U.S.
Russian-born U.S. choreographer.
After studying at the Imperial Ballet School, he left the Soviet Union in 1925 to join the Ballets Russes , where his choreography of Apollo (1928) exemplified the spare neoclassical style that became his trademark. His work impressed the impresario New York City Ballet in 1948. Balanchine created more than 150 works for the company, including The Nutcracker (1954), Don Quixote (1965), and Jewels (1967), and he also choreographed musicals and operas. He collaborated closely with the composer {{link=Stravinsky, Igor Fyodorovich">Igor Stravinsky , setting more than 30 works to his music. Balanchine's work remains in the repertoires of many companies worldwide, and he is widely considered the greatest choreographer of the 20th century.
George Balanchine.
s1983 Martha Swope