Yuri Grigorovich Has Turned 85. Source: wikipedia.org.
Fondly dubbed “The Father of The Nutcracker,” Yuri Grigorovich has turned 85. On January 2nd, the ballet master and choreographer’s birthday was celebrated with a performance at the Bolshoi Theatre of, none-the-less, the ballet he made famous, The Nutcracker.
Yuri Grigorovich Has Turned 85
One of the towering choreographers of the 20th Century, Grigorovich graduated from the Leningrad Choreography School and danced as a soloist of the Kirov Ballet (now the Mariinsky Theater) until the early 1960s. Staging Sergey Prokofiev’s The Stone Flower and The Legend of Love brought him acclaim as a promising choreographer.
After the death of his wife, the great ballerina Natalia Bessmertnova, he was offered the opportunity to return to the Bolshoi again.
At 85 his ballet mission has not yet been fully accomplished. He plans to rework Sergey Prokofiev’s Ivan the Terrible. Later this month the award-winning choreographer is set to go on a tour to Japan tour with the Bolshoi Theater, after which he will be heading to America for a three-month tour with his Krasnodar Ballet company.
Read more on this ballet icon’s life.
Yuri Grigorovich Has Turned 85
Yury Nikolayevich Grigorovich was born on January 2, 1927 in Leningrad into a family immersed in the Imperial Russian Ballet. As noted above he was a
dancer and choreographer who dominated the Russian ballet for 30 years.
He has a long list of honors from 1957 – Honoured Artist of the RSFSR to 2009 – Medal of Honour (Armenia)
See list of honors and awards in this wikipedia article.
What an interesting life Mr. Grigorovich has led. At times controversial as you can read in the wikipedia link. Nevertheless, now that Yuri Grigorovich Has Turned 85, he is admired and being honored. Best wishes to him and may he continue to work in fulfilling his work as ballet master and choreographer.
How about sharing this post on your Facebook page with your friends. Did you enjoy learning about this great dancer, teacher and choreographer? Simply click on “Share” below and voilà. Thank you!
About Romy Macias, Senior Editor
