George Balanchine

Balanchine, George 

(pseudonym of Georgii Melitonovich Balanchivadze). Born Jan. 9 (22), 1904, in St. Petersburg. American choreographer, son of the composer M. A. Balanchivadze.

Balanchine studied at the theatrical school of the Mariinsky Theater in Petrograd from 1914 to 1921 and choreographed his first works in 1923. He has been living abroad since 1924. From 1925 to 1929 he was chief choreographer of the Diaghilev Ballets Russes company. In 1933 he organized the School of American Ballet in the USA, which later developed into the American Ballet troupe (since 1948, New York City Ballet). At first, Balanchine staged ballets with plots, as for example Prokofiev’s The Prodigal Son (1929) and Stravinsky’s Apollo, Ruler of the Muses (1929). Later, he staged plotless ballets, which include Concerto Barocco, based on the music of Bach (1941), and Ballet Imperial, based on the music of Tchaikovsky (1941).

REFERENCE

Kögler, H. Balanchine und das moderne Ballet. Hannover, 1964.

N. P. ROSLAVLEVA