George Balanchine

George Balanchine is considered to be one of the founding fathers of American ballet. He was one of the co-founders of the New York City Ballet, the first American ballet school, and company to compete with its European counterparts. He studied music and composition at the Petrograd Conservatory as a child, where he collaborated with renowned composer Igor Stravinsky.

George Balanchine worked as a ballet master for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in Moscow until 1929, following a catastrophic knee injury. Together with Lincoln Kirstein, he founded the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet in 1934, where he taught dancers how to acquire solid technique while incorporating his style. Serenade was Balanchine's first classical dance piece choreographed in America. He was the artistic director of the New York City Ballet until his death, and he created over 400 dance pieces during his lifetime. He popularized neo-classical ballet, which is still relevant in the twenty-first century, thanks to his choreography.

Born: January 22, 1904
Died: April 30, 1983
Aged: 79
Nationality: Russian