Balanchine << BAL uhn `cheen` >>, George (1904-1983), was one of the most important ballet choreographers (dance creators) of the 1900’s. He was also a founder and the artistic director of the New York City Ballet, one of the leading dance companies in the United States. He was noted for his inventiveness and his ability to take a dance phrase (series of movements) and develop it in varied and surprising ways. He experimented with a quick, strong dancing style that was full of changes of direction. Balanchine sometimes used turned-in positions and flexed feet, instead of the usual turned-out positions and pointed feet.
Balanchine created more than 400 ballets of many different types. His ballets include traditional works, such as Divertimento No. 15 (1956) and Theme and Variations (1947), which were based on music composed in the 1700’s and 1800’s. He also created experimental ballets, such as Four Temperaments (1946) and Agon (1957), both based on the music of more modern composers.
Balanchine was born on Jan. 22, 1904, in St. Petersburg, Russia. His real name was Georgi Melitonovitch Balanchivadze. He left Russia in 1924 and joined the ballet company of Sergei Diaghilev in Paris, becoming its leading choreographer. Balanchine came to the United States in 1933 and helped found the School of American Ballet. The school’s performing company became the New York City Ballet in 1948. He died on April 30, 1983.
