George Balanchine:
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, George Balanchine is regarded as the foremost contemporary choreographer in the world of ballet. He came to the United States at the age of 29 and created the School of American Ballet. Several ballet companies were created by him in the years that followed, such as the New York City Ballet. Balanchine served as its ballet master and principal choreographer from 1948 until his death in 1983.
Balanchine has choreographed more than 400 dance works including Serenade and The Nutcracker. He also choreographed for films, operas, and musicals.
A major artistic figure of the twentieth century, Balanchine revolutionized the look of classical ballet. This had a great influence on the growth of dance in America. His ballets are now performed by all the major classical ballet companies throughout the world.
Yuri Possokhov:
Possokhov received his dance training at the Moscow Ballet School and danced with the Bolshoi Ballet for ten years. He later joined the Royal Danish Ballet as a principal dancer. After being invited to perform in San Francisco Ballet’s opening night gala, moved he joined San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer.
As a choreographer, Possokhov’s credits include Songs of Spain, A Duet for Two and Impromptu Scriabin. In 2001, he choreographed a routine for ice skaters Renée Roca and Gorsha Sue. For the 2002 season, Possokhov created Damned, based on Euripides’ play Medea, which the San Francisco Ballet took on tour to New York City Center in fall 2002.
