Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov is considered one of the greatest dancers of the 20th Century. His technique seems effortless and simple, and after defecting to the United States in 1974 he showed how versatile he was in switching between classical ballet, Broadway-style choreography and contemporary dance. Born in Riga, USSR in 1948, Baryshnikov started his formal dance training in his teens at the Vaganova studying under Alexander Pushkin. He joined the Kirov in 1967, bypassing the corps de ballet to appear as a soloist. He was extremely popular with Soviet audiences and a number of roles were created to showcase his talents; however, the political and artistic boundaries of the USSR proved too constraining. While on tour in Toronto, Canada in 1974, Baryshnikov defected, turning up a short time later in the United States. He joined the American Ballet Theater and later the New York City Ballet under George Balanchine. He reveled in the banquet of artistic opportunities, experimenting with many styles including work such as Twyla Tharp's Push comes to Shove (1976). He turned his attention to film, starring in The Turning Point (1977) for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1980 he became artistic director of the American Ballet Theater and a decade later cofounded the White Oak Dance Project with Mark Morris. White Oak has commissioned new work, and revived the works of choreographers such as Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham. In 2005 he opened the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City, a multipurpose space for artists to develop their work.
