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Getty imagesThe acclaimed Russian ballet choreographer, Yuri Grigorovich, died at the age of 98.
Described as one of the greatest choreographers of the 20th century, he was artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet from 1964 to 1995, of which he is said to have led with an iron fist.
Grigorovich’s productions of the stone flower, Ivan the Terrible and Romeo and Juliet again defined Soviet Ballet. Praised for revitalizing male dance, he created parts for men who demanded exceptional power and artistry.
Born in 1927, a decade after the Bolshevik Revolution, his work was steeped in the traditions of classical ballet.
His uncle, Georgy Rozai, had studied under the legendary Vaslav Nijinsky and the young Grigorovich then started dancing as a soloist at the Kirov ballet in Leningrad before turning to choreography.
His departure from the Bolshoi in 1995, in the midst of disputes about the contracts of artists, led to the very first dancer strike in the theater in his 200-year history. During a planned performance, a dancer was created to inform the audience that the show was canceled, leaving a bewildered silence behind.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Bolshoi stood for instability. Grigorovich moved to Krasnodar to find a new ballet company. In 2008 he returned to the Bolshoi as a choreographer and balletmaster.
Grigorovich received top Soviet and Russian awards, including the titles people artist from the USSR and hero of socialist labor. His wife, the famous Ballerina Natalia Bessmertnova, died in 2008.
His death came on the same day as that of one of his most celebrated employees, dancer Yuri Vladimirov, 83 years old.
Valery Gergiev, head of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters, told the Izvestia newspaper that Grigorovich was “a legendary figure who will continue to answer respect and admiration in the coming decades”.
