Moscow Bolshoi ballet star Grigorovich is dead

Moscow. The legendary Russian choreographer Yuri Grigorovich of the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet has died at the age of 98. This was announced by Russia's State Central Theatre Museum in Moscow, which has repeatedly organized exhibitions on the life and work of the ballet master. Born on January 2, 1927, in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Grigorovich shaped Soviet and Russian ballet for decades at the world-famous Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

Grigorovich choreographed works at the Bolshoi Theater, including "Spartacus," "Ivan the Terrible," and "Romeo and Juliet." His adaptations of the ballets "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty" are legendary. He led the world's largest ballet company for more than 30 years. In 1991, he established the "Benois de la Danse" ballet prize. The award honors the most important dance achievements of the past year at a grand gala.

His productions set the pace: Grigorovich with a soloist during a rehearsal at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1975.

Source: IMAGO/ITAR-TASS

"Furthermore, his name was long considered virtually synonymous with contemporary Soviet choreography in the Western world," the Bavarian State Opera wrote in a previous tribute. "Born in the same year as John Cranko and Maurice Béjart, his work, like that of the two Western choreographers, is characteristic of an epoch-defining style for their world and time."

In 2008, at the age of 81, Grigorovich returned to the Bolshoi to take on a permanent position, leading the new soloists, overseeing the performance of new pieces, and maintaining the repertoire. Grigorovich had thrown in the towel in 1995 amid a dispute over the Bolshoi's artistic direction. According to media reports, he subsequently worked temporarily in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

RND/dpa