George Balanchine
Choreographer
Russia
© Tanaquil LeClercq
In 2025, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels presents the program BALANCHINE: THREE SIGNATURE WORKS in collaboration with the Royal Ballet and Opera as part of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels festival in London.
Born in St Petersburg, George Balanchine (1904-1983) is considered as one of the leading dance figures of the 20th century. He trained at the Imperial State Ballet and from the age of eleven danced on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, entering the company in 1921. Three years later he auditioned for Sergey Diaghilev in Paris and spent five years as ballet master with the Ballets Russes.
After Diaghilev’s death (1929), he worked as a choreographer and ballet master around Europe before being invited by impresario Lincoln Kirstein to move to the USA in 1933. Balanchine began creating a new school and repertory of American ballet and, in 1948, founded the New York City Ballet. With the new style he created, he reinvigorated the US ballet scene. His innate musicality is evident in all his works and led to a rich partnership with composer Igor Stravinsky. Of his estimated 425 works many are in the core repertories of companies around the world. He is widely acknowledged as the father of American ballet.
