Balanchine, George, originally Georgi Melitonovich Balanchivadze 1904-83
US choreographer, a major figure in 20th-century dance

George Balanchine was born in St Petersburg, the son of a Georgian folk musician. After graduating in 1921 he enrolled at the Petrograd Conservatory to study composition, but he turned to ballet and formed his own small company whose innovations were frowned on by the theatre authorities. During a European tour in 1924, he defected with a group of dancers who performed for a time in London as the Soviet State Dancers. Eventually they were taken into Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in Paris, and at this point he changed his name to Balanchine. In 1925 he succeeded Bronislava Nijinska as choreographer and ballet-master. His ballets Apollo (1928) and The Prodigal Son (1929) are regarded as his masterpieces of that period.

After Diaghilev's death in 1929 and his own serious illness, he worked for various companies, including that of the 1930 Cochran Revue in London, then helped to found Les Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo in 1932 and Les Ballets the following year. He opened the School of American Ballet in New York in 1934.

After World War II and the break-up of the American Ballet, Balanchine directed a private company, the Ballet Society, which in 1948 emerged as the New York City Ballet. With that company he created over 90 works of great variety, ranging from the theatrical Nutcracker (1954) to the abstract Agon (1957). Other important works include Don Quixote (1966), Coppelia (1974), Symphony in C, Episodes (1959), Kammermusik No. 2 (1978) and Schumann's Davidsb�ndlert�nze (1980). In addition to his prolific output Balanchine is noted for his range of styles and controlled technique. He was also a successful musical comedy and film choreographer. His musicals include Ziegfeld Follies (1935) and On Your Toes (1936), and his films include The Goldwyn Follies (1938) and Star Spangled Rythyms (1942).

Bibliography: S Caras, Balanchine (1985); L Kirstein, Portrait of Mr Balanchine (1984); Bernard Taper, Balanchine (1963, rev edn 1974).