Massine, L�onide, originally Leonid Fyodorovich Myassin 1896-1979
Russian dancer and choreographer

Born in Moscow, he trained with the Imperial Ballet School at St Petersburg, becoming principal dancer and choreographer with Sergei Diaghilev (1914-21, 1925-28) and developing his interests in choreography with ballets like Parade (1917) and La Boutique fantastique (1919), with music by Erik Satie and design by Picasso. He choreographed some controversial 'symphonic ballets', such as Choreartium (1933), which was danced to Brahms's 4th Symphony, and became principal dancer and choreographer for the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo (1938-43). Though he worked periodically in the USA, Massine settled in Europe working freelance for companies like Sadler's Wells and Ballets des Champs Elys�es. He appeared in the ballet films The Red Shoes (1948) and The Tales of Hoffmann (1950).